Mealworm farming

[snakes]

Yep, a people one. Like others have noted, keep it on low.

I use a people heating pad without any problems. I put it on the low setting. Since heat rises and the substrate absorbs and holds heat, you don't want it on any higher setting or you'll risk cooking them!

I also use a heating pad to make yogurt. On the medium setting, it gets hot enough to keep the yogurt at 110 degrees. You don't want the substrate getting that hot.

I found one of those coffee mug warmers, essentially a hot plate, to keep the colony warm. Over the past 2+ days, they've laid less than five eggs. Today I've seen none at all. Temps in the beetle drawer have been kept at 80-85F and they have carrots and potatoes for moisture.

They're definitely more active at the higher temps, running around twice as fast with a couple even trying to fly, but no eggs.

 

[1stACT]

I found one of those coffee mug warmers, essentially a hot plate, to keep the colony warm. Over the past 2+ days, they've laid less than five eggs. Today I've seen none at all. Temps in the beetle drawer have been kept at 80-85F and they have carrots and potatoes for moisture.

They're definitely more active at the higher temps, running around twice as fast with a couple even trying to fly, but no eggs.

>>Over the past 2+ days, they've laid less than five eggs.
How in the heck can you see the eggs let alone count them??

 

[Chickengirl1304]

Ok so my first few pupas turned into beetles, and I see they have wings?! I thought they were flightless? Omg

 

[1stACT]

Ok so my first few pupas turned into beetles, and I see they have wings?! I thought they were flightless? Omg

No need to worry... they wont fly

 

[snakes]

>>Over the past 2+ days, they've laid less than five eggs.
How in the heck can you see the eggs let alone count them??

I empty the contents of the drawer below the beetle bin into another container everyday. The beetle bin has screen on the bottom.

 

[1stACT]

I empty the contents of the drawer below the beetle bin into another container everyday. The beetle bin has screen on the bottom.

What are you using for substrate? Bran, oatmeal? I have the same setup as you (screen on the bottom of the beetle bin), but between the beetle poo and small grains of bran sifting through, I couldn't begin to see the eggs. You must be using a very good magnifying glass.

 

[snakes]

What are you using for substrate? Bran, oatmeal? I have the same setup as you (screen on the bottom of the beetle bin), but between the beetle poo and small grains of bran sifting through, I couldn't begin to see the eggs. You must be using a very good magnifying glass.

Oatmeal.

Emptying the bin everyday makes it very easy to see the eggs.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I'm using the Sterilite three drawer bin system. The beetle drawer has a piece of window screen glued to the bottom. I keep the drawer below it empty (diverting the contents into another drawer) so I can monitor the egg production on a daily basis.



The moral of the story is my egg production doesn't seem very good. Mid-December I was seeing about 40 eggs on a daily basis. Now, it's about 20 per day. This despite having 100-125 beetles who are active and mating throughout the day. Lower temps indoors (70-75F) and lower humidity due to the furnace running may have something to do with it. I live in a warmer climate though, so the furnace only runs about an hour per day. Definitely drier than the summer months, but not that dry.



I've been providing lots of carrots and apples for the beetles and a sopping wet paper towel on a plastic lid to raise the humidity.



Thoughts/suggestions?

Is this the first batch of beetles to mature from your original purchase of larvae? I wonder if your beetles are just aging, the timing would be about right. Egg production of an individual beetle declines over time. I also agree wholeheartedly with what the others have said about added moisture. In the long run it creates more trouble than any benefit in increased production. I live in a very dry climate where RH is typically measured in single digits and I don't have problems. Using vegetables as your moisture source will cause fewer problems.

 

[snakes]

Is this the first batch of beetles to mature from your original purchase of larvae? I wonder if your beetles are just aging, the timing would be about right. Egg production of an individual beetle declines over time. I also agree wholeheartedly with what the others have said about added moisture. In the long run it creates more trouble than any benefit in increased production. I live in a very dry climate where RH is typically measured in single digits and I don't have problems. Using vegetables as your moisture source will cause fewer problems.

Yes. I forget the exact number now but I had 100-125 beetles that "hatched" within a week of each other. The beetles are about a month old. Egg production spiked about a week later and has tapered off ever since.

However, so far today approx. 25 new eggs have fallen through which is good news. Maybe it takes a few days of higher temperatures to get their metabolism up?

 

[snakes]

A question for those with the 3-bin Sterilite colony like we've been talking about.

Could you estimate how many mealworms you get relative to the number of beetles? I've kept a very rough count of eggs and in one month, there's been maybe 800-1000 eggs total with 100-125 beetles. This seems very low to me.

The reason I added a wet paper towel on a plastic lid -- away from oatmeal exposure -- is because of what I read on a website about raising mealworms. It says the following: "Beetles lay more eggs when the relative humidity is higher - ideally 70% (55-80% is good). In one experiment, at a relative humidity (R.H.) of 20%, beetles laid an average of 4 eggs each, but at 65 percent R.H., they laid an average of 102 eggs each."

http://www.sialis.org/raisingmealworms.htm

The humidity is very low in my house because of the furnace running. I know this because of the frequent static electricity shocks I get. Most sources say that static electricity becomes prominent when the R.H. drops below 20-30%.

I totally hear what you guys are saying about mite infestations on account of trying to increase the humidity, but if the above is true, I'm not sure what else to do if I want lots of eggs?