Can chickens eat mealy worm beetles

[CovidtimeQuail]

I realize this is an old posting, but I wanted to clarify that the two beetles discussed are different. Both are technically "darkling beetles," but the pest type, Alphitobius diaperinus, is different than the pet store type, tenebrio molitor.

 

[MorbidAngel]

Darkling beetles (Alphitobius diaperinus) are a common problem in poultry facilities. The adults are black with hardened front wings and antennae that start under a ridge near the eyes. The larvae (referred to as lesser mealworms) are worm-like, about 2.5 cm long, and slightly hardened for burrowing. Both the larvae and beetles eat decaying leaves, sticks, grass, dead insects, feces, and grains. They can also feed on dead animals and are known to bite on the skin and drink the blood of turkeys and chickens (Harmon, 2012).

Darkling beetles can carry poultry diseases and internal parasites (Goodwin and Waltman, 1996). The beetles can be a source of infectious laryngotracheitis (Ou et al., 2012), infectious bursal disease (IBD), Newcastle disease, fowl pox, avian influenza, Clostridium, Salmonella (Roche et al., 2009), Campylobacter, and E. coli. Darkling beetles are also secondary hosts for roundworms and tapeworms (Adams, 1998). They also host different turkey diseases such as turkey enterovirus, rotavirus, and coronavirus (Harmon, 2012). They are also known reservoirs of Eimeria, the causative agent of coccidiosis (Goodwin and Waltman, 1996).

The larvae of darkling beetles can tunnel through insulation and wood, reducing their insulation effectiveness (Vaughan et al., 1984). Chickens will eat darkling beetles, but because of their low digestibility, the birds fill up with them rather than their feed—causing a reduction in production performance.

Monitoring
Darkling beetles are native to the tropics and do well in warm humid conditions, such as the inside of a poultry barn. They can be found most often under feed pans and feed lines where spilled feed is mixed with litter. Their life cycle depends on environmental conditions, but is typically 40-100 days. Darkling beetles multiply more quickly as the temperature increases. A single female can live for more than 12 months, laying up to 2,000 eggs over this time (Dunkley, 2010).

Weekly monitoring should be done by looking for beetles in the litter, under feeders, along the edges of caked litter, cracks and crevices, around equipment, under dead birds, and in insulation. It may be necessary to dig 2-3 inches deep in litter every 20-30 feet down the length of the building (Adams, 1998).

Traps can also be used to monitor darkling beetle populations (Adams, 1998). An example of a simple trap is to fill the inside of a 2-inch diameter, 10-12 inch long PVC pipe with rolled corrugated cardboard (same material used for brooder guards). Both the beetles and the larvae will crawl between the cardboard layers to hide. Drill holes at each end so that the pipe can be staked in place. They should be placed in the litter. Avoid the walls, feeders, and waterers since litter is usually tightly packed which discourages beetle infestation. For monitoring purposes, place at least three of these traps, evenly spaced, along the center line of each house.

The traps need to be checked at regular intervals for the numbers to be meaningful. Once a week or once every two weeks should be adequate. Remove the cardboard and count the number of beetles and larvae. If you cannot count the beetles and larvae at the time that the traps are collected, you can place the cardboard into a plastic bag and examine later. The cardboard should immediately be replaced and the trap put back in place. Be sure to record the numbers in a consistent way, e.g., as an average number of beetles per week for each house. While numbers of beetles in the trap cannot be related to numbers per square foot in the house, changes in trap counts over time are what is important.

Control
An integrated pest management (IPM) plan is required (Adams, 1998) for effective darkling beetle control. This would include cultural, biological, and mechanical control as well as the timely use of insecticides.

Keep the litter dry. This may include checking pipes and waterers for leaks. Prevent wet spots under waterers.
Clean up any spilled feed immediately.
Remove all the litter every 2-3 months.
Keep a down time between flocks of at least 2 weeks (all in, all out programs work best) and completely clean and disinfect the building and equipment between flocks.
If the litter is removed during the winter, allow the barn temperature to drop below 45°F, which will kill beetle eggs. All stages of the beetle are killed by temperatures below 30°F.
Make sure that any storage buildings on your property are free of beetles, as they can travel between buildings.
For dealing with an existing darkling beetle problem, there are organic alternatives to the chemicals used in conventional poultry production. For example, PyGanic Pro

and Evergreen

which are pyrethrum-based insecticides derived from chrysanthemums. Eco-Exempt

is a blend of plant oils used to control a broad spectrum of insects. An additional tool is balEnce

consisting of a carrier that attracts beetle adults and larvae, bringing them in contact with a species-specific fungus that attacks the beetles. This product is also effective to control other insects including flies, earwigs and hide beetles.

References and Citations
Adams, J. 1998. Vector Abatement Plan - Darkling Beetles. [Online]. In Poultry training manual, Chapter 10c. Clemson Cooperative Extension - Confined Animal Manure Manager Program. Clemson, SC. Available at: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/livestock/camm/poultry.html (verified 24 Jul 2014)
Dunkley, C. 2010. Broiler tip - Darkling beetles in poultry houses. [Online]. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service. Athens, GA. Available at: http://www.poultry.uga.edu/extension/tips/documents/0510BtipCD.pdf (verified 24 Jul 2014)
Goodwin, M. A. and W. D. Waltman. 1996. Transmission of Eimeria, viruses, and bacteria to chicks: Darkling beetles (Alphitobius diaperinus) as vectors of pathogens. Journal of Applied Poultry Research 5:51-55. Available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/japr/5.1.51 (verified 24 Jul 2014)
Harmon, B. G. 2012. Darkling beetle a huge avian disease threat. Feedstuffs magazine. January 9, 2012 pp. 16-17.
Ou, S.-C., J. J. Giambrone, and K. S. Macklin. 2012. Detection of infectious laryngotracheitis virus from darkling beetles and their immature stage (lesser mealworms) by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and virus isolation. Journal of Applied Poultry Research 21:33–88. Available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.3382/japr.2010-00314 (verified 24 Jul 2014)
Roche, A. J., N. A. Cox, L. J. Richardson, R. J. Buhr, J. A. Cason, B. D. Fairchild, and N. C. Hinkle. 2009. Transmission of Salmonella to broilers by contaminated larval and adult lesser mealworms, Alphitobius diaperinus (Coleptra: Tenebrionidae). Poultry Science 88:44–48. Available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.3382/ps.2008-00235 (verified 24 Jul 2014)
Vaughan, J. A., E. C. Turner Jr., and P. L. Ruszler. 1984. Infestation and damage of poultry house insulation by the lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer). Poultry Science 63:1094–1100. Available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.3382/ps.0631094 (verified 24 Jul 2014)

Thank you for doing the leg work for the rest of us. This was very informative.

 

[Perris]

Thank you for doing the leg work for the rest of us. This was very informative.

Hello @MorbidAngel , welcome to BYC

The posting you cited was informative and supported with references, but unfortunately was not, as @CovidtimeQuail pointed out, about tenebrio molitor, which is the darkling beetle that produces mealworms, which the original poster was asking about. So it is in fact a misleading post giving misinformation.

If you want to know about mealworms and the beetles that produce them, this is a reliable source https://mealwormcare.org/life-cycle/

 

[Al Gerhart]

Another point, commercial houses have dead chickens buried in the litter which the meal worms consume, passing along the disease that killed the chicken. Most chickens carry insane amounts of disease agents and something as simple as moving them from one farm to another limits their immune system just enough for the disease to break past the immune system. Which is why you always quarantine new birds for a week. That chick or poult or adult broiler that died and got churned under the deep litter is the problem in a commercial flock, not the meal worms.