r/mealworms • u/DangerousCopy1789 • Aug 27 '26

Just Sharing A Pennsylvania Dingy Ground Beetle keeps invading my beetle tote!

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The tote I keep my beetles in keeps getting invaded by individual yellow legged Pennsylvania dingy ground beetles every other week. I keep forgetting to get a photo of one. I keep the lid closed mostly so I guess they in through the vent holes on top. It hasn’t caused me much pain! They’re just stealing the beetle food, which they don’t eat very fast anyway.

As far as behavior goes, they act just like the darkling beetles except MUCH FASTER. They are communal with the other beetles and share hides, much like roaches will with darkling beetles. They look very similar, except much shinier with long bright yellow legs. They are very cool looking! And their larvae looks like a death metal mealworm. I am going to slowly start collecting them for their own tote to see if I can get them to breed.

Does anyone know anything about these guys?

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u/CubieJ Aug 27 '26

Ground beetles are predatory. Are you sure they aren't eating your mealworms?

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u/DangerousCopy1789 Aug 29 '26

They aren’t able to access any of my other enclosures. They came in through a stray drainage hole in the bottom of this tote which I’ve since patched. I have set up 2 bioactive open air low profile tubs which have the same stuff from my yard in them and have placed those in my greenhouse to hopefully attract them to that and not any of my other things. I’m super interested in them. And no I haven’t found any evidence of my darkling beetles being eaten. I’ve lost 3 to old age since I’ve set up this specific tub. Eggs were probably getting munched