Can mealworms survive off of fruits/veggies alone?

[Eithman]

Every tutorial that I see suggests feeding them some kind of grain as their primary source of food but I am wondering if they could survive off of fruits and veggies alone? In addition to that, I often see people suggest apples, potatoes, celery, etc. But can meal worms also eat things like fresh leaves, grass, common backyard plants, etc? Just looking for ways to cut costs. Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Shevraeth]

The most common food I see recommended for mealworms is wheat bran, a very cheap byproduct from processing wheat, but it really serves as bedding too. My local Hy-vee (I'm in the Midwest) has organic wheat bran for $0.99/lb in the bulk section. You can also give them rolled oats or DRIED grass I think, as they really like warm, dry environments and fresh grass clippings might have too much moisture. You can mix this in with wheat bran like half and half, but again, they like it to be pretty dry.

Mealworms don’t drink water so they do need some wet-ish stuff like veggie scraps. You don’t want your habitat to get moist and nasty, so avoid wet stuff that rots fast. This might make it so they can't really survive on just fruits and veggies alone, but you can give them peels and rinds from all kinds of fruits and vegetables that you use in your own food preparation. Peel your veggies, including carrots, potatoes and sweet potatoes, cucumbers, squash, apples, and whatnot.

More knowledgeable folks might be able to chime in though!

 

[Eithman]

Would saw dust serve as a good bedding for them? Also, as long as I have a dry environment for the worms, is it required that they get wheat bran or something like that or is it possible to keep them alive and healthy on food scraps alone? The reason I ask is because I am going to start growing veggies indoors and if they can survive without any type of bran or wheat, then I could theoretically feed them for free and thus run the whole operation for free after the purchase of the first worms. Thanks for you help!

 

[Shevraeth]

Honestly, I don't even know. I raised them as a kid for lizard pets and we used grain substrate since that's where they naturally occur (hence the name mealworms). They eat a LOT, which is why we used the bran. They live in it and eat it, and then the veggies provided extra nutrition and their water. Sawdust doesn't provide that nutrition and I don't think they'll eat it anyway...? I've never tried though, so it might be something of a science experiment for you, if you're up for it! Maybe have two different groups going, one in a standard bran substrate with your veggies, and the other in a sawdust bedding with veggies. I'd be curious to see your findings! If it works, you're only out the initial $5 of bran or whatever

Hopefully someone else on here has tried before and can give you some advice!