Day 2 - Raising mealworms - I have questions

[jimmywalt]

Yesterday I went to Petco and purchased 500 large mealworms (they don't look very large to me, but what do I know?).

They are in a 10 gallon aquarium with a screened top. I put about a 1-1/2" layer of rolled oats in the bottom, then the worms, then about 1/2" more oats on the top. I also put in 4 baby carrots.

Last night we noticed that some were going right after the carrots. By this morning all 4 carrots (in different locations in the aquarium) had sunk into the oats. I'm guessing from all the worms eating them.

On the very top of the oats were hundreds of shed skins. Is this normal? Will they eat the skins or do I need to remove them all?

How long is the various stages of their lives?
How long before they go through the cycle and I will have more worms?
Do Beetles lay eggs their entire lives?
Is it ok to feed the chickens the live or dead beetles?
How long before this first batch will go to the pupa stage?
Is it better to keep them in a lighted room or darker room?

We fed the chickens about 6 worms last night and the ate them up fast!! We can't wait to have a couple thousand worms so that we can feed them by the handful to the chickens.

Thank you.

 

[BantamLover21]

Yesterday I went to Petco and purchased 500 large mealworms (they don't look very large to me, but what do I know?).

They are in a 10 gallon aquarium with a screened top. I put about a 1-1/2" layer of rolled oats in the bottom, then the worms, then about 1/2" more oats on the top. I also put in 4 baby carrots.

Last night we noticed that some were going right after the carrots. By this morning all 4 carrots (in different locations in the aquarium) had sunk into the oats. I'm guessing from all the worms eating them.

On the very top of the oats were hundreds of shed skins. Is this normal? Will they eat the skins or do I need to remove them all? They will eat at least some of them, and you don't have to remove them. If you want to, though, you can.

How long is the various stages of their lives? Mealworms generally exist 2-3 months before pupating. Pupae take about 2-4 weeks to hatch. Beetles live 1-2 months. At least, that is my experience.
How long before they go through the cycle and I will have more worms? From worm, to beetle, and back to worm again, it takes about 6 months, if I remember right.
Do Beetles lay eggs their entire lives? Yes.
Is it ok to feed the chickens the live or dead beetles? You can, but they probably won't like the beetles as much as the worms--they're not as soft and juicy looking.
How long before this first batch will go to the pupa stage? Some will probably begin pupating in 1-2 months.
Is it better to keep them in a lighted room or darker room? It doesn't matter. Studies have shown, though, that mealworms prefer the dark.

We fed the chickens about 6 worms last night and the ate them up fast!! We can't wait to have a couple thousand worms so that we can feed them by the handful to the chickens.

Thank you.

 

[chrissyr]

I bought some off the Internet. Probably about 3-4 weeks ago. I now have about 15 beetles, 40 pupa and started with 8000 worms (got 2 shipments) . Got large sized worms (NOT super worms) and mixed size the next time.I Got them all for about $40 including shipping. I didn't think I'd have beetles this fast, still have plenty of worms too

 

[MelissaTXRn]

http://www.sialis.org/raisingmealworms.htm
This is everything you need/want to know and more about raising mealworms. I started about 1 1/2 months ago and have tons of beetles now. I use wheat bran from the grocery store and carrots. I leave them all together in one container. Mine are thriving and my chicks love them. Good luck