Heat Wave (and its consequences)

The mealworms have been progressing nicely through their life cycle and now most of them are adult darkling beetles. I’m waiting to see evidence that they’ve laid eggs – maybe small larvae wriggling around, for instance.  I saw them recently congregating on a piece of styrofoam and started wondering whether the adult beetles, too, have an appetite for polystyrene.

Unfortunately it’s been very hot out, and I think a more likely explanation is that the beetles are getting too dry and are trying to suck moisture out of anything they can. Another thing I’ve noticed is that some of the beetles seem to be stripped of their wings. I think this might be evidence that they’re attacking each other, which supposedly happens when they get too dry.

To help combat this, I’ve put a wet sponge in their enclosure. Hopefully with this new water source the beetles will be kinder to each other.