Mealworm farming

[OkChickens]

Do anyone buy the GIANTS Only? I cant seem to find a good amount of Giants.

Do the Giants eat the medium and smaller ones or don't have to worry about that?

I believe the Giant/ superworms are treated with a chemical to prevent them from Pupating. They just grow large in size. I bought my worms from nyworms.com and bought the large size. I have noticed that the beetles will eat the dead worms or Pupa in the colony. I am starting to see halves of them.

Nate

 

[hannakat]

Sounds like you're doing it right In21ce.

Pupae do not eat and really don't need substrate either. The only reason to keep some substrate in there would be for the beetles once the pupae morph. I check my pupae 'nursery' every day and move any that morphed. For the past 3 months, pupae mortality has been less than 1%. Yippee!!!






Originally Posted by In2Ice

My worms I ordered online and got last week are already starting to turn to Pupae. When I separate the Pupae from the worms, do I need to provide food or moisture to the Pupae or just leave them alone until they turn to beetles? I have a very thin layer of wheat bran in the drawer that I am putting the Pupae in. It it barely covers the bottom of the drawer. Is that enough? I don't think they eat or do anything in this stage of life right?

 

[hannakat]

gavinandallison ~ I've never seen live mealworms at our local Petsmart..... maybe try a bait store or order them on line.

SteveBaz ~ You might want to do some research before combining giants with mealworms. They don't pupate unless you separate them individually (If I remember correctly).

Nate ~ Yea....the beetles will munch a few pupae and eat dead worms and dead beetles. The worms do not eat dead beetles but I'm not sure whether or not they munch pupae, but off hand, I'd say they do not.

Amy ~ Love ~ LOVE your updates!

Onafixedincome ~ My condolences on the beetle loss...sorry to hear it.

 

[wolftracks]

Do anyone buy the GIANTS Only? I cant seem to find a good amount of Giants.

Do the Giants eat the medium and smaller ones or don't have to worry about that?

I'm starting over cause the giants just kept getting bigger and then died. If you get them to go, I want details. I bought mine in the sporting department at Walmart. Might have been another reason they didn't take off.

I still have 2 containers sitting here empty. My arm has been throbbing since I broke it and people tend to want to walk into me in stores, so I've held off. Keep telling myself to hurry up and go get more worms. I get a full cast on friday, so maybe once that's on, getting clobbered won't hurt as bad. LOL Then again, there are so many bait shops near me.

My first container has oats. Should I add anthing else to it? Second container has 30% Gamebird grower. I'm leaving that one alone for now to see how they do in there.

 

[galanie]

I'm starting over cause the giants just kept getting bigger and then died. If you get them to go, I want details. I bought mine in the sporting department at Walmart. Might have been another reason they didn't take off.

I still have 2 containers sitting here empty. My arm has been throbbing since I broke it and people tend to want to walk into me in stores, so I've held off. Keep telling myself to hurry up and go get more worms. I get a full cast on friday, so maybe once that's on, getting clobbered won't hurt as bad. LOL Then again, there are so many bait shops near me.

My first container has oats. Should I add anthing else to it? Second container has 30% Gamebird grower. I'm leaving that one alone for now to see how they do in there.

Sounds like you've got a good start now Wolftracks. Just plain rolled oats should be fine and the gamebird starter sounds ok too. Just make sure the gamebird mix doesn't get wet. Sorry about your arm! That's the way it always works though, when something is injured, THAT'S what everyone accidentally bumps.

 

[binders]

....the beetles will munch a few pupae and eat dead worms and dead beetles. The worms do not eat dead beetles but I'm not sure whether or not they munch pupae, but off hand, I'd say they do not.

From my experience the worms will also munch on the pupae. I usually serarate out the pupae but sometimes they will be in with the worms too long and I will find empty or partial pupae. There are no bettles in the bin so it can only be the worms. That is one of the reasons I separate them. Another reason is because it is fun to do. Like digging for potatoes.

 

[SteveBaz]

I grow red wigglers and African night crawlers and see millworms in with them all the time. Is there any reason I cant just throw them in my millworm tank????

 

[Emily1220]

I am seeing lots of eggs now that I know what to look for!! But so far have not seen any tiny wormies. And yes, I use a magnifying glass!! LOL!! I want to see them ASAP!!! Is there any kind of limit to how many beetles should be in a bin?? I have several hundred beetles in a drawer and am thinking I need to split them up a bit.

 

[OkChickens]

I just got another 3 bin box and I put my Beetles in 2 or the 3 drawers. I still have a few worms still left to Pupate but maybe 10 in each drawer. Maybe 30 total.

Here are my Beetle Drawers


The addition to the Colony.


I was at Walmart the 2 days ago and the gray one was on clearance for $9.99. It was the Only one left so I got it. The regular price is like $18.50 I think. I'm glad I got it. I have a BUNCH of Beetles now. Do I have to many Beetles in the 1st drawer?

Nate

 

[bloom_ss]

So, does anyone else with the 3 drawer system that has the screening on the bottom of the top drawer have problems with all of the wheat bran continually dropping down to the middle drawer?? Do you just keep adding wheat bran to the top drawer as it empties, or is there a better way (like rolled oats or something that won't fall through the screen)?? Seriously, my middle drawer keeps getting fuller and fuller and the top drawer is almost always out of wheat bran.