Zophobas is a genus of beetles in the family Tenebrionidae, the darkling beetles.[1][2] They occur in the Americas, from the Neotropics into southernmost United States.[2] In Cuba beetles of this genus are known as blind click-beetles.[3]
Perhaps the best known species is Zophobas morio, synonymously known as Zophobas atratus, a beetle whose larvae are robust mealworms sold as food for pets[4] such as lizards. The larvae are known commonly as "superworms".[5]
Superworms should not be confused with darkling beetle mealworms sprayed with juvenile hormone.[6] 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.[7] Researchers have discovered that the larvae can subsist on a diet solely of polystyrene (Styrofoam).[8]
^Tschinkel, Walter R. (1981). "Larval dispersal and cannibalism in a natural population of Zophobas atratus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)". Animal Behaviour. 29 (4): 990–996. doi:10.1016/S0003-3472(81)80052-8.
^Yang, Yu; Wang, Jialei; Xia, Mengli (2020). "Biodegradation and mineralization of polystyrene by plastic-eating superworms Zophobas atratus". Science of the Total Environment. 708: 135233. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135233.
