Mealworm farming

[buttercup95]

Whoa I didn't pay half that for my mealworms...

 

[MalMom]

http://www.exoticnutrition.com

sale on live mealworms!!! I got mine from here and they were all alive and healthy.

Those sale prices are expensive. I got 1,000 for like $8 I think? All of mine were alive, and although I didn't count out 1,000, I think there were a LOT more than that in the container.

 

[buttercup95]

Those sale prices are expensive. I got 1,000 for like $8 I think? All of mine were alive, and although I didn't count out 1,000, I think there were a LOT more than that in the container.

Yeah I only paid around 9 dollars for mine that I bought on ebay

 

[DHinton]

Awesome! Thank you DHinton. Did you have to pick them up at the post office?

i didn't have to; but, since there was that option - i asked them to hold it at ups/fedex (i THINK it was ups they delivered by); just to avoid them being in the heat all day.



Dwayne

 

[chrissyr]

I don't think it's overloaded at all. Keep in mind that they do better with higher population densities. The number of eggs a female will lay will depend, in part, on the number of mates she acquires. That number will increase with greater population densities. Probably even more importantly, the colony performs better at higher densities. Fresh vegetables are consumed faster with less waste. This reduces the chances of vegetable spoilage and all the problems that can bring. Just be sure to provide fairly consistent access to fresh vegetables when you have so many active beetles.

As far as how many to harvest, that will largely depend on your individual circumstances and you might have to experiment a bit. But with 200 beetles, I'd probably start feeding out a few of the worms just for the fun of it.

Hi Gallo del Cielo,
I've read your page on the one bin system, and thank you for all of your information. It's been so helpful! It totally makes sense that the colony would function better at a higher rate. Never thought of it like that before
Couple questions though: 1) in one bin, with all of those beetles, do you feed beetles too? Or do you separate them before feeding? Seems like a waste to feed beetles and I'd worry they would make a nest in my coop if they got away. With so many beetles, feels kind of hard to pick them all out. I've tried different sifters, and either one is too small and won't let bran drop. Or I have to hurry with the other one so the worms don't find the holes (that one is more like a spaghetti strainer).
2)What are the best sifters for this project?
I am getting over the squeamish with the worms, but those little beetles scurry fast!! They give me the eebie jeebies, but I'm hoping i'll get used to them too

Thank you everyone for all of the input here! Learning so much!

 

[chrissyr]

Awesome! Thank you DHinton. Did you have to pick them up at the post office?

I used rainbowmealworms and had them shipped to my house. They don't guarantee they'll arrive in good shape in high temps to your home, but I did it. They ask you ship them to your post office or fed ex.
BUT, I live in Ca and they estimated shipping of 2 days.
**Important note: I was waiting by my mailbox when my postman arrived. I didn't let them sit out there at all. I think that's what they're worried about. AND, I checked for the coolest weather of the week. Both my shipments I waiting for temps to drop to low 90's. **
My second shipment took 3 days because their post office had a power outage and was shut down. They refunded me shipping costs and said to call if there were issues. They were all in great shape still!

 

[buttercup95]

I used rainbowmealworms and had them shipped to my house. They don't guarantee they'll arrive in good shape in high temps to your home, but I did it. They ask you ship them to your post office or fed ex.
BUT, I live in Ca and they estimated shipping of 2 days.
**Important note: I was waiting by my mailbox when my postman arrived. I didn't let them sit out there at all. I think that's what they're worried about. AND, I checked for the coolest weather of the week. Both my shipments I waiting for temps to drop to low 90's. **
My second shipment took 3 days because their post office had a power outage and was shut down. They refunded me shipping costs and said to call if there were issues. They were all in great shape still!

Hey what size did you buy from rainbow mealworms? I was going to buy the giant ones but was told they don't grow like normal mealworms is this true or did you just buy the large ones also?

 

[locoguru]

I was so excited last night. Looked in the bottom of my box that my superworm beetles are in and there were tiny worms crawling around WHOO HOO!

 

[chrissyr]

I didn

...

Hey what size did you buy from rainbow mealworms? I was going to buy the giant ones but was told they don't grow like normal mealworms is this true or did you just buy the large ones also?
[/qu
I didn't buy giant because I heard the same. Just regular ones, think they are just labeled "mealworms in bulk" . I got mixed sized so I have different ages turning into beetles at different times. On the regular mealies you can choose small, medium or large

 

[AliNaz]

Thank you Dwayne and Chrissyr! I feel much better about ordering now

.