Mealworm farming

[Kassaundra]

Quote:
S**cks to be at the bottom of the food chain! lol

 

[kizanne]

Quote:
S**cks to be at the bottom of the food chain! lol

I was with you just a day ago. Are you sure you aren't like me and just don't know they are there? I went from zero (or so I thought) to some decent size worms they were just hidding good. Apparently only the large ones come to the top.



I got so excited by yesterday's discovery, I'm splitting the colony today. Moving the beetles into a new home (or two). Gonna sift the bran and see what I can see as far as worms go.

Can't wait.

 

[OwensMom]

Quote:
S**cks to be at the bottom of the food chain! lol

I was with you just a day ago. Are you sure you aren't like me and just don't know they are there? I went from zero (or so I thought) to some decent size worms they were just hidding good. Apparently only the large ones come to the top.



I got so excited by yesterday's discovery, I'm splitting the colony today. Moving the beetles into a new home (or two). Gonna sift the bran and see what I can see as far as worms go.

Can't wait.

Yeah Kassaundra It is good to be Queen!!!

Kizanne, I'm sure that is the situation. I get really stoked about the bins. Then I get bored and ignore them. When I come back there is always something good to see!!!

 

[mjohnston]

Sure somebody made this question before but I missed the answer. When you write about freezing the worms you mean" taking them to ice" or just coolling them down to slow their metabolism?

Thanks and regards from Spain

 

[OwensMom]

Quote:
mjohnston, yes we mean to freeze them to ice. Hannahkat wrote awhile back that when she thawed out the worms they looked like fresh unfrozen. However within a few hours, they turn black. I think that the trick is to feed as soon as thawed.

Welcome to the thread. We were in Madrid in the 1970's and loved Spain. And the horses are from heaven!!

 

[hannakat]

Quote:
Welcome!

Yes, frozen with ice! Saving them to give to the girls this winter when there aren't any bugs around. I did refrigerate some when I first started the farm to stagger the growth rate though. Right now it's all about stocking up for the winter though.

love my chickadees!

 

[kizanne]

Ok so I pulled out about 1300-1500 beetles put them in a new bin with all the paper products like the toilet paper rolls and paper plates so that any new eggs hatch out in the new bin.

In my sifting I discovered literally thousands of babies from tiny to medium size and 3 large worms.

I'm quite excited because I need 130 pupa for my classroom experiment and I had project October for Pupa and was beginning to worry if I could deliver.

Very exciting day.

I do need a better sifter I have one with too small of holes and some of the worms couldn't get out.

 

[mjohnston]

Quote:
mjohnston, yes we mean to freeze them to ice. Hannahkat wrote awhile back that when she thawed out the worms they looked like fresh unfrozen. However within a few hours, they turn black. I think that the trick is to feed as soon as thawed.

Welcome to the thread. We were in Madrid in the 1970's and loved Spain. And the horses are from heaven!!

Thank´s Owensmom. Big changes since then. I have a sister in law who is a horse ride racer at Tenneesse that comes once a year, mostly to see horses not the family

 

[hannakat]

Quote:
Yea!

Can't wait to hear how the class responds to the experiment.

 

[yanmar1610d]

Here is a link for a Great Company that sells Mealworms:

http://www.armstrongcricket.com/sho...d=140&osCsid=53786a6b468c4178ed996c32f610a6ac