Mealworm farming

[drewskimac]

yea I remember my step-mum telling me "you will regret eating like that when you are older..." I had a lady in the shop tell me that it happens to us all after having kids... I was a tad offended because they are actually my step-kids

but I still blame them!


Well I had no pupae hatch for about a week, then BOOM! Constant hatching! Are they still in a nice warm, dark spot? I read that warmer temps speeds it up...but not over 40deg or they die...which is where we are currently struggling...

It would be interesting to see if there is just more pupating than hatching and it makes it LOOK like there is a distortion...perhaps if you had some little containers you could separate and date for a few days then see if they hatch in order....or vary the conditions so see what happens...

OH COME ON! THIS IS THE 21st CENTURY FOR CHRIST SAKES! THE AGE OF GOOGLE AND INTERNET AND OVER-SHARING! Someone MUST have done something like that somewhere before and posted data....any theories from anyone here?

40 degrees??? i keep mine at room temp. Which is kind of low, i might lay them beside my dubia colony for added warmth. Yeah, right now i'm overrun with pupa, and in 2 weeks i'm gonna be over run with beetles.

 

[latenighter]

Thanks everyone for the responses. Today I came home to 14 pupae!! I hav had 1 beetle since they arrived. Getting anxious for beetles so the mating can begin!!

 

[Varglet]

I'm getting impatient for beetles. Have over 100 pupae, but no beetles yet. But it has only been just under a week since I started getting pupae, so I understand it could take another couple weeks. Still impatient. I have mine in the laundry room between 75-85 degrees.

 

[Sidhe13]

Converting 75-85deg...24-29deg...yea that is about what it could be in my setup...maybe a bit higher since there is zero air flow in a wardrobe!

And when it has been a dry searing 40deg for several days with little to no cooling at night the bricks of the house get warmed up and then life gets real unpleasant....

 

[aart]

yea I remember my step-mum telling me "you will regret eating like that when you are older..." I had a lady in the shop tell me that it happens to us all after having kids... I was a tad offended because they are actually my step-kids

but I still blame them!


Well I had no pupae hatch for about a week, then BOOM! Constant hatching! Are they still in a nice warm, dark spot? I read that warmer temps speeds it up...but not over 40deg or they die...which is where we are currently struggling...

It would be interesting to see if there is just more pupating than hatching and it makes it LOOK like there is a distortion...perhaps if you had some little containers you could separate and date for a few days then see if they hatch in order....or vary the conditions so see what happens...

OH COME ON! THIS IS THE 21st CENTURY FOR CHRIST SAKES! THE AGE OF GOOGLE AND INTERNET AND OVER-SHARING! Someone MUST have done something like that somewhere before and posted data....any theories from anyone here?

Have you read the whole thread yet?

 

[dstinett]

I'm new to mealworms farming. I started my colony last Saturday with 1500. I can not find wheat bran anywhere near me. I have been to 3 feed stores. I currently have them in oatmeal. Is there a better alternative to wheat bran?

I use cornmeal

 

[drewskimac]

I use cornmeal

Many people say oats are better... If you are using oats, i would reccomend that you put them in a food processor.

 

[drewskimac]

I'm getting impatient for beetles. Have over 100 pupae, but no beetles yet. But it has only been just under a week since I started getting pupae, so I understand it could take another couple weeks. Still impatient. I have mine in the laundry room between 75-85 degrees.

There's no reason to get impatient... I don't expect a pupae to change into a beetle for at least two weeks. Of course there are exceptions, some pupae periods last 5 days and some last 20 days. Make sure it's not too dry, and not too cold. (And of course, not TOO humid, and not TOO hot.)

 

[Varglet]

Quote: I'm impatient simply because I don't like waiting. Not because I expect them to change faster. I have a thermometer/hygrometer in the laundry room, one of two I use in some incubators. I'm constantly going through the laundry room, because that's where the fridge and freezer are, plus the back door to get to the chicken pen, so I know the temps stay consistent (closer to 75 at night, around 80-85 during the day) and what the humidity is. I said in my post I understand it can take up to 3 weeks for them to change.

Trust me, I've done research. Every morning before I got them (around 3AM) because I couldn't sleep (back problems and such). I'm just an impatient person when I have nothing else to occupy my time.

 

[drewskimac]

I'm impatient simply because I don't like waiting. Not because I expect them to change faster. I have a thermometer/hygrometer in the laundry room, one of two I use in some incubators. I'm constantly going through the laundry room, because that's where the fridge and freezer are, plus the back door to get to the chicken pen, so I know the temps stay consistent (closer to 75 at night, around 80-85 during the day) and what the humidity is. I said in my post I understand it can take up to 3 weeks for them to change.

Trust me, I've done research. Every morning before I got them (around 3AM) because I couldn't sleep (back problems and such). I'm just an impatient person when I have nothing else to occupy my time.

Haha, i get impatient too... but just wait until you've got a few generations of those insects going at once, you're going to be over run with all different life stages