Mealworm farming

[GiddyMoon]

Leave the beetles until you know they have laid their eggs...like above, wait until tehy die..if you have them in a substrate of oatmeal or bran..they will do fine

 

[GiddyMoon]

Sweet..I just looked in my box and these new worms I got last week...have already started to pupate!!

 

[aggie9296]

Ok, thanks. I've had beetles for almost a month now and they aren't dying. Or maybe they are eating the dead. That might make more sense!

 

[GiddyMoon]

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Are they in bran or oatmeal?

 

[GiddyMoon]

Here is a good page on the life cycle

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/beetles/mealworm/mealwormlifecycle.shtml

 

[aggie9296]

Are they in bran or oatmeal?

gound up dogfood, oatmeal, and bran meal mixed along with some layer crumbles. a few potato slices and a damp paper towel on a tray.​

 

[GiddyMoon]

I would remove the damp papertowel. The meal needs top stay dry. You are in FLorida with high humidity. You only need a couple of slices of potato or carrot. When I got mine, they went nuts the first day and ate carrot and potato like crazy..then they just stopped..but the meal needs to stay dry..are they in a warm place?

 

[aggie9296]

Covered back porch. Highs in the 80-85 range, lows upper 60's-low 70's.
Definitely high humidity. I left the paper towel in there because they are eating it and hiding between the sheets.

 

[hannakat]

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[GiddyMoon]

You might want to try plain newspaper instead..no wetness to it.