Mealworm farming

[Arielle]

Quote: Great post--it's the truth folks!
Now this makes the most sense--

 

[chickenALD]

Now this makes the most sense--

In Entomology I learned that all beetles have wings, but not all are good at flying.

 

[subhanalah]

What about the taller three drawer storage/file cabinet instead of the one with shallow sides?
I know where I'm going tomorrow, what a great idea.

 

[Arielle]

What about the taller three drawer storage/file cabinet instead of the one with shallow sides?
I know where I'm going tomorrow, what a great idea.

Many choices to fit the space available.

 

[Arielle]

THe fish tank is sitting here with out a job-- I'm wondering if with the slick sides and that it is sitting out exposed to indoor lighting if the mealworms will stay out of the light and therefore stay IN the tank? Perhaps the slick glass is sufficent to keep the worms from climbing. Just needs a good cover to keep the flying beetles at home.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

THe fish tank is sitting here with out a job-- I'm wondering if with the slick sides and that it is sitting out exposed to indoor lighting if the mealworms will stay out of the light and therefore stay IN the tank? Perhaps the slick glass is sufficent to keep the worms from climbing. Just needs a good cover to keep the flying beetles at home.

Sounds perfect. I like the glass because you can see what's going on in the substrate and they can't climb up the sides. Right now, as is usual for summer here, I have mine on the back patio (in sunlight, but not direct light) to take advantage of the heat. In the 25+ years I've had this colony (plus the 10 years that I maintained 20 or so similar colonies), I've never had one escape. When it's outside I keep a screened cover on it to keep other things out.

 

[Arielle]

THanks Gallo!!

 

[sueblack]

During the warm months I keep my mealworms in the garage. I had a couple of chipmunks eating all my pupae until I realized what was happening. My totes now all have screened lids on them.

 

[Arielle]

During the warm months I keep my mealworms in the garage. I had a couple of chipmunks eating all my pupae until I realized what was happening. My totes now all have screened lids on them.

And THAT kept the chipmunks out???? wow.

 

[azygous]

THe fish tank is sitting here with out a job-- I'm wondering if with the slick sides and that it is sitting out exposed to indoor lighting if the mealworms will stay out of the light and therefore stay IN the tank? Perhaps the slick glass is sufficent to keep the worms from climbing. Just needs a good cover to keep the flying beetles at home.

The fish tank would be ideal for your worm colony. It would be plenty deep to keep the worms from climbing out. Don't worry about "flying beetles". I've only just had the single beetle learn to fly. All the others that have managed to escape, mostly when I've been transferring newly pupated beetles into the beetle drawers, not noticing I'd dropped a couple, have been found dead underneath furniture. As a general rule, these darkling beetles will not fly, like in make their escape if there's nothing over the container. I want to make that clear.

The value of a solid lid instead of screening would be to preserve the humidity which increases the quality of your colony. If your live in an arid environment, screening might encourage everything to get too dry. However, if you live in a very humid climate, the screening could keep the colony much healthier by preventing mold.