Mealworm farming

[aart]

Quote:

I gotta say, I cringe a bit every time someone posts a link to that site. To the novice it seems like such a good site, after all why wouldn't it be great, it has all that information, right? I have to wonder if the person that put it together really has all that much experience with growing mealwoms.
Oh, I wasn't going to dispose of it...it was a science experiment!....and I knew enough about insects to know the temp was too cold for them to thrive...just wasn't sure if I had killed them or not, was very glad to see they survived...and it may be a good way to hold some in dormancy to have staggered generations for harvesting purposes.


Yes, I agree on the sialis site assessment...common sense should tell one that powdered milk and moisture in a warm environment is not a good idea...and their bedding technique is ridiculously complicated. I do like that site for the life cycle explanations and chart tho, as well as the temperatures information.

I will, henceforth, state a disclaimer that the site referenced is the for life cycle chart ONLY....it is a good chart, best I've seen.

 

[evemfoster]

Yes, I agree on the sialis site assessment...common sense should tell one that powdered milk and moisture in a warm environment is not a good idea...and their bedding technique is ridiculously complicated. I do like that site for the life cycle explanations and chart tho, as well as the temperatures information.

I will, henceforth, state a disclaimer that the site referenced is the for life cycle chart ONLY....it is a good chart, best I've seen.

Yes i also referenced the Sialis site when i first started growing mealworms. And followed the directions to the letter until i realized it was a complete waste of both time and money. I believe the site just gathered up all the worm growing information they could find and rolled it all up into one document. Then posted it onto their site. Probably not even having grown a single worm themselves.

After a lot more research i found that all the added foods mixed into the bedding is only for people who have exotic pets like lizards and the like. They need to "Gut Load" the mealworms with extra nutrition before feeding them out. And the fancy feed mix is for the reptiles benefit not the mealworms.

Reptile people grow their worms to feeding size in plain old wheat bran like everyone else. Then a day or two before feeding the worms to the reptiles they put the mealworms into a small container of the special feed mix. So that the mealworms digestive tracks are filled with the extra nutritional feed when the reptiles eat them. Otherwise they have to buy expensive nutrient powders and dust the worms before feeding them to the reptiles.

Something that is totally unnecessary with chickens and wild birds.

Edited because i can't spell.

 

[lenjac]

Hi,
Regarding the control of grain pests, would you have a site reference, especially concerning the heating of substrate (50-55deg.for 15 mins)?
I have had an unbelievable amount of mould seeking mites breeding in a shipping container for my mealworms...devastating.
The impression I got from an entomologist was that the particular species of mould mite is relatively new to au.
Was freezing substrate, but not for long enough and apparently microwaving won't cut it either.
thanks, Jacqui

 

[katatonic123]

What kind of sifter do you use to separate the worms, beetles, and bran from the frass?

 

[aart]

Hi,
Regarding the control of grain pests, would you have a site reference, especially concerning the heating of substrate (50-55deg.for 15 mins)?
I have had an unbelievable amount of mould seeking mites breeding in a shipping container for my mealworms...devastating.
The impression I got from an entomologist was that the particular species of mould mite is relatively new to au.
Was freezing substrate, but not for long enough and apparently microwaving won't cut it either.
thanks, Jacqui

I don't have a site reference, but I've read here on this thread several times that using the oven for 30 minutes at 300degF, stirring a few times to evenly distribute the heat.
I used the bottom of a broiler pan with wheat bran about an inch or so deep.

 

[Latestarter]

What kind of sifter do you use to separate the worms, beetles, and bran from the frass?

I initially tried using just a regular pasta strainer but found the holes too large and a LOT of young worms were falling through so I switched over to a section of window screening placed inside a large colander (spaghetti strainer), and then just shook it side to side and it worked great. Of course I still noticed a few very small baby worms that even went through that along with only God knows how many eggs... I considered placing some carrots in the frass to feed any worms/eggs that developed, but decided the effort was not worth it as I had tens of thousands of worms/beetles in the 3 containers after sifting. Good luck!

 

[evemfoster]

How i catch worms for feeding out.

I have always had issues with sifting out the worms. It took too long and could be messy. I would always loose little worms or the bedding would not work right with the sieve. So i came up with my own system that works for me.

I always want to feed out the biggest worms at the stage that you see them zipping about the top of the bran or just starting to get ready to pupate. So i started setting up worm traps. Ah, well old pill bottles in all the corners of the bin.




The older worms travel about the top of the bran trying find a place to hide. They go into the pill bottles and the bottles slowly sink into the bedding as they fill with worms. When i want to feed out some worms all i have to do i remove the bottle that is deepest into the bedding it will have the most worms. I pour the worms into another container and replace the pill bottle into the farm. Transferring them to another container allow me to remove any pupa or beetles that may be in the bottle. I find it quicker than using a sifter but i have to be careful to allow some worms to pupate regularly so there won't be a beetle shortage.

 

[lenjac]

Thanks so much for that!
The other temperature that I posted does sound a little too gentle.
Jacqui

 

[Bugseye]

I'm enjoying all your posts. Just brought in the Rubbermaid colony from the garage to check it. I've had lots of beetles for several weeks and not seen much other activity. But when I opened the lid, I discovered hundreds (hundreds!) of miniature cast-off casings. They're in wheat bran, with old remnants of paper bags from expired wheat flour, and have been feasting on potatoes, kale, cucumber and whatever else. I put in a sheet of newspaper for hiding, and they lurk there. Since I just have the lid cracked, I now want to find some screen for better ventilation. I think they like humid north Idaho. All this from my little container of worms from Petco in April.

 

[Drivernumber22]

What has been the best price lately on meal worms? Amazon.com? Need to start adding to my farm for winter, might be too late....