Mealworm farming

[Maat]

Yes, you can give them dried cat and dog food, but I wouldn't use it as the main substrate. The whole grains will be difficult for them to consume. Are you able to get wheat bran where you live?

Yes, I can get wheat brean.

I have my own little mill and can break up the whole grains it to very small size. When I do that, can I then give them smahed up grains?

I completely agree on all counts. However, years ago we had an analysis done on mealworms raised with just potatoes and wheat bran vs. potatoes, wheat bran and some cat food added and the latter mixture produced mealworms that were nutritionally better (better at least for other arthropods that were eating only mealworms). So, there might be some benefit to adding cat food, but I wouldn't spend the extra money for it if I didn't already have some.

I have some dog and cat dry food. It is not very good quality but it will serve for worms.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I don't know why but I seem to have a very low propagation rate from my mealworm farm. I've had the farm for 6months or more and have had several generations of beetles/worms but don't seem to notice any increase in the number of worms/beetles in the bin.

Originally I was doing it all in one bin but recently I tried putting some beetles in a new bin to see if it makes any difference.

I feed with rolled oats, have several layers of newspaper in there and give them a carrot or apple core now and then for moisture. We keep our house cool so I know the temps are not ideal but I would have thought that this would just make the generations grow slower and not effect the propagation rate. I've only fed worms and dead beetles a couple of times as I don't want take too many out of the bin till I get it really going. I started with 500 or 1000 worms and don't seem much beyond the original amount in the bin.

Any suggestions?

Hmmm...you should have experienced a much greater population explosion. It seems that whenever I read about a colony failing to thrive, they're on oats. It makes me wonder if some strains of mealworms do better on wheat bran than oats. Can you find wheat bran where you live? Also, just how often do they get carrot or apple cores? Is there a period of time between feeding vegetables where there are none available in the colony? Also, low temperatures slow everything down. It will be interesting if you find that the separated beetles do better.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:

I have some dog and cat dry food. It is not very good quality but it will serve for worms.

Sure, if you can why not try your grains ground up? I'd probably skip the corn though unless it's already mixed with the other grains. I'm sure the pet food is just fine for the worms.

 

[Maat]

What about moisture? You say that is better to use carrot and apple then potato?

 

[Chickengirl1304]

It would be hard to answer without a lot of other details, e.g. at what temperature are they kept, what substrate are you using, what vegetables are you feeding and how often? You also might be right at the cusp of a population explosion. Put a couple spoonfuls of substrate on a piece of paper and look carefully, you should see lots of very tiny larvae. If not, then there likely is a problem

what is substrate?

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

What about moisture? You say that is better to use carrot and apple then potato?

Not necessarily, I think it's good to have a variety of food sources. You just want to avoid things with too much water content (e.g. the center of a watermelon, tomatoes, etc.).

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
It's the grain material that you're using to grown them in. Most people use wheat bran, some use oatmeal others use different materials. The larvae eat grains, principally wheat, so it's important for their development.

 

[Maat]

Not necessarily, I think it's good to have a variety of food sources. You just want to avoid things with too much water content (e.g. the center of a watermelon, tomatoes, etc.).

Ok, thx!

I do not have much fear about moisture as much dry situation terrifies me, because i will keep them in a room where is temperature during the day approximately 21-25 °C, and during the night 15-20°C.

 

[2jsbabyfarm]

I just started my mealworms farm about a week and a half ago. I ordered them online and picked them up at the post office. We're doing the 3 drawer set up and have the worms in a mix of whole wheat oats and whole wheat flour. I just finally found wheat bran in our area so will be adding that as well. Our house is kept at aroubd 68 and the worm farm is kept in a dark closet. They get fresh carrots potatoes and apples as needed...here's the problem. I'm finding Dead worms daily. Is that normal or what am I doing wrong?!

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I just started my mealworms farm about a week and a half ago. I ordered them online and picked them up at the post office. We're doing the 3 drawer set up and have the worms in a mix of whole wheat oats and whole wheat flour. I just finally found wheat bran in our area so will be adding that as well. Our house is kept at aroubd 68 and the worm farm is kept in a dark closet. They get fresh carrots potatoes and apples as needed...here's the problem. I'm finding Dead worms daily. Is that normal or what am I doing wrong?!

Are you sure they're dead? Have they turned a very dark brown or black? Sometimes you can see a lot of mortality right after shipping. I would probably switch over to wheat bran as you can though. Finally, it is possible that your worms are preparing to pupate (if they're not dead). The worms that are shipped are often ready to pupate and right before they do they become very motionless as they mobilize resources for the transformation.