Mealworm farming

[kculbert]

There's a lot of confusion out there online about how DE works. It seems intuitive that DE cuts the exoskeletons given the apparent sharpness of the particles in EM micrographs, but it doesn't. DE works by adsorption. Think of it as a sponge that wicks away the waxy cuticle that covers the exoskeleton. It's the waxy cuticle that allows the insect to maintain water balance and keeps them from desiccating. The specific chemical composition of the exoskeleton will determine how susceptible a given species or given stage is to desiccation. E.g. the waxy coating of the mealworm larvae exoskeleton is not very susceptible to adsorption by DE but the cuticle of the adult beetle is very much susceptible. The other important variable affecting how DE works is the ambient humidity. For most insects studied, DE is only effective at humidity levels lower than 70%, with increasing effectiveness at lower humidity levels. This makes sense given that the less moisture there is in the air, the harder it will be for the arthropod to maintain water balance and the quicker it will succumb to desiccation. Here's the abstract to the paper that definitively demonstrated that DE works by adsorption and not by cutting or abrasion.

That is very interesting. I have stopped using DE. I never found it to be effective enough to balance out the controversy of using it. I live in Houston where it is extremely humid so maybe that's why I never had any success with it. Thanks for the info.

 

[zarafa121]

Better yet, if you don't have a seriously deep freeze...is to 'cook' the bran for 30 minutes at 325 degrees stirring a few times to ensure even heating.

Yum, roasted, toasted bran.

. That makes sense, too.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
Once you understand how it works it tends to deflate the controversy. If your local humidity gets above 70% for extended periods, it's not likely to be very effective where you live. As you've discovered, it wouldn't be very effective at all in such a humid place as Houston, but here in southern AZ where humidity is often close to zero we find it very effective against a variety of pests.

 

[Dipstick]

There's a lot of confusion out there online about how DE works. It seems intuitive that DE cuts the exoskeletons given the apparent sharpness of the particles in EM micrographs, but it doesn't. DE works by adsorption. Think of it as a sponge that wicks away the waxy cuticle that covers the exoskeleton. It's the waxy cuticle that allows the insect to maintain water balance and keeps them from desiccating. The specific chemical composition of the exoskeleton will determine how susceptible a given species or given stage is to desiccation. E.g. the waxy coating of the mealworm larvae exoskeleton is not very susceptible to adsorption by DE but the cuticle of the adult beetle is very much susceptible. The other important variable affecting how DE works is the ambient humidity. For most insects studied, DE is only effective at humidity levels lower than 70%, with increasing effectiveness at lower humidity levels. This makes sense given that the less moisture there is in the air, the harder it will be for the arthropod to maintain water balance and the quicker it will succumb to desiccation. Here's the abstract to the paper that definitively demonstrated that DE works by adsorption and not by cutting or abrasion.

Well lookie there, I learned something today! Thanks for the correction!

 

[jenneverett]

sorry I have been gone for a while but as summer gets here my daily task list goes way up.
so here is an update on the meal worms I bought last February. my 5000 worm bought for under $40 is now about 30,000 with constant food and carrots.












I cleaned the bins for the first time today and was pleased to see all three stages of life in the bins. I remember when they had all become beetles and there was not one worm at all. Then as I added carrots every other day or so I started to see worms. then as I waited to see the beetles all died I found that the new worms had mutated into larva and new beetles with out my observing it!

 

[RenaG]

We now have a bunch of beetles but don't see any worms.

 

[jenneverett]

You won't see any worms for at least 2 weeks.... then they will be there as if someone added them overnight.

 

[Frazars Farm]

I have been reading on this forum for quite some time, but this thread on mealworms finally got me to sign up, because I know I am going to have some questions! I am on page 43 so far, which dates back to 2011, only about 407 pages of reading to go....

 

[zarafa121]

You won't see any worms for at least 2 weeks.... then they will be there as if someone added them overnight.

Thank you for that timeline. I have beetles, and I think I see egg clusters, just didn't know how long it would take them to hatch out. Thanks again!

 

[zarafa121]

I have been reading on this forum for quite some time, but this thread on mealworms finally got me to sign up, because I know I am going to have some questions! I am on page 43 so far, which dates back to 2011, only about 407 pages of reading to go....

My experience has been to get the bins, the bran, and the worms. The rest will fall into place. Happy reading! Happy "farming!"