Life Cycle of a Darkling Beetle(Mealworm)

Darkling beetles (also known as Mealworm Beetles) are prolific breeders. It is harder to stop them breeding than it is to get them to breed.

There are 4 stages in the life cycle of a mealworm:

Eggs: In a matter of days after mating (dependent on incubation temperature) the female will burrow into soft ground and lay between 70 and 100 eggs. The egg stage typically lasts 7-14 days but low temperatures and humidity can lengthen or even double this incubation time.

Larva: The Larva (known as mealworms) will eat various fruits and vegetables. During this stage a mealworm will shed its skin 10-14 times as it gets too big for its old skin. They are a tan colour but when it sheds its skin it is a white colour. Shedding is when the skin of a mealworm splits down the back and the mealworm slides out. On its last shedding it loses its skin and then curls up into its pupa form.

Pupa: The pupa is the inactive non-feeding stage that the mealworms go through. The mealworm remains in its pupa stage for 6-30 days (dependent on incubation temperature). The pupa starts a creamy white and changes slowly to a brown colour during its pupation stage which includes a complete metamorphosis which transforms them into reproducing adult beetles.

Adult: Two or three weeks after the mealworm has pupated, a mealworm beetle will emerge. These are known as Darkling beetles. The newly hatched Beetle will sit still as its wings unfold and dry. It will appear as a creamy colour and will slowly brown over a period of 2-7 days. Once the Beetles have turned black they will become sexually mature and begin to look for a mate.

Darkling beetles can live for quite some time however they slow down their reproduction after about 3 months.