# Mealworm vs Giant Mealworm



## Malti (Sep 17, 2009)

I was looking up at a shop and came upon this

Using special technology which prevents pupation, regular size Mealworms are fed for an extra 6-8 weeks to develop into Giant Mealworms. Ideal for feeding larger lizards or birds. 


does this mean that if left to pupate they will become normal beetles? or will they be huge and their larva will be Giant aswell?


----------



## Issa (Oct 13, 2006)

:lol2: The shop are talking out of their bottoms! The mealworm (Tenebrio molitor.) is a totally different species to the "Giant mealie" or Morio Worm (Zophobas Morio )


----------



## Malti (Sep 17, 2009)

Issa said:


> :lol2: The shop are talking out of their bottoms! The mealworm (Tenebrio molitor.) is a totally different species to the "Giant mealie" or Morio Worm (Zophobas Morio )



thats what I was thinking...same need of care I guess?


----------



## Issa (Oct 13, 2006)

Sorta, Morios are a little more complicated when it comes to pupating, but basically yes same care needed.


----------



## Malti (Sep 17, 2009)

Issa said:


> Sorta, Morios are a little more complicated when it comes to pupating, but basically yes same care needed.


is there some caresheet?


----------



## Malti (Sep 17, 2009)

found this...bit complicated for me atm

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/feeder/361484-breeding-morio-worms.html


----------



## Alex (Jun 14, 2009)

Malti said:


> I was looking up at a shop and came upon this
> 
> Using special technology which prevents pupation, regular size Mealworms are fed for an extra 6-8 weeks to develop into Giant Mealworms. Ideal for feeding larger lizards or birds.
> 
> ...


Malti they're Special technology is a growth hormone.

Morio's are a larger species, but need to be split singly to pupate. Morio beetles are larger.


----------



## REDDEV1L (Nov 27, 2008)

Malti said:


> found this...bit complicated for me atm
> 
> http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/feeder/361484-breeding-morio-worms.html


 
I found an online guide that said the same as above, and as I've been having a mite problem lately I thought i'd give it a go..

All seems well so far, although i've only got the beetles in with coco, the worms are still in bran. They've been in there a week or so now and seem to be treating it exactly the same as the bran tbh, burying in it etc Just gotta keep an eye on it so it doesnt get too dry, but considering most keep them in bone-dry bran I dont think it's a priority for it to be damp lol


----------



## mrhoyo (Mar 29, 2007)

Alex said:


> Malti they're Special technology is a growth hormone.
> 
> Morio's are a larger species, but need to be split singly to pupate. Morio beetles are larger.


I 2nd that, they use the 'giant' mealworms a lot in America but over here we tend to use either regular mealworms or morios.


----------



## Betty (Jan 2, 2008)

Issa said:


> :lol2: The shop are talking out of their bottoms! The mealworm (Tenebrio molitor.) is a totally different species to the "Giant mealie" or Morio Worm (Zophobas Morio )


I have managed to get the Morio Worm into black bettles but cannot get them to breed why and what do I need to do to breed them??? any help would be appriciated betty


----------



## Malti (Sep 17, 2009)

Betty said:


> I have managed to get the Morio Worm into black bettles but cannot get them to breed why and what do I need to do to breed them??? any help would be appriciated betty



did u see this http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/feeder/361484-breeding-morio-worms.html ?


----------



## Blaptica (Jun 26, 2008)

Issa said:


> :lol2: *The shop are talking out of their bottoms!* The mealworm (Tenebrio molitor.) is a totally different species to the "Giant mealie" or Morio Worm (Zophobas Morio )


 
Yes and no. There is at least one large livefood company that uses this hormone to create "giant" normal mealworms (Tenebrio). They call them "giant mealworms" and if I remember correctly they call Zoophobas "super giant mealworms". That is why I think it is better to call giant mealworms "morio worms" That way there is less likely to be confusion ! Morio worms do not naturally live in amongst cereals ( cereal being the "meal") unlike regular real mealworms. 

I hope that makes sense ?


----------



## Issa (Oct 13, 2006)

Quick question, why bother with the hormone thing at all if you could get the same results with a different (but similiar) species. Unless the hormone is literally dirt cheap to aquire it strikes me that from a breeding perspective it would cost more to "alter" mealies in the long run than it would to setup a colony or 2 of morios.


----------



## Blaptica (Jun 26, 2008)

Well I breed both morio worms and mealworms and can tell you the later I think would be cheaper commercially to produce. Certainly the price you pay proves that. So I can only asume these hormone treated ones still work out cheaper than morio worms to produce. Personally I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. THere are also "giant" waxworms too available now. I suspect "pumped up" the same way but i don't know that for certain. I wouldn't use them either.


----------



## Issa (Oct 13, 2006)

Sounds similiar to the for and against arguements about GM foods (I agree with you btw and will be sticking to the natural idea wherever possible).


----------



## Blaptica (Jun 26, 2008)

In the past male chickens reared for meat (certainly in the US) used to have female hormone pellets implanted into them. There was evidence that some men eating these chickens started to grow breasts ! 

It is quite likely that the livefood you buy will be raised on GM ingredients by the way. I can't find GM free chicken food here, and alot of insects are fed at least partly on chicken mash normally used for egg laying chickens.


----------



## HairyScaryMark (Jul 6, 2009)

I phoned this shop Insects Direct the guy on the phone said Giant Mealworms are the ones known to Americans as 'super worms' and the 'morio worms' are different and have teeth. He also said that they all need to be put under stress of seperation/enclosed space etc. to pupate.

Can anyone clarify whether 'morio' or 'giant meal worms' is the one I want to get if I wanted 'super worms'. On google both of them have returned things that called 'super morio worms or 'super giant meal worms'. I'm a bit confused.

Giant mealworm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

More importantly, which one has better nutriotional value for a chameleon?


----------



## Blaptica (Jun 26, 2008)

If i had the time to look it up I could tell you who invented the name superworm in the states. I read about it the other day. The story was told by the person who introduced the zoophobas worm to the states, the first to breed it commercially there Bert Langerwerf. The name Superworms were definately first used to describe Zoophobas. But i wouldm't be surprized if the term is also used for hormone fed mealworms now !


----------

