Mealworm farming

[Emily1220]

My beetles are "hatching"... woohooo for me... The bin with the small worms started hatching out beetles one at a time here and there.. The bin with the larger worms all turned into the pupua thingys all at once.. most of them anyway.. Then just a bit ago I checked on them and there were big brown beetles walking around..
Worms are ok.. the beetles are giving me the creepy crawlys.. Hopefully I can get past that..

How long after they turn into beetles will the beetles lay eggs??

Also.. the first bin is of smaller worms, so the beetles are smaller... Obviously, they will lay smaller eggs.... Will the worms that come out of this also be and stay smaller?? how do I get them to grow to a better size before they turn into the alien looking things??

Personaly, im thinking of just canning the small worm bin and just going with the larger ones...

At first the beetles bothered me too but I bit the bullet and picked up a newly hatched white one thinking it was the most 'innocent' of them, and realized they actually tickle the palm of my hand. Now they dont bother me at all. And I hate bugs in my house! Now, these dont bother me at all in here.

 

[SteveBaz]

Here is a good page on the life cycle

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/beetles/mealworm/mealwormlifecycle.shtml

Outstanding explanation to the beetle cycle. Thanks but should I remove them when they turn black and feed them to the girls for the life span is over or soon to be? Is the larva what we are feeding the girls or the beetles or both? How much at a time? How many times a week for 10 hens? How many I must have 3000 now or maybe more? When I take a handful 15 to 25 the girls just go absolutely nuts is an understatement!!!!!!

 

[Kori]

I see others who have opted to raise some kind of cockroach instead of meal worms. Of the two, I have no plans on raising an insect I can't stand in or around my house -- so cockroaches are out. Even if I would get a lot of pleasure out of seeing the chickens consume the nasty critters. I figure I've chosen the lesser of two "evils." Besides mealworms aren't that bad an option when you really think about it. Now fly maggots...that would peak my gross-out meter!

i agree completly.............im an a 11 year old girl and naturally i hate cockroaches and im not ambaressed at all to say i scream when i see one!

(thats as close as i could find for screaming)

 

[galanie]

Outstanding explanation to the beetle cycle. Thanks but should I remove them when they turn black and feed them to the girls for the life span is over or soon to be? Is the larva what we are feeding the girls or the beetles or both? How much at a time? How many times a week for 10 hens?  How many I must have 3000 now or maybe more? When I take a handful 15 to 25 the girls just go absolutely nuts is an understatement!!!!!!

Since beetles are black while alive and breeding, I just wait until they are indeed Former Insects to take them out. And they can fool you by playing dead for a minute. As for absolute numbers, I don't think anyone can say. I don't feed beetles at all. Those are the ones laying the eggs. I just feed the worms. If I want to spend time doing something picky, I'll pick out the dead beetles but it hurts nothing just to leave them in there.

 

[Chicks Galore3]

Alica M. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW oh ew ew ew ew ew! I guess if i wanna raise 'em i better get used to it!

 

[Ivywoods]

I went ahead and ordered some of that "Cricket Quencher" stuff today. I wanted to try it. It says you shouldn't re-use it (such as rehydrate it and use it over and over) because of bacteria build up. I think what I will do is put it on a plastic lid and then put some sort of "cage" over it so as to create a little place they can crawl into and get a drink. I think that will help keep it from drying out as fast and hopefully it will last longer. I just worry about not getting enough moisture in there for them. I've been pretty good about it so far, but I'm going to be having some major surgery on my knee (total knee replacement) and I don't know how diligent I will be about it then. I don't want someone else to have to worry about it while I'm in the hospital, either.

I don't have very many worms left in there. They have almost all turned into pupa and beatles.

 

[Scooter&Suzie]

Found my first two beetles today! YAHOOOO!!!

 

[AliciaM]

The beetles in my first bin are like half the size smaller than the beetles in my second bin.... And not as many... Could I put the smaller ones in with the bigger ones? Then I could consolidate my bins..

Also.. how long after they turn into beetles do they begin to lay eggs?

 

[SherrieT]

Out of 5000 worms I now have just beetles and pupa!!! Incredible how fast it happened.Can't wait to see the baby worms

 

[ajlynco]

What kind of stores sell mealworms suitable for breeding, I don't want to order thru the mail? I live in Reno so we have plenty of retail here.