Because squirrel monkeys need protein and enjoy live food, mealworms tend to be a staple in their diet. For Edith Anne, we called the mealworms the “escapables”, although she gobbled them up in a two-fisted frenzy, so escaping was not really an option for them. In order to cut expenses, we decided at one point to breed mealworms and invested in several plastic critter keepers and a box of bran. Refrigerating mealworms keeps them dormant, so we had to store tubs we had purchased in the fridge. However, mealworms placed in bran tend to find one another, propogate, and eat and poop their way through a myriad of generations. (Interestingly, my oldest grandson used to take some of the creatures out and trap them in structures built with Jenga blocks which he referred to as “Mealworm Alcatraz”. Where do they come up with this stuff?) Back to the reproductive process. A mystery, we learned, was how to grow the newborns to the size of the “giant rainbow mealworms” we purchased in the little tubs. Somehow, the offspring of large mealworms are tiny — and never seem to grow bigger. They do, however, shed their shells and emerge a tiny bit larger. And this cycle repeats itself ad infinitum…never really producing the original-sized mealworm even after several years’ worth of generations. (Sigh….) So we ended up with five critter keepers and gazillions of mealworms in a variety of sizes. Edith Anne preferred the giant rainbow full-grown variety. Eventually the tiny you’d-think-we-could-grow-these-but-can’t variety found employment as plant fertilizer in the yard. And I’m pretty sure we still have respiratory issues from the bran dust. Caution: Don’t try this at home!!