# Strange Mealworms????? What should I do with them?



## panda (May 23, 2011)

I wasnt sure which section to put this in so sorry if this isnt the right one, My fiance picked up mealworms for me just a couple days ago and there are a few strange looking creatures in there :? , I've never seen this before, is this like a stage the mealworms go through or did i get some of the wrong worms, i am just scared to feed these to Norma because idk what the heck they are :shock: ... if you right click the image you can view the whole thing, or just click the bottom link 








http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i34 ... G_9315.jpg


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## DexterTheHog (May 22, 2011)

they look kind of... not good... hahaha
I see one viable looking one in the middle!
The black ones are definitely dead, the brown ones are on their way out... idk about the white-ish shedding ones...
I'd say don't feed them to her 
Just that one in the middle


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

yeah the black ones & the shed are things i am used to seeing, dead & shed but the white creature things.. those are totally creeping me out! I dont even wanna open it to give her any tonight cause they are creepy :shock:


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

The white things are aliens, they're the pupae stage of mealworms.  They are pretty creepy looking! That one in the middle (next to the good-looking mealworm...strange phrase there!) that has skin shedding around it is in the process of becoming an alien. You can still feed aliens to Norma, nothing wrong with them. If you leave them be for awhile (not sure exactly how long), they'll hatch out as beetles, which can also be fed to her. If you're squeamish though, I definitely suggest using tweezers or something to feed the aliens because they don't move until you touch them...And then they squirm around like crazy and eugh! :shock: I don't mind bugs and it kind of freaks me out!


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

omg ew.. beetles?! :shock: I use chop sticks to handle the worms usually but I think I'm gunna passs & my fiance will be making sure that all the aliens get eaten by either Norma or the dragons tomorrow... I'm no longer interested in opening that container at all.. :shock: :? Sorry Norma but ma is too scared to feed you the mealies tonight!  I just hope they dont turn into beetles before then... :shock: 

Thanks though for the bug info.. its good to know! I would refrigerate them because, correct me if i am wrong, but i believe that slows down any processes they go through, but my mother is strongly against any bugs in her fridge, but surprisingly she does let me freeze crickets! :lol:


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

Yup. What Kelsey said and she said it very well. Aliens are kinda handy cuz you can hide them and they won't go anywhere. The fact that I know this just shows the depths to which my life has plummeted. :roll:


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

MissC said:


> Aliens are kinda handy cuz you can hide them and they won't go anywhere. The fact that I know this just shows the depths to which my life has plummeted. :roll:


 :lol: :lol: I use them for the same reason so you have a friend with you while you plummet :lol:


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

Oh you do have a good point there.. but now I am scared they are going to suddenly turn into beetles :shock: :? :lol: i know i am being silly and irrational but omg.. i feel like i just recently got comfortable with the worms and now i find out they morph into beetles eeeee


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

*Shudders*

Aliens..? :shock: 

I had a weird looking mealie in my most recent batch... it was lightish tan on one half... and the brown stuff was coming off of it on the other end... I mushed it to the bottom so I didn't have to look at it...

...
Swear to god, if there's a beetle in there tomorrow, I may never buy mealworms again.

Just to be clear - the really light colored whitish/tannish mealies are the aliens, correct? And the ones that are like caramel colored are "regular"?

I think I might puke... lol


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

As long as i understood right.. the white creepy alien looking things are aliens.. :lol: its funny they are really called that because they look just like alien babies. :?


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

I shouldn't look at this thread anymore lol, I just realized that you can see a disgusting little bug face in your picture... at the very bottom, the one on its back... I just got goosebumps!!

Bugs don't deserve faces. Ew. 

I feed Milly her caramel colored mealworms... if I see a white one in there, I will just stuff it to the bottom and throw them away when I run out of the "regular" kind lol. Bleechhh.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Not all white things are aliens, though. Mealworms will be white/pale when they've just shed a skin, but they still look like worms. Aliens look a bit different, like this - http://www.stamps4fish.co.uk/images/Art ... _pupae.jpg They DO look creepy, but like Cindy and Hedgieonboard said, they're convenient since they don't run away. :lol: They do take awhile (I think it's at least 1-2 weeks) to turn into a beetle, and the beetles don't fly (if memory serves correctly). I think they also start getting darker in color when they get closer to turning into a beetle. If you keep your container of mealworms cool (in the fridge, or just in a cooler part of the house), that will help slow down the growth of both the aliens and the mealies.


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

Thank you everyone! I'm going to try to get the courage up to feed her some of those icky things! :lol: I am actually glad to be getting the lesson on these things anyhow, its good to know, even if it does totally gross me out!! :roll:


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

Okay everyone, be proud of me I fed her some of the aliens :? :lol: she seemed to enjoy them just as much as the mealies so i guess that was a good thing.. ickkk, although in my attempts to flick one out of the cup I think Norma may have eaten some of the food bedding stuff that they put in there with the worms.. :? oops, i doubt it is harmful to her though.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

:lol: Woohoo, good for you!! Sounds like Norma definitely appreciated your efforts!  And yeah, the bedding is usually just wheat bran or something similar, so I doubt a bit could do anything.


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## BaileyBoo (Jun 30, 2011)

Yep. Definitely aliens. I used to breed mealworms for my Sugar Gliders. most of the time (for me anyway) If you don't take the aliens out and put them in a separate container, the mealworms in the first container will eat them. You'll know when they are about to turn into a beetle when they look like this : (Image off Google, I don't have mealworms anymore)

Notice the legs on this one:









When the legs turn darker, kinda a reddish, brown color (Like this), it's going to change into a beetle:









And the beetles, called Darkling Beetles, will be white/light colored when first "hatched(?)" then turn redish brown, then black.


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## DexterTheHog (May 22, 2011)

wait.... they're actually called Aliens??


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

On HHC they are aliens. Everywhere else on earth they are 'pupae'. Silly ppl don't realize they're aliens. :roll:


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

ok good, mine are still white, i dont think i have any beetles yet, i kinda dug around a little and didnt see any.. about how long do you guys think i have before that happens? i gave her probably 7 or 8 lat night trying to get rid of a few :lol: I usually only give her maybe 5 mealies a night.


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## SaltAndExtraPepper (Mar 4, 2011)

panda said:


> i gave her probably 7 or 8 lat night trying to get rid of a few :lol: I usually only give her maybe 5 mealies a night.


^ This made me laugh so hard :lol: Also when you said "everyone be proud of me" cause you mustered the courage to handle them! :lol: Probably cause I'd've done the same thing trying to get rid of them. I was gonna call you brave just for managing to take such a photo of them!

This whole thread made me chuckle! I have no input, as my knowledge of worms is about as minuscule as..as something I know nothing of :roll:

But I am happy this happened to you and that you made a thread about it, because now I finally know where that red beetle came from when I last babysat my sister's bearded dragon :lol: Seriously, I was mystified when I found it hiding under his water dish. :shock:

So, kudos :lol:


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

Oh yuck!!!! hahaha, yes i cant help but laugh at myself as well! I should have filmed myself flinging out the aliens with the chop sticks... rather than picking them up with the chopsticks how you do food, since i have now been told they twitch when picked up :shock: :? , i decided to not pick them up but tilt the cup & use the chopsticks to flick them out & onto my bed near where Norma was...but she had a ball running after them once they hit the sheet, maybe i should use this flicking method more often haha.. 
The whole time I was just like  ehhckkkk kill them Norma! KILL THE ALIENS! 
what a good girl she is getting rid of something that frightens me and doing it so quickly :lol:


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

:lol: :lol: :lol: She probably thought it was a fun new game Mom was playing with her! "Catch the Alien"!


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

Seriously she probably did.. :lol: They would get brief air time, hit the sheet and she would scurry over and chomp chomp, alien down!


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## DexterTheHog (May 22, 2011)

MissC said:


> On HHC they are aliens. Everywhere else on earth they are 'pupae'. Silly ppl don't realize they're aliens. :roll:


aww man, i wish they were called aliens for reals haha


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

Personally, I think they have to taste different in the different stages. Like potatoes. Baked potatoes taste different than mashed potatoes taste different than potato chips taste different than french fries. 
I say that because Cholla loves the crunchy beetles, but Zoey loves the aliens. Cholla loves the mealies, but Zoey loves the softer white mealies. 
Just think of them as mobile french fries, if that helps.


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## Guest (Jul 26, 2011)

PJM said:


> Personally, I think they have to taste different in the different stages. Like potatoes. Baked potatoes taste different than mashed potatoes taste different than potato chips taste different than french fries.
> I say that because Cholla loves the crunchy beetles, but Zoey loves the aliens. Cholla loves the mealies, but Zoey loves the softer white mealies.
> Just think of them as mobile french fries, if that helps.


I won't be eating french fries for awhile


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

TWCOGAR said:


> PJM said:
> 
> 
> > Personally, I think they have to taste different in the different stages. Like potatoes. Baked potatoes taste different than mashed potatoes taste different than potato chips taste different than french fries.
> ...


You will swear off Krispy Kreme donuts, too, once you hear her mealie comparison. :roll:


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

haha too funny! I think Norma gobbles up the aliens just as fast as the mealies at least i cant tell a difference in her preference for either.


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Just wanted to let you guys know that the alien thing definitely isn't happening for us. I came to the conclusion that I'm way too squeamish.

Last night, Milly and I were hanging out in the kitchen, and Milly was sniffing around the counter lol. Anyway, I decided it was mealie time. I have a smallish 100 count mealie container, so it's not too hard to find a little guy squirming around in there. *gagging* So I dug around with my tweezers and I saw one, so tweezed it and picked it up.

Then I realized that it was an alien. :shock: I proceeded to scream, throw the tweezers & mealie, and pick Milly up and run away practically all at once. We hid out in my room until I was sure we were safe. I put her in her cage, got the vacuum out, and vacuumed the whole house.

I hope I got it... :shock:


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

hanhan27 said:


> Just wanted to let you guys know that the alien thing definitely isn't happening for us. I came to the conclusion that I'm way too squeamish.
> 
> Last night, Milly and I were hanging out in the kitchen, and Milly was sniffing around the counter lol. Anyway, I decided it was mealie time. I have a smallish 100 count mealie container, so it's not too hard to find a little guy squirming around in there. *gagging* So I dug around with my tweezers and I saw one, so tweezed it and picked it up.
> 
> ...


 :lol: :lol: :lol: 
I have so much to say but I am laughing to hard to type anything legible.
:lol: :lol: :lol:


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

It's been two hours.
I am still laughing.
:lol: :lol: :lol:


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

HAHA its ok, courage takes time with those nasty things.


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## TikiLola (Jun 23, 2011)

I think I'm going to puke  

Mealies give me major creepy crawlies to begin with. I keep the container in the fridge and usually they don't start wiggling around until they've been out for a minute or two. (Thank goodness! I can barely deal with them when they aren't moving. but once they start I get skeaved out sooo bad!) Once I realized the OP posted a pic, I closed my eyes and scrolled past it!  

I have a question about the beetle stage, I hope to never have to see one but, if I do, can I freeze them and then feed them to Cupcake? I would thank that would be ok, right?


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## panda (May 23, 2011)

I was thinking the same thing about mealies in general actually.. if i end up getting a beetle i know i will flip out and not want live ones around anymore, as for now i can live with it but i have a huge feeling seeing a beetle will just change everything :roll:


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

All stages of a darkling beetle's life (mealworm, pupae, beetle) are safe to feed hedgies. Those of you that are squeamish, be sure to freeze em GOOD before thawing and feeding to your hedgie. Feeder insects are notorious for "coming back to life" after thawing, so be sure they're in there for at least 30 minutes to make sure they're good and dead. (haunting memories of zombie crickets)


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

...And then LG single-handedly gives half of the forum night terrors. :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

MissC said:


> It's been two hours.
> I am still laughing.
> :lol: :lol: :lol:


Alright, I do admit vacuuming the whole house was a bit excessive and pathetic. The kitchen, living room, dining room and panty would have sufficed. I didn't need to do all 3 bedrooms and the bathrooms.

But seriously, 2 hours? :roll:

I had to tell my fiance about it because he called me when he got done with work and wanted to know why I was vacuuming at 11:30 at night. He called me a wussie!


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

If that's all it took to make me vacuume, hubby would be leaving aliens all over the house! :lol: 

And LG, :lol: So glad you're back! Together we can scare & gross out all of Hedgehog Central!! Muuhaahaha! :lol:


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