Here is one method: http://www.iaherp.org/superworms/ I am sure if you do a google search for "superworm breeding" you will find many more.
Don't expect real quick results but supers can be easily bred. Unlike the common mealworm (Tenebrio molitar) the superworm (Zoophobas) is of tropical origin and as such must be maintained at a temp no cooler than 75F. Cold temps or refrigeration will kill them. Also unlike mealworms they do not readily pupate into beetles as long as they are kept in an aggregation with other superworms. To get baby supers you, of course, need adult beetles. To induce pupation, separate a large super and put him in isolation such as in an empty film canister or plastic cigar tube along with some bedding material. He will then form his cocoon and go dormant. Punch a hole in the container for some air exchange. I remove the pupa and bury them into the bedding. After several months of warm temps it will hatch into the adult beetle, a big ugly black tenebrid-looking creature. It only takes a few adult beetles to breed and lay hundreds of eggs. I keep my supers in 10 gallon aquariums. Others use sterilite or rubbermade containers with lids (shoe box size). Use wheat bran as a bedding material (about 3 inches on the bottom). Wheat bran can be bought at any animal feed store. I get a 50-lb bag for $7. I know one guy who has good luck using plain sawdust, slightly moistened. Lay some cardboard egg crate on top of the bedding. Feed the supers with veggie trimmings and chunks of raw potato. I put this moist food on the eggcrate to keep the bran from getting wet. The supers will eat much of it before it spoils but you need to remove it before it goes bad. I also put hatched beetles in the container and they take up residence in under and between the cardboard where they will breed and lay eggs. Before long you will start to find lots of tiny superworms. Let them grow out in the tank. Keep adding adult beetles and in less than a year you should have several generations going. A common source of adult beetles is in your lizard cage. From time to time I have had adult beetles miraculously appear. When that happens I put them in the raising container. Invariably some of my supers have escaped into the cage and they will hide in the furniture or deep in the substrate where, finding themselves alone, they will pupate. As a bonus, you will also find that flour beetles and dermestid beetles will also take up residence in your culture. Especially if you keep your culture containers outdoors during warm weather. Have fun with it. Culturing food is a fundamental skill that would benefit most of us who pursue our reptile interest.
can you or anyone send me a link of where i can get superworms as well as the bedding? i have looked around and am still surching for the best deals.
I purchase supers from www.armstrongcrickets.com . Believe it is $24 for 1000 or $14 for 500. They are quite a bit larger than standard mealies and therefore have less chitinous bulk per body weight. Gutload them good with veggie trimmings and they will literrally squirt fluid as your lizard bites down on them. Yummm. By the way, Armstrong also sells suckers with an imbedded superworm in them. Yes they are edible, the superworms are "food grade". These are fun to share with your friends. I gave one to my son and he didn't complain, until he got down to the worm and saw it there. Builds character in young children. George
