Mealworm farming

[bobbyc1970]

guess that answered my question. i was gonna put mine outside. maybe i can for a few hours at a time.

 

[hannakat]

Quote:

bobbyc1970 ~ Do you live in a humid part of the country as well? I'm not sure what other folks do with outdoor colonies. Some people keep them in their coops or garage. Maybe it's a matter of using different veggies (fruit is definitely out of the question). It'll be nice to hear from anyone who is dealing with this successfully!

I have a question. The worms need the wheat based substrate. It is my understanding that this is their main food item. If that's the case, is it more important to use a mixture instead of 1 base item than to rotate their moisture choices?

 

[Kassaundra]

Here are a few pics of Adam, was hoping for an eve by the time I got home, but not yet anyway. The pics aren't great I'll get better ones later, probably when I have more then one model to choose from. The last two are a pupa that was lying on it's back looking all "Alien" again not great I was in a hurry and tired.

 

[Vickir73]

Adam is very handsome

Yes, we are in a VERY humid area. I'm in East Texas - I think the humidity is like 500% or something like that

I'll try to take a pic of my colony this weekend so ya'll can see. Within 48 hours of moving them outside, when I say the beetle population exploded, I mean BAM!! i went from maybe 20 beetles to a couple hundred? (Course I went crazy and started with 5,000 wormies (or was it 3,000? I can't remember, either way it was A LOT!) and, of course, I've fed quite a few the the girls too

I've got them in a mixture of corn meal and oats, should I try something else? They seem to really like cucumber too, but it's causing a problem outside.

 

[cpchicks]

Kassaundra,
Thank you so much for posting the pictures. I wrote on this thread some time ago asking the difference between regular mealworms and giant mealworms. This is the first time I've seen what regular mealworm beatles look like. (I assume your's are regular.) Mine are a different color. They start out with cream colored bodies and very dark wings, then the body turns dark, later. I'd like to know if all of you have beatles that look like Kassaundra's. I'll try to post a picture of mine.

 

[bobbyc1970]

yes very humid here. but im going to take outside in the evenings or overnite. gonna try it slow though
Quote:

bobbyc1970 ~ Do you live in a humid part of the country as well? I'm not sure what other folks do with outdoor colonies. Some people keep them in their coops or garage. Maybe it's a matter of using different veggies (fruit is definitely out of the question). It'll be nice to hear from anyone who is dealing with this successfully!

I have a question. The worms need the wheat based substrate. It is my understanding that this is their main food item. If that's the case, is it more important to use a mixture instead of 1 base item than to rotate their moisture choices?

 

[bobbyc1970]

heres mine i am wanting to take them outside where its def warmer and more humidity than inside.

 

[CluckyJay]

I added a wad of wet paper and most of the dying stopped. Guess they needed more than a potato for moisture? Here they are as of today!

Gosh, the colonies are LOUD!

 

[LibertyChick]

Quote:
Yes, they sure are. I hear them crawling all over the newspaper. Kinda weird!

 

[babigyrl22]

I've done it. I have a very small experimental mealworm farm. Wish me luck!