# White mealies



## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

Has anyone ever seen one of these before? I started a mealworm colony and this is one of the mealies that came from the eggs the originals produced. I have two or three of these random white mealies running around (they're not turning into pupae, they're actually mealies that have looked this way since they were tiny). I was just wondering if anyone might know why some are white but most are normal. And will those produce more white ones when they turn into mealies?

I haven't been feeding those to Quentin because I'm more interested in watching their development. I'm just curious about them.


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## hndspk (Aug 28, 2008)

i have a mealworm colony myself and the white ones are the ones that have recently shed their outer 'hull'. As they dry they'll turn brown again while their shell hardens up.


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

I kind of wondered if it was something like that. Those mealies are messing with me! The reason I wasn't sure is because I only ever seem to have two of them running around at a time. It seems like there are always just those two, and that they just keep getting bigger and bigger--so it seems like there are two that are just white and have stayed that way since being tiny. Maybe I should tag one of them as an experiment to see for sure if they're messing with me. :lol: 
Thanks for the input!


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## hndspk (Aug 28, 2008)

you could always take those two out and put them in their own container and see what happens. Then again, they might be albino. The sequence of genes that cause animals to be albino is actually quite common in the wild... But if i were you, i'd take them out and put them in a seperate container with their own food and stuff and see if they turn brown over the course of a few days or if they truly are albino and shed white skin.


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

That's a really good idea! I was thinking about putting a dot on one's back with a marker or something, but that's a much better plan. I'll update with how it goes.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Those are recently shed mealies.


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

You guys are right, that's definitely what they are. I isolated them and they turned brown by the next day. I still find it interesting that I always seem to have only two at a time though. Told you they like to mess with me. Silly things. :roll: 
Thanks for the help!


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Let them molt long enough and they will turn into pupae and then beetles. And if you catch the beetles when they have just turned, you have WHITE beetles! Its always kinda interesting when I open my mealworm colony. You never know if you will find black, golden brown and/or white beetles running around.


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

I know! I've never caught a totally white beetle but I have seem them whitish with the heads turning a bit red. I started a colony a few months ago and the mealies I have now are all from the eggs those original beetles laid. I believe I started with about two dozen or a little less, and now I have hundreds. I find it really interested...although I have a feeling if I let it keep going I'm going to have more mealies than I'll know what to do with. Never-ending supply! 

I've been separating my pupae from the worms, and then the beetles from the pupae, then dumping the substrate back into the mealies for them to hatch later and giving the beetles more substrate. Is that what you guys like to do or do you have another preferred method?


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## hndspk (Aug 28, 2008)

I keep them all seperated...I take out the pupae and put them in their own container otherwise they get canabalized. after they turn into beatles i move them to their own container and leave them in there for a few weeks and then move them again and wait for the eggs to hatch. Then after they hatch i put them into the main mealie container again. Sometimes i'll move the beatles 3-4 times over the course of their life so that they dont eat the eggs...


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

I move the beetles so they don't eat the eggs every 2 weeks or so, but I usually just dump the egg substrate back in with the mealies. I figure I'm going to have more mealies than I need anyway so if they eat a few, that's no big deal. And I make sure to have a couple of moisture sources in there to keep that down.
I've seen several techniques listed while I was researching mealworm colonies, that's why I asked what everyone prefers. One even recommends putting a potato in and leaving it for months then replacing it, never changing anything or checking on anything--I would be too worried about mold and cannibalization and everything! Others I've seen only using 2 containers. The method I adopted seemed the most logical/healthy, so I was just curious about what everyone else does. 

What moisture source do you use? I tried carrots but they seem to mold quickly. I've been cutting a potato in half and placing the cut side up in the air to try to keep down the mold, and it's been working pretty well.


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## hndspk (Aug 28, 2008)

I usually use a potato. I'll slice it up into several chunks and then just replace them every few days. I tried halving a potato but it seemed like it molded really fast. The slices are thin enough that they dry out before they mold. Also, the potatoes that i keep in with the beetles, I'll leave them in the substrate with the rest of the eggs just in case there are eggs on it.


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