The tub rim says “BORN ON 06/09/22”
I discovered they’d metamorphasized on 7/15.
Is a month a long time for beetles to change?
Not sure. All they texted back when I asked if the adult beetles were safe to feed to the herp was “I would kill them”. I think they figured the method was at my discretion?
a mealworm beetle won’t kill something that eats it, but they do taste pretty nasty (ever picked up a darkling beetle of any sort? they stink like burnt rubber), and are generally chitinous and unpalatable. If its a superworm beetle (Zophobas morio), in addition to the unpalatable adults they’ll also try to bite whatever’s trying to eat it and they can definitely bite harder than you think they can
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Illegal connections to stormwater drains. Missing manhole covers. A gap big enough for a beetle to climb thru?
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Not every drain is connected to the sewer system either. Here in rural NC, many houses have wells and septic tanks so eventually they end up in the soil in a drain field somewhere not too far from the house. I have a drain in the basement that dumps the water right out onto my lawn.
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I don’t see it as real event if it’s in a town, there’s no way to get out without actively crawling (like snakes do from flat to flat), darkling beetles are not supermen, they sink easily in less challenging circumstances.
Freezing is good, and you could also use alcohol to euthanize them. Fluids like isopropyl alcohol, or ethanol. You could spray them, or just pour the alcohol on a paper towel and then place that in a container with the beetles.
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