Zophobas

Zophobas is a genus of beetles in the family Tenebrionidae, the darkling beetles. In Cuba beetles of this genus are known as blind click-beetles.[1]

Zophobas
Zophobas morio
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Tenebrionidae
Tribe: Tenebrionini
Genus: Zophobas
Blanchard, 1845
Species

see text

Perhaps the best known species is Zophobas morio, a beetle whose larvae are robust mealworms sold as food for pets such as lizards. The larvae are known commonly as "superworms".[2]

Zophobas atratus is also used as pet food, sold in pet stores[3] under the name "giant mealworms", but should not be confused with darkling beetle mealworms sprayed with juvenile hormone.[4] Studies have found that in the wild the larvae sometimes live in bat guano, and they tend to cannibalize the pupae of their own species.[5] Researchers have discovered that the larvae can subsist on a diet solely of polystyrene (Styrofoam).[6]

Species include:[1]

  • Zophobas atratus
  • Zophobas batavorum
  • Zophobas laticollis
  • Zophobas morio
  • Zophobas rugipes

References
  1. Garrido, O. H. and E. Gutierrez. (1994). Variability of Zophobas rugipes Kirsch (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Tenebrioninii) in Cuba. Insecta Mundi. 8(3-4). Paper 284.
  2. Darkling Beetle and Larva, Zophobas morio. Archived 2016-12-25 at the Wayback Machine Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory.
  3. Miller, J. S., et al. (1996). Eicosanoids modulate nodulation responses to bacterial infections in larvae of the tenebrionid beetle Zophobus atratus. J Insect Physiol 42(1) 3-12.
  4. Ichikawa, T. and H. Sakamoto. (2013). A third type of defensive behavior in the tenebrionid beetle Zophobas atratus pupae. Journal of Insect Science 13 33.
  5. Tschinkel, W. (1981). Larval dispersal and cannibalism in a natural population of Zophobas atratus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Anim Behav 29 990-96.
  6. Yang, Y., Wang, J. and Mengli, X. (2019) Biodegradation and mineralization of polystyrene by plastic-eating superworms Zophobas atratus Science of the Total Environment vol. 708
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