Mealworm farming

[Gallo del Cielo]

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?

Yes, it's very true that with more available moisture, reproductive output will increase. This moisture can come in the form of humidity, which the larvae can extract from the air or contained within vegetables, which both larvae and beetles eat. This is why people in very dry climates have perfectly good production--as long as they have consistent access to vegetables with moisture, they'll be able to get all the water they need. With a constant source of vegetables, the humidity at the surface level of the colony will be higher than the ambient humidity in the room, even with no lid. If you add too much moisture so that the ambient humidity exceeds 65% then you run the risk of a mite infestation. So, my point is that they can get all the moisture they need from the vegetables without suffering any of the risks of adding water. Do your beetles have consistent access to fresh vegetables? I suspect your beetles are getting old and cold. Let us know how your production works since you've increased the temps.

 

[kwol]

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?

I have never tried to count the eggs. When I first got started I would check the second drawer a lot for pupae. I have learned that it is a matter of waiting and it seems like forever until you see that first little tiny worm, or by chance see the substrate churning and see a mass of little wriggly ones beneath. It took me at least three generations before I got any significant numbers.

 

[azygous]

That's a great point about beetles getting all the moisture they need from veggies. I grow my own carrots, and I save back all the tiny ones, an inch long, and every two or three days, I put a new one into each beetle and worm tray. This doesn't add moisture to the substrate, but the worms and beetles swarm the carrots whenever they get a new one. It's sucked down to a desiccated husk in no time. But I don't have trouble with mites. The time I placed a damp paper towel on a plastic lid onto the substrate was when I had mite troubles.

I use my third drawer for beetles, in addition to the top drawer, since the third drawer has no drawer beneath it for the eggs to fall into, like the top drawer, I periodically strain out the eggs. I am getting LOTS of eggs.

When you have mites, you'll be happy to go back to just using baby carrots.

 

[Tilted WindMill]

Glad to see the thread is alive and well. I purchased 200 worms and they threw in some beetles and larva. No eggs. I have only sifted once. Thanks for all the posts about how long it takes to see newly hatched worms. I was getting worried. I picked them up before Christmas and have the beetles separated from the worms and pupa.

 

[snakes]

Has anyone had trouble with pupae dying off in large numbers? This latest round I've lost about 75% of them which amounts to well over a hundred. They look fine until about 1 week into the pupal stage when they turn black. Some are dry and some are squishy when I pick them out.

They've been kept at room temperature (70-75F) the entire time.

EDIT: One thing I forgot to mention is the beetles born from this batch -- the ones not dying as pupae -- are dying within 2-3 days. Pupal stage looks completely normal. They hatch without issue but die while still medium brown in color.

 

[azygous]

Gosh, Snakes, you sure are having a terrible time with your worm farm. I sympathize, but I don't have any solution to your problem.

I'm stopping by to present a problem of my own, and it may or may not be related to yours. I inspected a tray of eggs that should have produced thousands of larvae by this time. Yet when I sifted through the substrate, I was only able to find a small hand full, and not even literally that. I know I had thousands of eggs because I saw them as I transferred them from the tray under the beetles into this larger tray in order to hatch.

Would anyone know why eggs might not want to hatch? Unlike Snakes' farm, all my beetles, pupae and larvae all seem healthy without any large die-offs beyond the normal attrition among the older beetles. They've been kept by the wood stove so they're all nice and cozy. All trays get carrots on a pretty regular basis.

 

[kwol]

Has anyone had trouble with pupae dying off in large numbers? This latest round I've lost about 75% of them which amounts to well over a hundred. They look fine until about 1 week into the pupal stage when they turn black. Some are dry and some are squishy when I pick them out.

They've been kept at room temperature (70-75F) the entire time.

EDIT: One thing I forgot to mention is the beetles born from this batch -- the ones not dying as pupae -- are dying within 2-3 days. Pupal stage looks completely normal. They hatch without issue but die while still medium brown in color.

I had that problem to some extent when I had temps as low as what you are reporting. Mine were turning dark brown and seemed dried out. I increased the temp with a heating pad and a towel over the three drawer system and it resolved.
However... I did not have the beetle death issue that you are having.

 

[sueblack]

Has anyone had trouble with pupae dying off in large numbers? This latest round I've lost about 75% of them which amounts to well over a hundred. They look fine until about 1 week into the pupal stage when they turn black. Some are dry and some are squishy when I pick them out.

They've been kept at room temperature (70-75F) the entire time.

EDIT: One thing I forgot to mention is the beetles born from this batch -- the ones not dying as pupae -- are dying within 2-3 days. Pupal stage looks completely normal. They hatch without issue but die while still medium brown in color.

I found that if I had a significant build up of frass/not much fresh bran when the worms started pupating I had a large number of dead worms and pupa. Nutrition is very important when the worms are heading into their dormant pupal stage. I add fresh carrots daily, enough that they scarf most of it up in a day. Since I started paying more attention to the worms I am pupating, I have had a lot less worm and pupa death. I have so many worms now I need to sell some!

I have not had a lot of early beetle death except for deformed beetles, which do die early on. You will see some pupa and beetle death in any culture, you just want to find the right balance of factors to limit it.

 

[sueblack]

 

[sueblack]

Snakes,

See my reply in my post quoting you above.. I'm a little rusty on when to quote or reply.