My mealworm community! (Pics)

[chicksbestfriend]

I was too happy to see this thread. I too, had read on here how easy it was to raise mealworms so I decided to buy 5000 of them last week and gave it a shot! I bought one of those plastic 3 drawers on wheels to start my farm. The first drawer has all the mealworms, the second drawer has the aliens (pupa) and the last drawer is for my beetles that I am anxiously awaiting, they should be emerging within the next couple of days!

Wheat bran is $40 for a #50 bag and I thought that was alot of wheat bran to store in the freezer, and then having to bake it before using, so I made my bedding out of rolled oats, corn meal and rice and oatmeal baby cereals (cost $6) and have been alternating carrots, apple and potato's for their water source. Within that short amount of time, I have harvested close to 500 aliens and have lost very few of my mealworms.

I was hesitant to buy mealworms that were refrigerated thinking they wouldnt reproduce, but after doing alot of research on them, I found out that the cold only keeps them dormant, thats all! Every couple of weeks, you should bring them out of the fridge for 24 hours so that they become active, eat and hydrate. Once I get my farm thriving, I have a mini fridge that I will use to store my excess mealworms in to use as feeders for my Oscar fish and chickens.

The first three pics are the mealworms, and the second two are of the aliens!

 

[MakNugget]

Quote:
I can't speak for petco mealworms bought in-store, but the ones I've bought through their online site in bulk are now all pupa or beetle stage. I need to adjust their habitat to help make it more hospitable for babies.

 

[drdoolittle]

I think I will give this a try too! I had some large cockroaches (not native to this country) that I was trying to raise and breed for food for my rainbow lizard, but didn't have much luck--------I'm probably the only person on Earth who can kill cockroaches while trying to raise them! Anyway, hope I have better luck with the mealworms.

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

Quote:
I can't speak for petco mealworms bought in-store, but the ones I've bought through their online site in bulk are now all pupa or beetle stage. I need to adjust their habitat to help make it more hospitable for babies.

Mealworms sold as mealworms are just that, and are not chemically treated. "Giant" mealworms on the otherhand and infact treated with hormones, for a longer shelf-life and a much larger size. These rarely if ever pupate, and if they do the resulting beetles will be sterile. Giant mealworms are NOT the same as superworms.

 

[motoclown]

We also bought 100 mealworms at our local pet store last week, in an effort to raise bugs for our girls.
Put them in wheat germ, oatmeal and added some potatoes or carrots with pieces of a brown paper bag on top.
They are definitely growing, no signs of pulal stage yet.

The girls love the bugs, first stop in the morning is the compost pile for all the black soldier fly larva.

 

[enola]

I bought mine at a bait shop, they know all about how to eat, multiply and grow..... My chickens love them !

 

[sashurlow]

Petco mealworms are just fine. I'm on my second generation with petco mealworms. Yes... it takes time for a life cycle to occur. Its been about 6months since I started and have gone through one generation.
I need to stop writing about this and go pick some for the ladies. BTW... do an internet search for more than enough information about raising them, but its really not rocket science. Keep them fed and they do the rest.

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

Our PetSmart sells them for $2.50 for 50 and I really doubted there were 50 mealworms in the container. I started with two containers...hoping my beetles will lay eggs and I get more...not convinced yet but am trying to be patient.

 

[viktoriacl]

Thanks for the info about giving them more room. Good thought. They are getting really big! I will also get them some bran. Not wheat germ right? I do already have pupa stage...from Petco. So super easy! You can see two in my pic, in the original post.

 

[mrsbos]

FYI since I was just looking this up, in my excitement over growing mealworms too: The life cycle from egg to beetle can take as long as ONE YEAR!! Of course from what I read it looks like it only takes that long if the pupa have to overwinter somewhere. Eggs take up to 20 days to hatch, and pupa stage lasts from 2-3 weeks (up to a year). The beetle lives 2-3 months. It does look like it would be an excercise in patience (like waiting for pullets to lay) to get a decent colony going that would supply pet chickens for the long haul. Guess it's worth trying though! I may head to Petco this week (don't tell my chickens though or they'll be all over me begging for mealworms)!