Mealworm farming

[estamets]

This has got to be the longest thread that I have ever had the pleasure of posting in.
Does anyone know how big of a system I need in order to get 1 - cup of mealworms per day?
Is there a system that produces the most mealworms for the least amount of effort and resources?
Thanks so much.
Jim

I recommend a bucket and some wheat bran!!! The simplest system possible.

 

[dstinett]

This has got to be the longest thread that I have ever had the pleasure of posting in.
Does anyone know how big of a system I need in order to get 1 - cup of mealworms per day?
Is there a system that produces the most mealworms for the least amount of effort and resources?
Thanks so much.
Jim

I've been raising my colony for 3 yrs I still am not close to a cup a day. It would take a huge colony to produce that many. I feed approximately 1 cup a week. If you are able to produce that many I would love to know your technique

 

[zarafa121]

For sure! Usually the first sign of larvae for me is 'heaving' wheat bran. Kinda creepy.
And I have a pan of frass with trails running thru it.

It's been three weeks since my first sighting of larvae. Every day there were more, and they are getting bigger. The wheat bran "heaves" under the apple slices. Another thing I noticed is shedding of the exoskeleton. I thought at first that some of them were dying but then realized they were shedding. That means growth, which I can see (without the magnifying glass). I heard a saying a long time ago, regarding cockroaches - "if you see one, there's 500." If that saying holds true for mealworms . . . sometimes I think I can see 500 larvae of different sizes. I anticipate feeding some of them by February. I must hand it to the beetles - they are doing a good job!

 

[jenneverett]

Somewhere in this thread that question was raised and it was estimated that you would need a colony of half a million to feed 1 cup per day without depletion of the colony. (Factoring in optimization of the breeding conditions and food/water)

 

[Latestarter]

This has got to be the longest thread that I have ever had the pleasure of posting in.
Does anyone know how big of a system I need in order to get 1 - cup of mealworms per day?
Is there a system that produces the most mealworms for the least amount of effort and resources?
Thanks so much.
Jim

Hey Jim: I presently have 5 large sterilite containers with mixed life cycles in each. I would guess I have between 20-30 thousand total of all life cycles, and I can't come close to a cup of worms a day! Having said that... I don't keep my worms in "optimum" breeding conditions, nor do I attempt to separate out the pupae and/or beetles from the rest. I can pretty easily provide my birds a worm treat once a week with no appreciable damage to the colonies. But because my containers are mixed cycles, the birds get a mix of worms, pupae and beetles (alive and dead). I try to avoid the pupae as much as possible as they provide the beetles for the next generation of eggs... I would much rather they stay in the colony. Since each female beetle can lay between 200-500 eggs, feeding the pupae/beetles out can have a pretty big effect on future colony growth.

As for "optimum" conditions, the #1 issue from what I can tell is temp; they do best at about 80-85 degrees F. That seems to be the key to rapid growth and shortening the life cycle times between pupae and beetle (as well as larvae/worm). The faster you get beetles, the faster they will lay eggs that hatch into the larvae (worms) that we're all looking/waiting for. Since I live in Colorado, and it does get rather chilly here at times, I do NOT keep my colonies at 80 degrees... They are presently in a back bedroom where the temp stays between 65 and 70. Right now I would say that most of my colonies seem to be at the pupae/beetle stage - 75-80%. During summer here, they are at about 80 degrees and the colonies thrive.

The #2 issue from my limited experience seems to be what you feed them, or what you use for a substrate for them to live in. So far from all I've read and my limited experience, the best substrate is wheat bran. Of course there are those who use oats and other grains, and even chicken feed (which is grains after all), but from my reading and personal experience, the bran is the way to go. It's simple, easy, clean, and their favorite food.

The #3 issue is moisture/humidity. If the substrate gets too moist/wet, you run into a number of possible problems from bran/grain mites to mold. But obviously living creatures need some moisture to live. You can put any number of vegetable/fruit items (I have even used wet sponges placed on top of a plastic food storage container lid) in with them to give them the water they need, but from my personal experience, the best thing to use is baby carrots (or large carrots sliced length wise). They last the longest and are "dry" enough that they don't cause mold issues, attract flys, or spoil/rot causing foul odors. Of course the spoilage/rot issue can also be attributed to feeding too much of an item... more than they need or can realistically consume in a few days time. too much of a good thing, so to speak.

Hope this helps. Good luck and happy worming

 

[dstinett]

FYI, a baby food jar filled to the top holds right at 500 worms. I just counted

 

[aart]

FYI, a baby food jar filled to the top holds right at 500 worms. I just counted

Short jar or tall jar?

 

[dstinett]

Short jar or tall jar?

short

 

[Debs55]

I haven't had a chance to read all of the updates but I have one! Finally had a chick pip and zip today (day 23) it started early this morning and still hasn't finished so I may help remove the top part of the shell tonight if it hasn't made any more progress

 

[zarafa121]

Just curious about all the different things you all feed your mealworms/beetles. I am learning to branch out a bit from just apples, which they like a lot. The other day I tried potato, and they liked it but it turns black quickly. Carrots, sliced lengthwise, are good, they curl up and dry up quickly. Then I put in some stems from kale, cut in half lengthwise to expose the moisture, and the beetles went bonkers. The kale stems dry up quickly, too. I have found that thick apple slices last longer. Their bins are beginning to look like a tossed salad . This is a most interesting and intriguing pastime.