Mealworm farming

[doglover1]

Hi, I've never had any worms die, maybe just 1 or 2. Mine are on oats that you buy from the store, sometime wheat bran. I also feed them carrots, lettuce, apples, bread, cereal etc. How is your humidity? Are the in the dark? Where are you buying them from? They will only drink as much water as they need. Do you have any mold growing? Too much heat will kill them, too cool and it slows down the process. Could very well be humidity or the feed.

 

[doglover1]

You could try putting a wet sponge in the container, somewhere they can't eat it to help with humidity. I wouldn't suggest wetting the oats as it can cause mold to grow. Even small spores you cannot see.

 

[jak2002003]

I cleaned out the containers and replaced the substrate. I added a couple chunks of carrot.

They are going crazy now and lots of them are shedding their skins.. I have never seen they all do that together so much! Its weird.

I picked through and got out all the dead ones.. there were a few hundred.. quite relaxing in a weird way.. I sat in the garden while I did it.

They are not in the dark.. I keep them on a shelf... but its in the darkest corner of the room and gets no direct sunlight.

I am suspecting its been too hot for them.. Its been over 40 degrees C every day for weeks.... but last few days its been 35 degrees C.

So now I have moved them into my office.. which has air conditioning in the day when I work.

People will think I am mad giving my worms air con!!!

 

[ashleymroles]

I cleaned out the containers and replaced the substrate.  I added a couple chunks of carrot.

They are going crazy now and lots of them are shedding their skins.. I have never seen they all do that together so much!  Its weird.

I picked through and got out all the dead ones.. there were a few hundred.. quite relaxing in a weird way.. I sat in the garden while I did it.

They are not in the dark.. I keep them on a shelf... but its in the darkest corner of the room and gets no direct sunlight.

I am suspecting its been too hot for them.. Its been over 40  degrees C every day for weeks.... but last few days its been 35  degrees C.   

So now I have moved them into my office.. which has air conditioning in the day when I work.

People will think I am mad giving my worms air con!!! 

It's the chicken feed. Look at the ingredients for copper sulfate. It specifically inhibits growth of insects. I was using it and my worms were not pupating. I changed the substrate to wheat germ and ground up Cheerios, 2 days later I had my first pupa. Also, I put a heating pad under them and they grew like crazy!

 

[Latestarter]

Another item that is often used in animal feed as a de-clumping agent is diatomaceous earth (DE) with bentonite. The bentonite stops clumping and the DE kills insects (it's very sharp and cuts through their exoskeletons causing them to die). The idea is to keep the feed from getting infested with worms/beetles/mites/etc.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Another item that is often used in animal feed as a de-clumping agent is diatomaceous earth (DE) with bentonite. The bentonite stops clumping and the DE kills insects (it's very sharp and cuts through their exoskeletons causing them to die). The idea is to keep the feed from getting infested with worms/beetles/mites/etc.

Try this little scientific experiment. Put an inch or two of Diatomacous Earth in a clean, dry Mayonnaise jar. Add an ant or two and give the jar a gentle shake to coat said ant with DE. Then set the Mayonnaise jar, with the ant, and DE aside in a cool dark place and see just how long it requires for the ant to meet its maker.

 

[aart]

Quote: DE usually targets the larval stage of grain eating insects, much more susceptible then.

 

[Jkaczanowski]

Thank you to everyone for their advice on this thread. I read the whole thing and don't remember seeing the answer to this question. I have been doing a multi-bin colony for several months, separating out the stages. My beetles spent about 2 weeks in drawer 1 before I moved the beetles to drawer 2 about a week ago. I threw a baby carrot into the egg/ baby mealie drawer (drawer 1) but it just sat there, so I felt silly and moved it into my beetle drawer where it was devoured.

My question for those of you who separate is - at what point do you put vegetables for moisture into the egg/baby mealie drawer? And at 68-72 degrees, how long before you see movement in the drawer? For those reading this thread to still learn, I can say that at 68-72 degrees, all my pupae turned to beetles between 7 and 14 days (most around 10 days).

Thank-you very much!

Jenn

 

[doglover1]

Thank you to everyone for their advice on this thread. I read the whole thing and don't remember seeing the answer to this question. I have been doing a multi-bin colony for several months, separating out the stages. My beetles spent about 2 weeks in drawer 1 before I moved the beetles to drawer 2 about a week ago. I threw a baby carrot into the egg/ baby mealie drawer (drawer 1) but it just sat there, so I felt silly and moved it into my beetle drawer where it was devoured.

My question for those of you who separate is - at what point do you put vegetables for moisture into the egg/baby mealie drawer? And at 68-72 degrees, how long before you see movement in the drawer? For those reading this thread to still learn, I can say that at 68-72 degrees, all my pupae turned to beetles between 7 and 14 days (most around 10 days).

Thank-you very much

I keep a carrot in the baby bin at all times. The babies are so small you can barely see them. Don't want them to get thirsty. The good foods also help them grow.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

DE usually targets the larval stage of grain eating insects, much more susceptible then.

No fair aart, you used logic instead of emotion to solve the problem.