Mealworm farming

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: When i do sell some, its for an 8 oz cup, approximately 1,000 worms for $15. but with my total flock nearing 40, my daughters sugar gliders, our 2 oscars, i will probably not sell any more until I get a few more bins set up.

 

[Tonkasmum]

Grrr... I have a bad feeling I got the "treated" worms at Petco. They were large (I don't think they said "giant" or whatnot on the can, MAY have said Superworms)... have had them well over 3 weeks now... no beetles that I can see. A few dead worms, but live ones in there too. Grrrr...

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I picked up 4 LONG totes on clearance for $4 each. I will make 2 more stacked farms. I have LEARNED not to use NYLON window screen. They eat it. I need to harvest some metal screen from some doors and replace it with the NYLON

Hehehe! yes i did that too, oops!

 

[LaBella]

Grrr... I have a bad feeling I got the "treated" worms at Petco. They were large (I don't think they said "giant" or whatnot on the can, MAY have said Superworms)... have had them well over 3 weeks now... no beetles that I can see. A few dead worms, but live ones in there too. Grrrr...

If you got super worms from Petco, they are not the treated ones, they are a totally different species. These ones will not pupate unless they're isolated, and they take longer to mature. You can use film canisters, that can be usually gotten free at walmart photocenter, or any pharmacy chain photocenter, or you can use some kind of multi compartment storage for nails and screws or beads.
Put the worms in the container without any substrate, and they should start curling up and pupate within a week. The superworms are great in that they'll stay worms for up several months without pupating making them "last" longer. The treated ones are the giant mealworms. They won't ever pupate.
You also cannot refrigerate superworms, they'll die from the cold.

 

[Chicks Galore3]

Ok- I took maybe a 100 beetles out- don't know how to tell the difference. They look alike! I don't know how many invaders there are. I have them set up in a layer of oatmeal and some carrots. I have them in a clear plastic bin with a lid with drilled holes. Can beetles fly?

 

[Tonkasmum]

If you got super worms from Petco, they are not the treated ones, they are a totally different species. These ones will not pupate unless they're isolated, and they take longer to mature. You can use film canisters, that can be usually gotten free at walmart photocenter, or any pharmacy chain photocenter, or you can use some kind of multi compartment storage for nails and screws or beads.
Put the worms in the container without any substrate, and they should start curling up and pupate within a week. The superworms are great in that they'll stay worms for up several months without pupating making them "last" longer. The treated ones are the giant mealworms. They won't ever pupate.
You also cannot refrigerate superworms, they'll die from the cold.

Thank you so much! I still think I may invest in a restart on my colony, on the lookout for a 5-gal aquarium, then I'll order mealies from online.

 

[Chicks Galore3]

ah-ha! After a closer inspection of the beetles, they look like the ones Gallo Ciello Deo (I think...) posted a link too. Should I take these beetles out, discard of them, and put the good beetles into another container, dump the bran, clean the tank, and put in new bedding?

 

[LaBella]

Thank you so much! I still think I may invest in a restart on my colony, on the lookout for a 5-gal aquarium, then I'll order mealies from online.

Yeah, I didn't get much investment back on my superworms. I got maybe three generations out of them, but they took longer to grow and they didn't breed as much. Maybe I did something wrong, I don't know.
Do you have a local freecycle? Nothing is better than free, and if you're not worried about it leaking, even the better. Along the same size of a 5 gallon tank is the "shoe box" sterlite bins.
The only thing is that they multiply so fast, you may find yourself wishing you;d started with a larger container, lol.

 

[Tikkajazz94]

I've been looking online for Canadian Deli Containers for selling mealworms. When I ran into a website selling biodegradable containers. Here's the link: http://www.cagreen.ca/0-63 The only thing is that its a corn product and they might eat it!

 

[Chicks Galore3]

What is the highest tempature a mealworm can stand?