Mealworm farming

[WestKnollAmy]

Quote:
For real!!!!

 

[loanwizard]

Ok all you worm pros..... I have a problem. Last night I took what was left of my worm colony and transferred them to wheat bran in another 10 gallon fish tank. I have about 200 mealworms left, a few dozen pupae, and about a dozen beetles. The rest were definitely dead. I wonder how they died. It is 68-70 degrees, they are in the dining room in a corner so no big fluctuations, so the only thing I can figure is either food, lack thereof, or substrate which I referred to earlier as being Cream of Wheat on the bottom and rolled oats on top. Everything was dry, hard and black.

I wondered, how often do you guys feed. I had 1000 mealworms, cut up a potato, apple or some mini carrots about once a week. When I replaced the old food, it was dried completely out but not moldy.

So..... how often and how much do you feed your colony?

 

[zzGypsy]

Quote:
heehee!

actually it wasn't so much an act of stamina or obsession, it's that I have a thing about bugs... and not in a good way. might be close to a phobia. took 251 pages to get USED to the idea. I consider it a desensitization program, and do thank you all for keeping up the conversation for so many pages so I could get past it.

I actually poked my finger into the bedding and stirred it... actually touched some worms...

wait... no, I'm ok. more like this...

but hey, it's progress!

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
You can rest assured that your worms didn't die for lack of fresh vegetables. For the first ten years that I grew mealworms, we only needed them for feeding other animals in the summer. We'd start feeding them about once to twice a week in Feb. and continue through Aug. From Aug. through Jan. they were only fed about once a month. Many times they went a couple months with being fed. Under these conditions their development is considerably slowed but they survive quite well. I suspect your deaths were related to some nutrient deficiency in the Cream of Wheat. However, it would be difficult to rule out entomopathogenic fungi, as they end up looking black like that after an outbreak. It does seem unlikely though, given that your humidity was so low and there wasn't much opportunity for moisture from the vegetables to increase the humidity. I think things will turn around quickly for you now that you have wheat bran.

Oh, to answer your question: now that I'm growing regularly for chickens, my 10 gal. colony gets fed a handful of kitchen scraps every couple days or so.

 

[OwensMom]

zz don't feel bad. I hate things that makethat scratchy sound.Sends shivers up my spine. BUT last month I actually held a bunch of pupae in my hand!! They feel smooth and rubbery!! Amy and hannahkat are the brave ones. They actually touch to worms> I just cann't yet.
We hear ya and are here for ya, Girlfriend!!

 

[loanwizard]

Quote:
You can rest assured that your worms didn't die for lack of fresh vegetables. For the first ten years that I grew mealworms, we only needed them for feeding other animals in the summer. We'd start feeding them about once to twice a week in Feb. and continue through Aug. From Aug. through Jan. they were only fed about once a month. Many times they went a couple months with being fed. Under these conditions their development is considerably slowed but they survive quite well. I suspect your deaths were related to some nutrient deficiency in the Cream of Wheat. However, it would be difficult to rule out entomopathogenic fungi, as they end up looking black like that after an outbreak. It does seem unlikely though, given that your humidity was so low and there wasn't much opportunity for moisture from the vegetables to increase the humidity. I think things will turn around quickly for you now that you have wheat bran.

Oh, to answer your question: now that I'm growing regularly for chickens, my 10 gal. colony gets fed a handful of kitchen scraps every couple days or so.

Thanks so much! I thought this was supposed to be easy and not require a bunch of thought lol! The only thing that bothers me is that I had 2 to 3 inches of rolled oats over the Cream of Wheat. Oh well, it's not like it's expensive to start over lol!

 

[andrea98]

Pick your worms out & dump the container to your chickies

 

[andrea98]

the cup is a small container that comes from the pet store . it has small holes in the top & i put water in it for humidity.

 

[JMidJr]

In the 70s I had mealies in a shoebox half full of rolled oats. That's all they got (no byc for mealworm nutrition advice back then). They did well and lasted a year or more (until I was done with them and fed the lot to my fish and turtles). Thanks for all the advice here about proper colony care.

Now my question: who has eaten a mealworm (or handful thereof)? Yeah, not the standard American diet. But they're quite good, if a bit bland. I prefer just post-molt, light colored ones. The darker they are the more crunch; too dark and I don't care for the unchewable exoskeleton. Just my preference...

It's not gross, it's protein! And, a great party trick.

 

[andrea98]

are you sure those mealies were the only thing you ate in the 70's that wasnt normal??? (

j/k)