All beetles, no mealworms. WHY?

[jennh]

It's good to see so many different opinions. I ONLY use apples, have used them for at least ten years, and have never had a problem with mold. Maybe it's the type of bedding one uses?

JMHO,
Jen

 

[capayvalleychick]

Quote:
I'm late getting in on this discussion, but did you ever get any baby mealworms from your beetles?

I'm wondering because I ordered 10,000 mealworms last year in early November. I fed half of them to my flock and set up breeding tubs for the rest. Had tons of pupae and masses of beetles. They have been beetles for months, most of them are dying of old age. There are NO new mealworms in any of the tubs. I've done everything recommended for breeding them successfully. I contacted the company where I bought the mealworms (Rainbow) and did not receive a reply. It seems like I should be seeing some baby mealworms by now.

Kim

 

[Nutcase]

I've never bred the beetles before although I have raised them from mealworms. Does anyone have any photos of the eggs? I'm planning on getting mealworms for breeding but I don't actually know what the eggs look like? At least describe them if you don't have any photos.

 

[chickbird]

the worms are like fine threads initially and the eggs are so small they are difficult tp see. put a piece of brown paper sack on the top of the meal and put some irish potato peelings and the larger worms will come up out of the meal bran.

 

[trufadog]

I bought meal worms in January maybe. All my worms have turned to pupa and most of those pupa are now beetles. I can't see any babies yet but I did take all the beetles and moved the bedding to another bin so in case there are eggs, they can't eat them. We are concerned that maybe all our beetles are sterile. How long does it take from becoming a beetle to seeing baby worms? Thank you!

 

[Karibaman]

I have recently tried to breed mealworms for my fish and chickens. I used the 3 box method but have ended up with plenty of darklings and no eggs opr fresh mealworms. I keep the boxes in a dark warm cupboard and check them every 2 days. It has been over 2 months since the darklings hatched and i cannot find one new worm. What am i doing wrong

 

[pjag]

I am having the same problem. Lots and lots of darkling beetles and only 4 larva right now. When I check them in a few days, those larva will be pupa and I might have another 4 worms big enough to move to my worm bin. My home is quite cool,, about 68 degrees F. They should be warm enough. I have the boxes stacked on top of my brooder. They get any heat that rises from the brooder as well as the heat lamp for a while every day. I keep the stack of boxes covered by a thick towel so it is dark for them.
I suspect that my beetles are eating their eggs and/or tiny mealworms. I just made a new box with a mesh bottom hoping the eggs will drop down to the container underneath. My son is bringing my grandsons microscope over tomorrow so we can looking see if we have eggs
Any other ideas would be helpful.

 

[Rodtamura]

How warm is your worm farm?? The cycle slows down when the temperature gets too low, and their activity really picks up when the farm's warm. I've got mine on the counter for now and the worms are very active, and lots are pupating. Once you have beetles, another cycle is starting, so you may have a whole bunch of eggs in there ready to erupt any time. You could easily find yourself with hundreds of worms all at once,...(lucky chooks!)

I call B S on the eggs. Been jacking around with thesecthings since beginning of the last week of December. Pupae - yes, beetles - yes, eggs - none, zip, midday, zero, not a one (so of course no “new” worms.

 

[Rodtamura]

You just have to wait the cycle out....
the beetles will lay the eggs and baby mealworms will be born....

“Just wait the cycle out”???? What kind of crap is that? That’s. B S for “Duh, I don’t know”. I’v been “waiting the cycle out” since the beginning of the last week of December, not one egg or new worm. Why are there so many of you people BSing and telling others how easy it is, how great your doing with “farming” mealworms and and how how all are consistently getting hundreds and thousands of eggs and baby worms.

 

[Rodtamura]

I am getting some also, so any information is appreciated! Where do you get the wheat bran?

Catherine

Save your time and buy your worms from a commercial mealworm outfit. Raising your own is nowhere near as easy as these people all let on, they will all tell you to do different things/different ways and how soon you’ll have hundreds or even thousands of worms. They are LYING. I’ve separated, not separated, used 2 bins, three bins, four bins. I’ve used out meal, wheat bran etc., etc., etc. Change out ALL the food every 2 days, 3 days, etc., maintain temp and humidity within certain ranges, etc., Haven’t seen one single egg OR new worm. NOT ONE. And yes, I know they are tiny I use a magnifying glass to look for them every two days.