I saved these "worms'' from a pet store...they transformed

This happens when you let feeder insects live
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[@HomemadeEcosystems]

This video didn't go as planned... sorry you had to see this. In case there are some crazy people that want to support me making more crappy content: patreon.com/Homemade_ecoystems

[@richfromtang]

Maybe get the mic out of your mouth? it's cracking.

[@lord_poof_gaming6795]

You are literally my favorite KZbinr I love your videos

[@victoriawilliams2786]

I really enjoy your videos and love that I get to learn too. Thank-you for sharing!

[@Frog87328]

You don't make crappy content your videos are 4k quality unlike mine

[@adamelias6169]

What country Are you from?

[@WastedTalent-]

I used to breed superworms for my lizards. They don't usually metamorphosize in groups because the other larvae will eat the pupae. I had to put them in their own individual 2oz cups (little plastic condiment cups) and they started transforming into pupae within a week. Try putting individual worms into smaller containers with no food or water source, no substrate, and keep it dark (mine were in shoe boxes). Soon enough, you'll have Darkling Beetles.

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

Yeah there are 3 isolated but maybe it was because there was still some substrate in there

[@Hyouka-Hates-Handles]

Weird... I once did a similar thing like he did in the video with the superworms but I put in like 20~ of them even though they where kind of clumped up most of them still metamorphosized.

[@ShoutOfCoffee]

Nice bro. Thanks for info.

[@freelunatwo]

I had a similar experience. My isolated worm settled down to metamorphosis pretty quickly. I have also heard that the worms don’t metamorphose in groups due to cannibalism.

[@jmgalaxytab2325]

Seems like you are triggering them into metamorphosis, forcing them into chrysalids. Absence of resources to accelerate a process, makes sense... because the adult bugs do have wings and will use them to find food further away! So there you will need a lid because those bugs will probably fly! (Which under normal conditions, they don't. Only an occasional wanderer... Indeed thnx for that info. Nice to know it can be accelerated.

[@user-jq1jv8ts8m]

watch out with those mites. they can crawl out the terrarium and infect all the other animals. you can get hibernastic miles or predatory mites because they eat the bad mites.

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

Yeah I know, I threw everything those crickets touched away.

[@user-jq1jv8ts8m]

@@HomemadeEcosystems That's good. Watch out for eggs. If you threw everyting away then you're fine.

[@aliceong724]

He is a biologist, Im sure he knows :) 5 years of biology paid off, maybe

[@epicfail3167]

I will never not love your monotone voice of inner pain

[@Dependencycourtsellschildren]

Like Werner hertzog.

[@rococogoth]

"Why am I always patting the substrate?" Because it is a good substrate.

[@jasonwalter4321]

R.I.P. New new bob, he was a hero and a savior for many, he will never be forgotten

[@FussyPickles]

After Harambe, it's all downhill

[@ShoutOfCoffee]

Hear hear!!!

[@ElementoPlayz1]

Noooooo!

[@Mhornfeck72205]

I tried doing this previously with superworms for my bearded dragon, and I had the best results by feeding them until they started to get noticeably darker at the tail/head like at the end of your video where it bit you. this usually happens with the fattest super worms which will be most likely to survive the isolation period. It works best to put them into compartmental organizer boxes for stuff like fishing lures/screws/etc, which really restricts their movement space. Once you put them in there, don't give them any food, this will stress them out(or maybe they're just SO bored) which will cause them to go into the curled up position in just a few days, and they will transform much faster. Keep them in there until they transform completely into a beetle and then move them into another enclosure that has a mesh screen floor that sits on top of another box/tray beneath it. I used egg cartons for them to hide/climb on, and threw in random vegetables for food. You might have to adjust their temperature to get them to start laying eggs, but once they start laying eggs, the eggs are small enough that they will fall through the mesh into the box underneath which prevents the beetles from eating the eggs and any newly hatched worms. The eggs are practically invisible and the newly hatched superworms are also barely visible too, so the mesh screen will really help you separate them and allow them to grow without being eaten. If you bother the beetles too much, they put off a smell that I can only describe as similar to burning plastic and garbage. Just thought I'd include that fun fact 😂 For the substrate in the egg receiving box/tray, I had good luck using plain oatmeal or crushed up wheat-thins, and then I'd throw in a couple full sized carrots split in half down their length with the core of the carrot facing downwards into the oatmeal to keep it from drying out too quickly. If the ambient humidity is very low and causing the eggs/worms to die before growing, you can also mix in a small amount of saturated water-crystals that will help raise the humidity and they can also drink from. Hope this helps.

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

thanks this definitely helps a lot!!

[@TrentsPoliceMods]

Soldier Ant theme took me out 😂. Absolutely love watching these.

[@akdieblaueyin-phonix2119]

Oh, superworm is so excited to be on your wonderful gentle(man) hand, that he couldn't control himself.

[@AndreuszVII]

Ayo

[@lawrencema1985]

We call it the "wee of excitement" with our puppy

[@tigerbgood8564]

The growing plant was the real Bob of the video.

[@EcoReibun]

I think of that music every time i see a solder ant now. How dare you grace us with rememberable content.

[@babbybailey2534]

Your dry humour is great.

[@Crackracket]

Saw this post in relation to cricket mites and how to deal with them "Get some mite spray (in the bird section in pet stores), and lay down paper towels under where you have your cricket bin. Spray down the paper towels with the mite spray and then put the fully cleaned cricket bin on top. Mites are a royal pain - stay on top of cleaning your cricket cage and you should be just fine"

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

thanks for the tips!

[@robotortoise]

I had a pet mealworm as a kid. He lived for a year after turning into a darkling beetle! I kept him in a container of oats.

[@Dexcalibur420]

The addition of the dramatic hand cam really made me feel like I was a superworm about to be picked up by a mysterious cucumber god. Great artistic expression. Keep it up.

[@MichaelPiz]

The pinkies out at the beginning… Best. Video. Evar.

[@FussyPickles]

Pinkies out for New New Bob Ds out for Harambe

[@bruhbruh9895]

Who's that -Pokemon- animal? iiiiiit's *BOB* no doubt.

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

Yes it is!

[@sillysey]

i've been really stressed out finishing school finals lately, thank you for your silly and relaxing content c:

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

Good luck with finals!

[@Joshf4phan]

Thank you for clarifying the distance on your hike, I was briefly confused.

[@draheim90]

The somewhat depressing part is some sources online claim the beetles the superworms transform into it can live for up to 15 years. And, yeah, they need to be isolated or else they generally won’t begin the transformation process.

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

I didn't know that they could live for 15 years! if they end up still transforming I'm building them a real big terrarium

[@josefnortje2929]

Unfortunately they don't live 15 years. It's usually a few months, but they can make up to one year. I have a mealworm farm at home for my baby tarantula. I don't throw them in alive though, makes me feel bad

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

@@josefnortje2929 mealworms are a different species. But they look very similar so probably have a similar life cycle

[@smolmephy]

Now i have a new fear that the crickets i buy for my gecko might have mites, gotta check every box now XD

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

yeah, you have to be careful with that

[@drachenboss4844]

Learning so much because of these videos like: random bumbs on bugs are not a good sign or that plants grow

[@MichaelPiz]

Right? That "plants grow" thing blew my mind! Who knew?

[@CWEMYT]

“The ones that keep you up in summer” so true 😂😂❤❤

[@Jesus_Broski]

You remind me a lot of my dad. He makes ecosystems on a slightly larger scale.

[@kekvit_irae]

Soldier Ant returns! 10/10

[@TayJohnson23]

This should have more views😭this man dead expression with everything he says just funny somehow

[@sugarmuffin319]

2 videos deep and i am heavily invested in this guy's world.

[@blackknightgamer5636]

my mom used to have a mealworm farm and when they turned into beetles we put them on a platform above the mealworms and when they layed eggs the eggs would fall into the meal worms and hatch into mealworms

[@cadencetheronin756]

I love how sarcastic you are

[@YochevedDesigns]

You are so funny. I love your deadpan delivery.

[@Cow_Juice]

1:58 Well that's a first for you. Definitely need a refund for your "broken worms" 😆

[@wegder]

Corn meal is about all you need to raise mealworms,, maybe a bit of lettuce of something for moisture.

[@jmgalaxytab2325]

Any kind of meal will do. I ran out of oatmeal so I started to give them coffee grounds! Any kind of organic (dry) waste, actually, will do the job.

[@iamfish9223]

I love your videos, the monotone jokes are exactly my humor

[@IKUBAU]

So anticlimactic. Lmfao. I love it

[@nemamiah7832]

You've promised me Bob. You've delivered Bob, New Bob and New New Bob. 300% promises delivered. Nice.

[@BatDragon2]

Ants : were really smart Baby ants in Singapore : *doesn't even avoid getting stepped on*

[@annoyedkangaroo]

I used to watch you all the time and I never heard you talk this is kind of cool great video by the way

[@shirokage2182]

Three cheers for Bob, new Bob, new new Bob (rest in pieces) and Soldier Ant!

[@Qermaq]

Homemade Ecosystems, modern-day Lincoln to the crickets and superworms.

[@nopadelik9286]

Did you get a new camera ? I liked the macro views, even though i'm probably dreaming of face eating mites tonight 😆

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

Yes although it is not the first video I used it for 😁

[@nopadelik9286]

@@HomemadeEcosystems i just checked on your video list if i missed one of your last videos - i didn't. But maybe i wasn't as attentive as i was today, so i'm gonna rewatch them again 😌😇😅 cheers..

[@CanalTremocos]

When I was around 8yo I got a pet cricket I loved very much. I fed it every day. One day I discovered a white cricket slid into my cricket's cage and killed it. Only a dried-out exoskeleton remained of my beloved cricket. Of course, I threw the murderer away and mourned the senseless murder. Many years later I found out about moulting. Crickets never get a break. Anyway, those poor creatures' horrible deaths in this video reminded me of poor whitey; and why I try never to pass judgment on issues I'm ignorant about.

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

Same thing with hamsters.. a lot of them have been buried alive by people that don't know they hibernate...

[@jmgalaxytab2325]

Ouch!

[@IsaMariaUu]

Those mites look scary. Nice video!

[@melindabarsby2980]

Theres the voice that i have missed❤😂

[@Sweetlyfe]

I just found your channel, and you’re hilarious, plus I love Ants, and lizards.

[@thexanderthemander]

How many likes to eat a super worm? (Sorry)

[@The_idk16]

I liked this (also sorry)

[@thejudgmentalcat]

nooooo... 😳🤢 😂

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

at least it is better than one of those crickets...

[@thejudgmentalcat]

@@HomemadeEcosystems but not as cronchy 🤨

[@livloveschannel]

@@HomemadeEcosystemsare crickets crickets because they cricket or are worms super because of worms and crickets?

[@goblinguy3103]

So glad I found this video! I’ve had these specific Darkling beetles as pets for two ish years now. Currently one is pupating and I’ve been waiting MONTHS for it to happen. Here’s some more tips I would suggest! 1- more substrate. These worms LOVE to dig (and create tiny rooms under the soil/substrate to pupate in) so this will help 2- these bugs actually eat meat as well. Chicken, any blood, fish, they are super omnivorous (both worms and beetles) so this will help they grow in size. They’re often found eating the dead bodies of their other fellow worms so you don’t need to remove them! 3- they like dark and damp spaces. More bark and rocks for them to hide under and constant water adjustment works wonders. Dry substrate might be the main reason they’re taking so long 4- worms actually tend to dislike just one type of substrate. A custom mix of a ton of different types of soil will make it easier for them to be at home. I tend to use sand, succulent soil, tropical soil, dead plants, animal bones, and sheep fertiliser for the best results! I hope this helps! Also, please don’t dig around for them if they’re trying to pupate! The more they’re touched (by humans or other worms) delays the process.

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

This helps a lot ! The 3 that I seperated have turned into pupae by now

[@tashastarling6573]

"Nurture and feed" Hah I have a plastic container from an rotisserie chicken, I put oatmeal in it with the meal worms and some potato slices. I had to go and left this box for 2 months and they STILL survived. Tons of molts. So many worm shells... I wonder if the material is useful. Anyway there were still some living, and surprise hundreds of tiny worms (they must require less water and it must be beneficial for them to not grow quickly, without water available.) So I'm starting fresh with colony and giving them potatoes again. I don't even have a lizard now. Lol I bought them to feed a toad I caught last summer, before I released it.

[@tashastarling6573]

It is nice you give them a habitat :) Bugs have lives too. I never bothered with crickets. I find they smell funny. I don't like holding them either. I had a leopard gecko as a teen so learned to keep my own worms.

[@TheEverythingTutorial]

MAJOR WORKER SOLDIER !!!!

[@noobnoob8648]

You outdid yourself this time with the editing. Great job my man!

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

thanks!

[@Memersyt117]

say hi to new Bob for me 3:22

[@saimwolfy93]

Its always getting better and better

[@G00DBYEFOREVER]

Good to see u again❤

[@BlahBlahBlahBlah69]

I never feed my superworms or mealworms they just manage to thrive well until my reptiles eat them.

[@Kruegernator123]

"Ow, that little F---er bit me. I'm done with this video." 🤣

[@erikiacopelli451]

Dunno why but ur voice makes me stay n listen lol

[@Noooooooaaaaaaaah]

I like because he just so chill he has too much bugs

[@karolb.5764]

Looking at those crickets gives me chills 😭😭

[@SomeGuy-qd3li]

I like how nothing happens in this vid but its still entertaining regardless

[@YourLocalGoatYT_Official]

The one that peed on you mysteriously went missing...

[@TheRaptorRex]

I love Bob.....

[@Astroman10]

Thanks for the video!😊

[@bavondale]

always entertaining vids. thank you for sharing

[@PeterLedergerber]

Dude, seriously, you are such a funny guy, your humor always makes me chuckle. Also, Soldier Ant for the Win, (Rock Music starts Playing).

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

I see you are a man of culture, you know the soldier ant theme

[@PeterLedergerber]

@@HomemadeEcosystems Well, it's kinda becoming a running gag thing with your channel at this point, a really funny and good one though. Really though, i always enjoy watching your stuff, its always made really well and entertaining. And the Insect stuff is also really interesting, i always like to learn new things, about the creepy crawlies, so, nice to have that and a bit of a laugh at the same time. Glad i found your channel, i always come when i see you have uploaded a new Vid.

[@MandyJane123700]

Good luck, New Bob!

[@TristanWintle]

If I had a nickel for every KZbinr I've seen who makes videos about homemade ecosystems while narrating everything that's happening in a monotone voice with an ambiguously European accent while making extensive use of dry humour, I would have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

Life in jars? ?

[@TristanWintle]

@@HomemadeEcosystems Yes lol

[@TheSamsoni]

I love you, fantastic content!

[@liamgraetz4203]

As a reptile keeper. Your my favorite youtuber as of now 😂

[@MelodyStarz]

Dang new video, that’s what’s up

[@AironSmieciowy-di3qy]

Great video!

[@NotkaPL]

I had these or very similar ones. They ate styrofoam decorations in terrarium. Wooden decorations too. They tried to eat plastic plants too...

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

And mine don't want to eat actual food..

[@Luke4207]

Your so relatable :D love to you bro!

[@KainYusanagi]

>even Superworms refuse to eat cucumber Smart larvae.

[@Lettuce624]

1:39 blud has broken worms 💀

[@Pinkstinkie]

I raised beetles from superworms. One lived with my Dairy Cow isopods for 2 years. I named him Darkling Duck. Edited to add: I put individual "worms" into one of those individual pill caddies and stuck them in a file cabinet. Much better success rate-- especially if you don't forget about them and find them much, much later while cleaning, all transformed but starved to death in their little coffins. Poor superworms, doomed to terrible fates!

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

Didn't the dairy cows eat him? Those things eat everything

[@Pinkstinkie]

They did not. But I did wonder how he lost a leg a year in.

[@annamolitoris2012]

Fun video to watch...although nothing happened! I often like looking at the crickets at the pet store because I find them cute. The mites can take a hike for kilometers...er...miles though.

[@yourfriendbeetle]

your videos are my favorite i swear -a stupid beetle

[@JJ_Ginnus]

Yeeeees I love this dude

[@Semirotta]

Aww yiss! I was waiting for a new video :))

[@stephanieparker1250]

I expect a follow-up video! 🤗👍

[@mosshivenetwork117]

Yes, darkling beetles.

[@samkangal8428]

You don‘t always get sick crickets, I had some who lived a happy life and even had kids😂

[@MathPig]

My daughter saved a box of super worms for being eaten. I put them in my 60 gallon insect terrarium. We now have 5 superworm bettles it took months but they are thriving now

[@71janas]

Nice video. Greetings from Denmark.

[@MrComfyAustralia]

love your show hi from aussie land

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

Hi!

[@Veronica_Burgos9426]

Me encanta araña saltarina dorado ❤❤❤

[@JTPlaysPoorly]

The Super-worms should be put in separate containers because the larvae with eat the pupae. If the Grain Mites Spread to your house plants the best way to kill them is to spray watered down Dish soap or Bubble Solution on the plants, I don't know exactly why it kills them but it works.

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

Thanks for the tips

[@remmylebeau116]

Unfortunately I don't watch these videos for info, I watch for the humor !! Keep it coming amigo!

[@Schaibs_dg]

I live for these videos

[@Dao_Tui]

I buy the super worms for my mice and rats sometimes. At one point I was rearranging my mice enclosure and I found 2 of those beetles on the back of one of the wooden climb walls. I did have to remove them (my rats enjoyed eating them) because they're quite big. My group of mice had declined to only 1 by then due to age. I didn't want to take any risks. Meel worms only now :)

[@ALA9E]

We call them mealy worms, I kept them in a large container filled with bran and put normal sponges on top. They transformed and laid eggs, hatched again and just cycled forever , with an occasional new sponge to destroy. I bred them for my birds.😊

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

Yeah meal worms look very similar but are a smaller than these super worms (also called morio worms)

[@ae2948]

@@HomemadeEcosystems THANK YOU for that clarification because I was thinking the same as ALA9E.

[@jmgalaxytab2325]

Those super worms that did not even touch the cucumber must NOT have been THIRSTY! Insects get their water through their food, meal worms and bugs will die of dehydration, the worms and chrysalids will turn black if they don't get enough water, so I provide them popcorn soaked in water (works best for me 🤣) and noticed the bugs drink every day, but not the worms... so yours must have been well fed and very well hydrated, because they didn't even suck on it. When I give them my water soaked popcorn, they all suck on it. Dry popcorn they won't touch, they don't like it, but they love soaked popcorn. For the rest I just give them oatmeal. They have wings but won't fly, so can be kept and bred in an open container. Mealworms and their adult meal bugs are really easy to breed and are a lot of fun!

[@Naztalgic]

Right on good sir!

[@GarryDKing]

I let mealworms loose in my crested gecko cage once, the problem was they burrowed under the substrate and none of em got eaten, they all turned to beetles and never got eaten, I had to get rid of them, not even fish wanted to eat em....

[@cggentry]

8:55 1 mile = 1.61 kilometers, Yankee blue-jeans!

[@megazillasaurus]

i have pet mealworms but it took some time for them to become beetles

[@joeymelzer5166]

You’re hilarious man

[@voyagerwitch]

i hope you know i always click to the next video in the end, even though it's always one i've already seen.

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

thank you!

[@Pengu274]

If the wood with the crickets was from outside thats probably where the mites came from. You could treat your wood with insecticide and leave it for a few days before adding it to any insects you want to stay parasite free! (Parasites gotta live too though, so you could just keep them as part of the ecosystem)

[@HomemadeEcosystems]

The crickets got the mites before I added anything (only food) so I don't know where they came from

[@ScotteiCovers]

1:00 that little dude is in nirvana

[@EwokAnimations-no3gl]

That was a cool vid!