Am I overthinking mealworms?

[player2]

My mealworm farm is getting going well enough that I'll soon be able to start feeding some to my chickens. If my feeding method is just tossing a handful in the run, I'm concerned about introducing a non-native insect species to my local environment if some of the larvae manage get away and develop into beetles. It makes me wonder if I should drop them on a piece of plywood or something so the mealworms don't have a chance to burrow into the substrate.

 

[MysteryChicken]

My mealworm farm is getting going well enough that I'll soon be able to start feeding some to my chickens. If my feeding method is just tossing a handful in the run, I'm concerned about introducing a non-native insect species to my local environment if some of the larvae manage get away and develop into beetles. It makes me wonder if I should drop them on a piece of plywood or something so the mealworms don't have a chance to burrow into the substrate.

I find mealworms out in our garden occasionally. So I don't see what you're concerned about? They exist in the wild.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

My mealworm farm is getting going well enough that I'll soon be able to start feeding some to my chickens. If my feeding method is just tossing a handful in the run, I'm concerned about introducing a non-native insect species to my local environment if some of the larvae manage get away and develop into beetles. It makes me wonder if I should drop them on a piece of plywood or something so the mealworms don't have a chance to burrow into the substrate.

Mealworms are the larvae of darkling beetles. While it is true they exist in nature, they are also considered potentially invasive. Mealworms and beetles usually only eat dry & decaying matter in nature, but are capable of eating live vegetation too.

I do raise mealworms, & can tell you the chickens snarf up the mealworms much faster than the worms can crawl away. If you were feeding live beetles, that could be a bigger cause for concern of escape since beetles move much faster. I like your idea of offering the mealworms on plywood so there is no chance of escape. Especially since your chickens will be appreciative of every last worm!

 

[Tonyroo]

I feed my chickens on bare compacted dirt or on my walking pavers.

 

[player2]

...I do raise mealworms, & can tell you the chickens snarf up the mealworms much faster than the worms can crawl away. If you were feeding live beetles, that could be a bigger cause for concern of escape since beetles move much faster....

Update: I've found this to be the case with the live mealworms. The chickens eat them up fast. If we've recently dumped grass clippings in the run, I do make sure to toss the mealworms on areas that the chickens have already scratched down to firmer substrate. A squirmy larvae can wriggle into loose grass almost instantly just like the oats they grew up in. The trick is timing the pinches of mealworms I toss so that less aggressive girls have a chance to get some while the bigger/aggressive ones are busy gobbling up theirs.

 

[Salixx]

I suspect you could also feed them in those cheap turkey roasting tins or some other shallow dish with a steep wall. I would do it more because I don't currently raise my own and those buggers are expensive - I don't want any to go anywhere except into my birds!

As for the invasive potential of the darkling beetle species (Tenebrio molitor)There's not a lot of apparent research on the invasiveness of Tenebrio molitor. I might be able to find more with some digging but it doesn't seem to a be an "in" thing. Most of the literature I saw with a Google Scholar search discussed their impact as a pest on grain and feed and their use as animal feed themselves. Unless there is a glaring gap among the scientific community, they probably aren't known to be invasive or environmentally detrimental. They certainly could escape, but my guess would be they are more under the "introduced" status. Not all introduced species become invasive. Generally they don't achieve large enough populations to cause considerable harm to a given ecosystem, they aren't able to outcompete similar native species for resources, the native predators/parasites/pathogens (or introduced ones) consume them at a rate that controls populations and/or the climate itself is not conducive to large populations.

My interest in grad school was invasive species management and it's something near and dear to me - both fascinating and devastating. It gives me hope that you thought about what they might do to the environment. So many folks don't seem to think about what they are putting out there. Thank you!

 

[player2]

I suspect you could also feed them in those cheap turkey roasting tins or some other shallow dish with a steep wall. I would do it more because I don't currently raise my own and those buggers are expensive - I don't want any to go anywhere except into my birds!

As for the invasive potential of the darkling beetle species (Tenebrio molitor)There's not a lot of apparent research on the invasiveness of Tenebrio molitor. I might be able to find more with some digging but it doesn't seem to a be an "in" thing. Most of the literature I saw with a Google Scholar search discussed their impact as a pest on grain and feed and their use as animal feed themselves. Unless there is a glaring gap among the scientific community, they probably aren't known to be invasive or environmentally detrimental. They certainly could escape, but my guess would be they are more under the "introduced" status. Not all introduced species become invasive. Generally they don't achieve large enough populations to cause considerable harm to a given ecosystem, they aren't able to outcompete similar native species for resources, the native predators/parasites/pathogens (or introduced ones) consume them at a rate that controls populations and/or the climate itself is not conducive to large populations.

My interest in grad school was invasive species management and it's something near and dear to me - both fascinating and devastating. It gives me hope that you thought about what they might do to the environment. So many folks don't seem to think about what they are putting out there. Thank you!

Wow, thanks for all the info and for providing a knowledgable perspective!