mealworm farm

[aart]

Will the beetles mate and lay eggs in cooler temps?
The beetles have been very active, but are starting to die off.
Started with 100 worms several months ago, got lots of pupation and beetles but not sure if they laid eggs or not as I think the temps might be too low(60-70) for them to hatch.
TIA

 

[rottnwarrior]

60-70 is ok they will still mate. Just slower. Between 70-90 seems to be best. The warmer they are the faster they move, eat, breed and grow. Even if all your beetles die off and the bin looks empty, keep it warm and leave it for a month or so. More than likely you'll check it after that and find that a mealworm bomb went off lol. I've got a small bin that I was sure was all done so I left it outside in the wind and rain and just over freezing temps. When I brought it in and let it warm for a couple weeks I saw there were probably a thousand or better in there. The less ya mess with them the better they do.

 

[aart]

60-70 is ok they will still mate. Just slower. Between 70-90 seems to be best. The warmer they are the faster they move, eat, breed and grow. Even if all your beetles die off and the bin looks empty, keep it warm and leave it for a month or so. More than likely you'll check it after that and find that a mealworm bomb went off lol. I've got a small bin that I was sure was all done so I left it outside in the wind and rain and just over freezing temps. When I brought it in and let it warm for a couple weeks I saw there were probably a thousand or better in there. The less ya mess with them the better they do.

Thanks, that's kinda what I thought.
I figured the eggs, if there are any, would stay alive but dormant in the cooler temps the same way the larvae(worms) can.

Will wait and try to put it in a warmer spot, but that's hard where I live and the way I manage my central heat, it's pretty low. Not sure I want to spend cash on a heating pad, but I might.

 

[rottnwarrior]

Heating pads make it too much of a chore for me. Maybe there is a warmer place in your house? On top of the fridge or something like that works good too. If you have a cable box they often times stay a little warmer. That's only if you want them to hurry up. If you're comfortable they will be fine. I guess I had better stop procrastinating and start sorting the dead bugs out of mine and give the chickens a feast.

 

[aart]

Heating pads make it too much of a chore for me. Maybe there is a warmer place in your house? On top of the fridge or something like that works good too. If you have a cable box they often times stay a little warmer. That's only if you want them to hurry up. If you're comfortable they will be fine. I guess I had better stop procrastinating and start sorting the dead bugs out of mine and give the chickens a feast.

Hmmm...that's a good idea, don't have cable box but there might be else in my house. Thanks.

 

[rottnwarrior]

Just went through one of my bins. It's a tiny bin, 13"x9" or so. I put 35 giant mealworms in there with cornmeal and oatmeal and walked away from it months ago. It's been in a cool spot ever since, probably around 60 degrees, often times easily into the 50's. I put some veggies in then but haven't since. I'll bet there are over a thousand in here now. I'm waiting for the rest of the live stuff to dig down so I can get the rest of the dead off the top of the fresh meal and then I'm putting them on the shelf up high so they can really take off for spring.

 

[aart]

Just went through one of my bins. It's a tiny bin, 13"x9" or so. I put 35 giant mealworms in there with cornmeal and oatmeal and walked away from it months ago. It's been in a cool spot ever since, probably around 60 degrees, often times easily into the 50's. I put some veggies in then but haven't since. I'll bet there are over a thousand in here now. I'm waiting for the rest of the live stuff to dig down so I can get the rest of the dead off the top of the fresh meal and then I'm putting them on the shelf up high so they can really take off for spring.

'Giant mealworms'....regular mealworms just large ones or a different species?

So you started with larvae, and they went thru pupation, beetles, eggs and now tons of larvae again...at 50-60 degrees?
Cool...literally!!!

 

[rottnwarrior]

Theres a lot of confusion about those actually. There are "super" worms, which are a different species and while huge they are a pain to raise and not worth it I fed my whole bin to the chickens. Then "giant" worms are the same as regular mealworms just very big. Some people think they can't breed, but as we see now, they do just fine. And yeah it was cool! Yes I got a pack of 35 from petco and dumped them in as an experiment and they clearly went through the whole cycle a few times. Can't wait to see how the big bin of regular ones has done.

 

[tadaen sylverma]

I havn't an experience to share as I'm learning how and what to do. Have 4 birds and plan on a handful more for eggs / pets (gave up on the 30+ meat farming idea). Have been avidly reading these threads, this one and the one on fodder in particular. For mealworms which do you feed the chickens. Beetle stage or worm stage? I've got a way to go yet in getting it established but would like to hit the ground running.

 

[aart]

I fed all the dead beetles to the chooks, they gobbled them up...and once I get a decent colony of larvae(worms) I'll feed some of those too.