Mealworm farming

[NCGrammie]

Sandy, have you gone to my website and looked through the meal worms page yet? I figured surely you must have! LOL

If you want to start going through all these pages you will see lots of different set ups. There are a lot of pages on this thread but they are filled with so much info!

I had not Amy but I have now, thank you for providing all of that info!! This seems easy enough...I think I can do it!

Also I notice many of y'all talk about removing the beetles into another container. Would it be bad to just keep 1 large container or do they not breed as good?

 

[NCGrammie]

Congratulations!  Look at the links in the first page of this thread for different methods and containers for raising them.

Thank you so much...extremely informative!!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

So far, my only cost has been the wheat germ, pretty happy with that!
My good friend Tammie that has lizards gave me about 1,000 to start.. she has raised mealies for years! (Who knew?)
I brought her 2 dozen eggs as a suprise, and found out she has mealies woohoo!! what a deal!
I had a sweater drawer thing i never used in the barn its like 4x as big as a shoebox. Perfect! Still had an old reptile mat left from my ball python, and it stays at about 85 degrees.. attached it to the bottom of the box. potato peeling and apple cores are common around here, and banana peels etc...

Well, i have not one mealie left, they are all beetle and pupa now.
So excited to start seeing weee wormies soon!!!

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Also I notice many of y'all talk about removing the beetles into another container. Would it be bad to just keep 1 large container or do they not breed as good?

If you want to grow massive quantities it might be beneficial to separate them. However, even then separation isn't necessary and they'll breed just fine. When I first learned I talked with folks at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, who grow truly great numbers. Instead of separating, they have large numbers of 10 gallon aquaria; a method that requires much less labor. I'm a pretty lazy mealworm grower, so I keep them all in one container and it's just fine for my small flock. It's all up to you and how much time you want to put into it, they're just different ways to do it. Also, just as a reminder, if you're someone who develops allergies easily, the one bin method might be better to limit your exposure.

 

[NCGrammie]

If you want to grow massive quantities it might be beneficial to separate them.  However, even then separation isn't necessary and they'll breed just fine.  When I first learned I talked with folks at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, who grow truly great numbers.  Instead of separating, they have large numbers of 10 gallon aquaria; a method that requires much less labor.  I'm a pretty lazy mealworm grower, so I keep them all in one container and it's just fine for my small flock.  It's all up to you and how much time you want to put into it, they're just different ways to do it.  Also, just as a reminder, if you're someone who develops allergies easily, the one bin method might be better to limit your exposure.

That is wonderful to know...I think this is how I will do it as well. It just seems easier for me. Thank you

 

[UrbanEnthusiast]

I started my colony a couple months ago to feed our five hens. I'm using the single-container method because I have no desire to handle the insects any more than necessary to feed our five hens. I definitely have some beetles now but I'm not sure when I should start feeding. It doesn't seem that I've had that population explosion yet that I've been looking for. Of course, cooler temps in my apartment don't help now that it's fall here. I have some freeze dried mealworms left from the last $6 scoop from the feed store, but it would be super cool if I didn't have to buy another one. Does anyone know how long it takes to reproduce once they're in the beetle stage?

 

[Slinglings]

I think it takes about 10 days before beetles start laying eggs, then they lay for 3 weeks or more. The eggs take 20 to 40 days to hatch depending on temp. They will reproduce more slowly in a single container because the beetles and worms will eat the pupae and eggs.

I plan to eventually use just one large container, but until my first batch of worms are bigger I have three containers (beetles in a mesh basket, inside of a dish pan where the eggs fall, and then another container with the worms. when i see pupae or beetles in the worm container I move them to the beetle container). Once I have a large enough population I think one large container will work fine.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

They will reproduce more slowly in a single container because the beetles and worms will eat the pupae and eggs.

That's a common misconception. Cannibalism in this species is ~3% or less per generation provided they are fed properly.

 

[Kassaundra]

That's a common misconception. Cannibalism in this species is ~3% or less per generation provided they are fed properly.

It is the super worms (look like a mealworm on steriods) that are very cannibalistic.

 

[Slinglings]

So is there no need at all to separate the beetles/eggs/worms? If so..that'll make me very happy...