Mealworm farming

[Debs55]

You're beginning to get the general idea. Yes, cut a hole, leaving an inch around the edges, in the top drawer. Glue window screen onto the bottom. It has to be fine mesh or all your worms will fall through, along with the substrate.

Remember my telling you that the beetles will eat the pupae? That's the problem with returning them to the top drawer with the beetles. Your two drawer set-up will be adequate. Read back to yourself my first reply to you. You will be doing one generation at a time in one drawer, while a new generation gets started in the other drawer. You wanted to keep it simple, right?

Just remember to heat treat whatever bedding you choose so you won't have to deal with grain mites. Chick starter is FULL of them.

thank you! I think I may try with the 2 drawer set up since that is what I have on hand so it's free. And ok i was wondering if window screen would work. Any other mesh that y'all have used and works?

 

[sueblack]

Debs55,

Maybe you could keep a plastic container on top of your 2 drawer system to keep ppupa separate from both worms and beetles. Then as the beetles hatch you could put them in the beetle drawer. You would have less pupa death that way and pupa take up a lot less space than beetles and worms. Just put a liitle bedding/bran in the pupa container.

 

[Debs55]

Debs55,

Maybe you could keep a plastic container on top of your 2 drawer system to keep ppupa separate from both worms and beetles. Then as the beetles hatch you could put them in the beetle drawer. You would have less pupa death that way and pupa take up a lot less space than beetles and worms. Just put a liitle bedding/bran in the pupa container.

awesome idea! ok thats how imma do it! Im going to order my worms so that they will arrive next thursday or friday…hopefully it won't be cold then like it is right now

 

[subhanalah]

Where do you order your worms? The cheapest place I've found is about 13 dollars plus shipping for ..?500or 1000.?.can't remember.

Its called Mulberry Farms

 

[azygous]

Debs55,

Maybe you could keep a plastic container on top of your 2 drawer system to keep ppupa separate from both worms and beetles. Then as the beetles hatch you could put them in the beetle drawer. You would have less pupa death that way and pupa take up a lot less space than beetles and worms. Just put a liitle bedding/bran in the pupa container.

Great idea! But toss a carrot in there with the pupae. They no longer need to eat or consume moisture directly, but they do need a tiny bit of humidity to keep from drying out. If the humidity is too low, the beetles emerge with deformed wings or not at all.

 

[aart]

Just had a bunch of eggs hatch a couple weeks ago, my second generation... yay!
Noticed this by seeing tons of larvae sheddings, then the movement.
Larvae were not really visible to my eye, had to get a magnifier.....curious will the shed skins be eaten?

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Just had a bunch of eggs hatch a couple weeks ago, my second generation... yay!
Noticed this by seeing tons of larvae sheddings, then the movement.
Larvae were not really visible to my eye, had to get a magnifier.....curious will the shed skins be eaten?

I think they probably do to some extent, but I think that they mostly disintegrate into the substrate. I think the larvae consume dead beetles because I don't remove them and the substrate isn't covered with the accumulation of old beetle carcasses. In that case, it also seems that they're eating the insides first.

 

[Tumbleweed Farm]

That insect does not look like a darkling beetle.

 

[Tumbleweed Farm]

This insect does not look like a darkling beetle.

 

[2jsbabyfarm]

Where do you order your worms? The cheapest place I've found is about 13 dollars plus shipping for ..?500or 1000.?.can't remember.

Its called Mulberry Farms

I got mine from rainbowmealworms.com we got 3000 and with a coupon we dug up online with shipping I think we paid 19 bucks!!