Mealworm farming

[MalMom]

Can anyone tell me what these are...








They came in my second batch of mail order meal worms. I bought both batches from the same company. The first one didn't have any problems so I ordered more. Right away I found one and disposed of it. I thought it was a fluke, but now I'm finding more and more. I am also finding their skins that they are shedding, so they are growing! I looked at the company's website and they don't sell anything that looks like these. As I find these guys I get them out of my bin, and I have taken my other bins out of the room this one is in so they can't spread. They kind of look like the pupa stage of a mealworm, but they are hairy and have legs. I think they are some kind of caterpillar? Any ideas?

 

[hannakat]

MalMom... email the company along with a photo of these. It might be the quickest way to find out what it is. You can also isolate some to see what they develop into.

Good luck and please keep us updated!!!

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Can anyone tell me what these are...



They came in my second batch of mail order meal worms. I bought both batches from the same company. The first one didn't have any problems so I ordered more. Right away I found one and disposed of it. I thought it was a fluke, but now I'm finding more and more. I am also finding their skins that they are shedding, so they are growing! I looked at the company's website and they don't sell anything that looks like these. As I find these guys I get them out of my bin, and I have taken my other bins out of the room this one is in so they can't spread. They kind of look like the pupa stage of a mealworm, but they are hairy and have legs. I think they are some kind of caterpillar? Any ideas?

They look like some kind of dermestid beetle larvae to me. I'd keep it isolated from the other bins as you've done and sort through it and pull out all the Tenebrio and then put the remainder of the colony in a plastic bag and dispose of it. Wash the bin and put fresh substrate and return the Tenebrio. Then I'd be vigilant for others.

 

[jimmywalt]

Well I started my colony in July with 500 mealworms from Petco. All in a 10 gallon aquarium with rolled oats and baby carrots.

It didn't take long for the worms to change to larva and the larva to beetles.

It's been at least 4 to 6 weeks of 100% beetles. All the worms/larva are gone.

Last night I was almost to the point of just giving up and throwing the beetles in with the chickens and calling it a day. But I decided to carefully fish through the oats and see if I could find any worms. Wouldn't you know that I found 3 of the worlds smallest worms (I almost didn't even see them! I was expecting something larger).

So I guess nature is taking it's course (and it's own sweet time as well!)......... Hopefully these darn things turn into 1,000 worms (of decent size) sometime in the next century.

I have the aquarium in my basement sitting on an electric heating pad that's keeping it about 72 degrees.

Sure seems like a lot of work (and time) for some mealworms. Guess I will probably be happy when I see the pay off.

 

[skitzkle]

Well I started my colony in July with 500 mealworms from Petco. All in a 10 gallon aquarium with rolled oats and baby carrots.

It didn't take long for the worms to change to larva and the larva to beetles.

It's been at least 4 to 6 weeks of 100% beetles. All the worms/larva are gone.

Last night I was almost to the point of just giving up and throwing the beetles in with the chickens and calling it a day. But I decided to carefully fish through the oats and see if I could find any worms. Wouldn't you know that I found 3 of the worlds smallest worms (I almost didn't even see them! I was expecting something larger).

So I guess nature is taking it's course (and it's own sweet time as well!)......... Hopefully these darn things turn into 1,000 worms (of decent size) sometime in the next century.

I have the aquarium in my basement sitting on an electric heating pad that's keeping it about 72 degrees.

Sure seems like a lot of work (and time) for some mealworms. Guess I will probably be happy when I see the pay off.

I was at the same point the other day. Most of the beetles were dying and I hadn't seen any baby worms. Then today I lifted up on of the paper towel tubes and saw hundreds of baby worms under it!!! yeah finally!

 

[chrissyr]

Can anyone tell me what these are...








They came in my second batch of mail order meal worms. I bought both batches from the same company. The first one didn't have any problems so I ordered more. Right away I found one and disposed of it. I thought it was a fluke, but now I'm finding more and more. I am also finding their skins that they are shedding, so they are growing! I looked at the company's website and they don't sell anything that looks like these. As I find these guys I get them out of my bin, and I have taken my other bins out of the room this one is in so they can't spread. They kind of look like the pupa stage of a mealworm, but they are hairy and have legs. I think they are some kind of caterpillar? Any ideas?

i got a couple that look alot like those, but perhaps smaller. They were from rainbowmealworms.com . Just about 2 in each batch. Killed them and that was it. I called and they said "oh yeah, we have some times "blankety blank"(can't remember what they said) bugs in our bins sometimes". No more since, but I would call them to be sure

 

[MalMom]

They look like some kind of dermestid beetle larvae to me. I'd keep it isolated from the other bins as you've done and sort through it and pull out all the Tenebrio and then put the remainder of the colony in a plastic bag and dispose of it. Wash the bin and put fresh substrate and return the Tenebrio. Then I'd be vigilant for others.

You were right! I heard back from the company and this is what they said...
"
Those are dermestid beetle larvae; they come in grains and sometimes ship with our grain. They can also be in purchased grain. They are not harmful to your pets to eat; in fact many insect growers sell them as "cleaner crews" to keep mealworm colonies clean (they will eat decaying material) and also as feeder insects.

We do try to remove them all during growing and before shipping. but inevitably a few get by us. They aren't harmful to your animals, and will actually keep your colony clean; but if you feel better about it you can just pick them out and discard them."

I don't remember reading anything about keeping "clean up" bug in with the mealworms. Has anyone tried this, or does anyone have an opinion on this matter? If they really aren't harmful it doesn't bother me to keep them. But it seams a little odd. I need to do some more research.

 

[LTygress]

I've noticed this problem a LOT with my super meal worms. They develop slower and have to actually be separated from food, water, and each other, to change into pupae. They had no problem changing to pupae and then beetles. But it seemed like they just never lay eggs or the eggs never hatched... until I moved them outside during the summer. Suddenly the heat (and maybe humidity) changed everything! I had so many super meal worms growing out there, that I had to go from little plastic drawers to a large rubbermaid bin! Super meal worms still take longer to grow because of their huge size. But once I had them in the summer heat, the number growing helped off-set the slow growth rate!

Since then I have moved them back indoors into a utility room, and put a HEAT LAMP on one side of their container. That was pretty much all they needed. Apparently the winter "chill" in the air was too much for them, and during the summer, the air conditioner kept them too cool as well. They needed heat - and probably much more than I was comfortable with indoors.

And in fixing this problem with the super meal worms, I found that the same was true for the normal meal worms, too. They would still change, grow, and even lay eggs that successfully hatched. But all of it was slow, and the numbers were pretty low too. Once I put the heat lamp on them, they started to pop up like crazy, too!

I don't know exactly what the temperature SHOULD be. I have seen recommendations several times as I looked up different things about meal worms, but I can't remember it. I don't have spare thermometers to test it, so I never bothered worrying about it. I just made sure PART of my meal worm container was warm from the heat lamp, and part of it was cool. If I had to guess for someone else's sake, I'd say use the chick hatching temperature - 102F - for the top SURFACE of the bedding. Then make sure it's a good inch or two deep so they can dig down away from the heat if needed.

 

[Hypertay]

Well I started my colony in July with 500 mealworms from Petco. All in a 10 gallon aquarium with rolled oats and baby carrots.

It didn't take long for the worms to change to larva and the larva to beetles.

It's been at least 4 to 6 weeks of 100% beetles. All the worms/larva are gone.

Last night I was almost to the point of just giving up and throwing the beetles in with the chickens and calling it a day. But I decided to carefully fish through the oats and see if I could find any worms. Wouldn't you know that I found 3 of the worlds smallest worms (I almost didn't even see them! I was expecting something larger).

So I guess nature is taking it's course (and it's own sweet time as well!)......... Hopefully these darn things turn into 1,000 worms (of decent size) sometime in the next century.

I have the aquarium in my basement sitting on an electric heating pad that's keeping it about 72 degrees.

Sure seems like a lot of work (and time) for some mealworms. Guess I will probably be happy when I see the pay off.

Turn your heat up to about 90 degrees and make sure there is always a carrot and fresh wheat bran in it, and your colony will just explode! Your temp of 72 is way too low and there is your time problem. Also try tossing in a handful of chicken feed, I sift out the dust from my crumbles and pour in a small pile and they love it.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote: We do try to remove them all during growing and before shipping. but inevitably a few get by us. They aren't harmful to your animals, and will actually keep your colony clean; but if you feel better about it you can just pick them out and discard them."

I don't remember reading anything about keeping "clean up" bug in with the mealworms. Has anyone tried this, or does anyone have an opinion on this matter? If they really aren't harmful it doesn't bother me to keep them. But it seams a little odd. I need to do some more research.

Oh good! It's probably Trogoderma granarium then, which is not that bad of a pest unless you live in a very warm climate. There are a lot of species of dermestids and many can be problematic to deal with and some species would even eat your mealworms. Maybe you should try keeping them in the contaminated colony and let us know how that colony fares compared your others. My main concern would be with their dispersal skills, I don't know if they could escape the confines your your colony or not. It would be very interesting to know if they seem helpful or detrimental to the colony. Keep us updated!