Mealworms not pupating

[Fluffy_Feathers]

We have started a little mealworm farm, and we have just started using chicken feed for the bedding material. When we did that, they stopped pupating and are growing really fat. We think it is the chicken feed making them grow since the feed is for growing birds, but I want to be sure. We are using 22% meatbird starter/grower. Is this the problem?

 

[azygous]

It definitely could be the problem. Substrate has played a big role in one of my trays of meal worms this past year. I got hold of a 50lb sack of wheat mill run. It's a highly nutritious, yet inexpensive by-product of milling white flour.

I hatched some meal worm eggs in it, and six months later, the larvae had grown to nearly an inch and three-quarters in length, twice as fat as normal ones, and they didn't pupate for six months, at which time only a few went into the pupa stage. Only a few of those made it to adult beetles, and those had no wings and never had any vitality, soon dying.

It alarmed me at first, but I quickly saw the advantage of keeping a few trays of mill run to grow huge larvae for the chickens, while keeping the rest of the larvae in wheat bran so they would pupate and perpetuate my worm colony. Win, win!

 

[Space Coast Mealworms]

wheat bran is the preferred substrate for most farmers. It is readily available at most feed stores and at some TSCs.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

I'm experimenting with using styrofoam as substrate. They seem to like it. A scientific paper I read claims that it is biodegraded by mealworm gut microbes and is as healthy as bran. Approx. 50% is turned into carbon dioxide, and the rest into lipids or something.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Here's some pictures and info

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.5b02661
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.5b02663

 

[azygous]

That's amazing! I never knew it could have food value for some critter.

 

[Chickassan]

Mine live and breed in raisin bran, not ideal but it's what i had. No issues pupateing and I've seen many baby mealies. Mostly the beetles are fine, did get a few with funky crumpled wings.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

That's amazing! I never knew it could have food value for some critter.

If this works, I plan to grow gazillions just using styrofoam.

 

[azygous]

I just adore the smell of innovation in the morning!

 

[Athena2344]

I use regular oatmeal, i haven't done a batch for quite a while though and have been thinking about starting up again, the styrofoam is super neat, i might do half and half and see what happens...