Mealworm farming

[Arielle]

Quote: I'm not too concerned about having a stray flying beetle in the house-- more an interest in keeping all the beetles working for me by keeping them where they will do the most good.

Your post begs the question, how do I know if the humiditiy is just right in the bran??????

 

[aart]

I think if it's too dry the beetles have trouble emerging...if it's too humid you'll get mold.

 

[Arielle]

would anyone be interested in measuring the humidity on top of the bran??

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

As long as you consistently provide vegetables and don't restrict airflow to the colony moisture usually isn't a problem. Too little moisture may lead to problems (some strains seem better than others in this regard), too much moisture always leads to problems.

 

[azygous]

Better than any humidity measuring instruments is practiced feel. Believe it or not, the bran right out of the package or sack has the proper level of humidity in it. It contains all the moisture worms need, most of the time even without adding veggies. That's the "feel" you're going for. It feels dry without being "crispy". When I run my fingers through my trays of worms, it's more than just the sensuous pleasure derived from satisfaction your worms are all happy and thriving. It tells me if the bran is getting moist.

It's important to understand your local climate. I live in southern Colorado, and it's so dry it's practically a desert. Most of the time, keeping the plastic lid on with a baby carrot inside keeps the bran just right. However, if we get several days of rain or snow, the humidity increases in the house, and I notice the bran becoming moist to the touch, not wet, but slightly damp feeling. That's a sign I need to hold off on any new carrots and maybe leave the lids off the trays for 24 hours or so to let the moisture evaporate before mold takes hold.

It's actually better not to add veggies if you're easily distracted from checking on your colony often and you live, say, in Florida or Hawaii. I had a young friend who I had sent home with a carton of meal worms to begin her own worm farm, and she got busy with other stuff and forgot to check. When she did, she found the veggies had rotted and the mold that had grown in the soggy bran had killed all her worms and brand new beetles.

Of course, I forgave her. She was only seven.

One thing I need to add, and it's important. Many of us heat treat our bran to kill grain mites. This will naturally decrease the moisture content of the bran, so adding a baby carrot to the tray of bran will be necessary. After that, I believe the bran can absorb new moisture from the added veggies or even the air. But when I add new, oven treated bran to my trays, I always toss in some carrots.

 

[Arielle]

THanks Gallo and az . . . that gives me a better picture.

Yes the oven would dry out the bran futher, perhaps micorwaving is an alternative as that tends to stay moister.

Can these meal worms survive only on bran then? THe carot or apple is not a necessity food wise??

Which brings me to . . . can the nutrition value of the mealworms be increased justlike when hogs or chickens are raised on grass, the vit A content rises. . . . that sort of thing.

 

[kubotafoot]

Yes, I, too, would be interested in whether you should feed the dead beetles to the hens. Just as a time frame, please, we have worms, go to pups and then to beetle.....beetles lay eggs (over a period of time and then die). Just "about" how long is "over a period of time?" Days, weeks???? Thanks!

 

[evemfoster]

You can try feeding the dead ones but chickens prefer bugs that move. So if you keep an eye on your beetles and pick them out just before they die you will have better luck feeding them to the hens. Or you could add some dieing beetles to the dead ones to catch the hens interest.

Beetles will live until they run out of eggs/sperm then they will pass away. How long they live depends on the temperature in colder weather they move slower and lay less eggs so will live longer.

When the beetles are old and just before they die they start being clumsy falling on their backs all the time and having trouble getting back up. Young ones will do this too but you can tell they are young by their brownish coloration. With old dieing beetles you can turn them over and put them back on their feet and you will see them flipped upside down again fairly soon. It wont take too long for you to be able to tell a old dieing beetle from a healthy one.

 

[kubotafoot]

What great information you have shared! Thanks for teaching the "tricks of the trade" so to speak..... Everyone has been so very helpful getting those of us new started. From the bottom of my heart....Thank you!

 

[azygous]

Arielle, you have the common sense to be a terrific worm farmer! You have great instincts. The worms can survive just fine on bran alone. They don't call them "meal" worms for nothing. The veggies are mostly to supply a water source. The worms and beetles suck them dry.

Yes, it's common for some meal worm farmers to add chick starter around the time they will be harvesting worms to feed. It does increase the protein content of the worms, though the worms are 50% protein to begin with.

You may microwave the bran, as well as chick starter, but it doesn't heat as uniformly as oven treating. I continued to have headaches with grain mites until I switched to treating ALL the grains I use in the oven at 300 F degrees for half an hour, stirring halfway through.

The added carrot or potato or apple will supply all the water needs that the heating process destroys. Mites thrive on moisture, and removing it from the grains destroys the mite eggs also. Battling an infestation of grain mites in your colony is an experience you really don't need. They are creepy, hideous little things, even though they're too small to see with the naked eye. But seen through a magnifying lens, they are bugs with lots of nasty little legs, and they MOVE! You know you have grain mites if the plastic lid appears to be fogged up with a white, dusty substance, and it will also cover the veggies. Look closely, and you can see they're not stationary, even without a hand lens. But if you heat your grains before using, you won't ever have to see the nasty buggers.