Mealworm farming

[WestKnollAmy]

I haven't tried the corn yet. I wanted to grow some this year but DH hasn't been very helpful. It is too much for me to do the entire farm by myself and every year he gets more lazy about helping. Guess I need to trade in for a younger model!

I have not looked to see what screen comes in as far as hole sizes but I had planned to use some off an old door, too. I doubt it could be too small. From what I have read here and online, the eggs are teeny to the extreme.

Bread probably does not have enough moisture in it, especially after a day or so. I tried putting veggies on top of the bread but it got nasty quickly so I went back to bread on the substrate and veggies on newspaper. Though I swear they drag the carrots off!
They just like to eat wheat and bread is just another form. I get tons from the Food Pantry where I donate eggs but only use whole wheat for the mealies and beetles.

On another note....my mealies and beetles do not care for my red delicious apples! Mine seem to be veggie eaters, not fruit eaters. They even went right for the celery! Go figure.

 

[hannakat]

Quote:
Congrats!!! You're on your way.

Bread is not a moisture item....it is a wheat item. You need to keep veggies/fruit in the farm at all times for moisture.

Like Nadine's worms, mine seem to prefer veggies, although they do like banana peel. I'm very cautious with apple since it molds so quickly....just keep an eye on it.

Door screen is good!

 

[hannakat]

Two interesting observations.

I actually witnessed a female beetle laying an egg!!!!

She was on a section of egg carton (in my 3-drawer unit). I was sitting there talking on the phone and 'farming' when I noticed a beetle in a strange stance so I watched. She layed a single egg. When she was done and moved off, I checked it out. It was indeed sticky. Love, LOVE my magnifying glass!!!!


The second thing: Of the worms I took from the fridge last week, at least 50% of those that have pupated either died or will die. They seem to be dried out or something and cannot successfully pupate. In the past 24 hours I've added more veggies thinking maybe I'm not offering enough moisture items. So far today, all have pupated beautifully.

So, I'll keep a close watch to see if this solves the problem. I've fed them to the chicks since I rather they get the newly dead pupae instead of letting them dry out.

 

[lebentier]

i am so excited...i only started my mealwoms a week ago and i woke up to 6 cute little pupated larvae.

now i have to begin preparing myself mentally for beetles. not sure why they gross me out so much more than the worms...maybe because they scurry around so fast? i am a little scared

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Quote:
Holy Cow! That is amazing! Good ole' magnifying glass. Mine is lighted so they scurry away when I use it. I do not watch the beetles very much. I get the heebie jeebies. I can do the wormies better.

I somehow would not think that moisture is a problem from the fridge. Or at least in my fridge it is fairly moist. Maybe the cold has enough effect on them that they can't finish the cycle. But that is only speculation.

I do have a question for you all though.
I have noticed from my tons of beetles that quite a few are deformed and I expected that after reading some articles online. However, I wondered if possibly they were too in bred? I am thinking of ordering another 2000 from a different company and introducing to my now 3 bins of beetles.
What do you all think of this?

Not to mention I have very few mealies left and my chicks are quite adamant that they want more, More, MORE!

lebentier, I don't care for the beetles either. But the noise is fascinating. However, I worry I will have nightmares. Too many scary movies from my youth!

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I think the pupae are at the highest risk of desiccation and the fridge can be drying to them, but it could also be a temperature related developmental issue. Pupae are vulnerable in general. All kinds of things can go wrong during their transformation into beetles, especially if they are disturbed at critical moments (e.g. as the elytra are extending and hardening). They even have specific anti-predatory behaviors. Have you ever seen a pupae wiggle it's abdomen in a circular pattern? Pupae that are prevented from exhibiting this behavior are far more likely to succumb to cannibalism from fellow larvae.

Hannakat, to what surface did the beetle attach her egg?

Nadine, inbreeding could be a problem, but not likely. My single box colony has gone through multiple population bottlenecks (which would lead to decreased genetic diversity) but I don't have that many deformed beetles. However, over the long life of that colony I've periodically added mealworms from different sources just in case (I do that every few years). I wonder if the deformations might be related to separating the pupae? Maybe you could try a single container colony that you don't separate and see if you have similar problems? I would guess that, overall, less than 1% of my beetles have problems. Sometimes the percentage goes up noticeably and I've always attributed that to me digging through the colony and disturbing pupae.

 

[hannakat]

Nadine ~ These were the worms that I took out of the fridge last week, so they have been at room temp for a while. It's the available moisture in the drawer I'm questioning. If they stop dying now (since I've upped the amount of veggies) then I'll know it was what I was feeding them (or, more accurately, what I wasn't feeding them!!!)

Gallo del Cielo ~ It was on the top of a piece of egg carton.


I also had beetle problems (I mentioned this a couple weeks ago), where they were deformed....missing a wing or having a curled wing or not morphing totally into a beetle. I suspect (as Gallo del Cielo suggests) moving the pupa around too much. With my current batch of 'out of the fridge worms', I'm trying not to mess so much with the pupa. I was tipping the container to check them out, counting them by moving them, separating them...... I'm not doing that now.

Another activity to monitor to see if it makes a difference.

Right now I'll be happy if I can get the 'dried out pupa' mystery solved!!! Hopefully, adding more veggies did the job! I will certainly report back.


OH...and the newest beetle-loving-food item is the stock of an Iris. I've been putting these in for the past few days. The beetles tunnel right through!!! OH OH, and I put some in the 'baby wormie drawer' and they are now big enough for me to see moving around on the end of the Iris stock as well.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

hannakat, that's great that you saw that! I have to say, I've never seen mealworm beetles laying eggs. I'm pretty sure I've never observed them as carefully as you are though.

I admire your enthusiasm. I have read in various places, but have not seen detailed accounts, that they laid their eggs on solid surfaces around the substrate when raised in captivity. I know the eggs are sticky and tend to stay where they are laid. When I was first raising mealworms I realized, quite by accident, that a fair number of eggs were adhered to dried vegetable matter (principally hardened potato slices). I had separated out the old food and put it into a bucket, where it stayed for a couple weeks. When I went to empty it I noticed lots of tiny larvae on the bottom of the bucket. For this reason I've always tried to remove old uneaten and dried up vegetable matter only when there are few beetles in the colony. Your observation of the beetle laying her egg on the carton made me think of that.

Irises! Now that is an exotic mealworm food. I fed mine cactus paddles yesterday--an idea from someone on this thread (thank you to that person!). They seemed to like it but I haven't looked closely yet today.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Oh, cool. I am glad you told me about moving the pupae around. I have not touched them much since I scoop them up with a tablespoon.
I do however, uhmmm, toss them into a container to be moved to another bin.

Probably too rough?

Okay, so my big oaf self will not do that anymore. I wasn't sure how hard or tough the pupae shell (?) really was.

I have stopped moving any for now since I keep finding beetles in the first bin anyhow. I have tons of beetles in the "beetle" bin and many emerging in the second bin. To make it easier on me I am just going to wait the beetles and eggs out for the summer.

I just would like to have a meal worm bin where I can easily scoop up the worms to feed them. Right now when I scoop up a few to feed to some chicks I get pupae and beetles. Then have to sit there and pick all that out. Though the chicks eat anything offered, I have noticed!

Thank you for the info on needing another "bloodline" or would it be termed "beetle line"?

Hannakat, I thought it was in the fridge. But very interesting to read as I go back and now know what you are saying. I am trying to read much too fast I suppose and got lost in my thinking.

Never thought about taking the Iris stalks to them. Mine are pretty well dry now. I grow a lot (and I mean a lot) of Iris. Day lilies
are blooming now though. Planted them for Mom when she lived with us and now that she is gone I only think of her when they bloom. I have offered plantain leaves, dandelion and clover but they do not seem interested. The Guinea Pigs go nuts for it and I thought perhaps the meal worms and beetles may be interested. Mine just seem to want veggies. They are loving the celery though! Which is good because half always goes to waste here.

Think I can offer Day Lily stalks? Do I dare? I never put any poisons on them. We are more organic here.

Thank you guys and gals for all the help!

 

[hannakat]

Gallo del Cielo ~ Well, I must confess that my 3-drawer colony (which I'm using to observe and learn about these critters) sits on my dinning room table most of the time so it's been pretty easy to get lost in "Worm TV". I also love "Chick TV"

What you say about the eggs being deposited on the veggies/fruit has been a bit of a concern....now I know it's legitimate!!!

Like Nadine, I love to watch them and check on them, (sorry, still not talking to them). It's been absolutely a blast for me. As my mobility has declined (oh well), my DH has bumped up his load to include taking care of the chickens most of the time and since it's not my brain that's affected (that might be up for debate!), I still look for ways to 'farm' on my own!!! Can't get any smaller or easier than these worms AND I have the added benefit of enjoying the antics of the chickens when they see some coming their way.

As far as the pupae, I'm still moving them from the bottom drawer to a container, then as the beetles emerge, I'm moving them to the big single bin colony. In between I won't be messing with them anymore. I'm careful with the spoon so that shouldn't be an issue.

I have my eye on 2 possible eggs laid on the edge opening of some cardboard in the top drawer. I'm pretty sure they are eggs but won't know for sure until they hatch.....oh no....feeling the overwhelming urge to check on those 2 wee-possible-eggs......

Yea.....how do you-all pick up the worms to feed to the birds without getting the pupa and beetles? "Beetle line" Nadine?

edited cause I'm still learning how to spell. C is for c h i c k e n