Mealworm cycle issue [feed for the chooks]

[UrbanFarmer44]

Hi all,
I've struggled to find any answers through Google and other sites so I thought I'd try here and see if anyone has some experience or advice.

I currently have about 500 beetles that 'grew up' from mealworms that I bought. That life cycle went fast and within a couple of weeks they had become the beetles. Since then I have been waiting about 9 weeks for them to lay eggs and been carefully looking for other signs of life in their trays besides themselves but nothing! I was told they generally lay in the first month and babies should be visible by now so I'm getting a bit worried that I'm doing something wrong.

Containment; 3 plastic trays with holes at the top for circulation - a mix of wheat bran/oats [changed 1x a month] with sliced carrots [being replaced 2x a week] living in my shed so a darkish environment and an av. temp. of 20 degrees Celsius. They also have egg cartons to hide under.

Am I doing something wrong or am I just not patient enough? The girls are missing their treats lol

 

[HeartsDelight]

If you fully change the bedding monthly, you are throwing out eggs and micro-larvae each time you do.

The (microscopic) eggs develop and hatch in the frass later and the youngsters stay down there until they are about 1/2 long.