I have been raising mealworms as a chicken snacks for a few years now without any fuss. Took a break for a bit and have recently started up again. My worms are pupating fine but when they mature into beetles it's just not working out well.
The majority of my beetles are looking a bit half formed with a Beetle head and front legs but the backend is still pupae looking and the wings do not develop. They all crawl around a bit and then die. I'm getting a very small percentage of successful adults.
I have seen this happen very rarely in the past, just a random beetles here and there sounded by almost all successful development. But with it now over taking my whole worm farm it's clear something is amiss. My only thought right now is the heat--it's very hot and dry at the moment were I live and my keeping things cool resources are a bit over stretched so I know they are warmer than is ideal (but I have raised them in the desert heat before without this problem so I'm not sure)
Has anyone seen this problem enmass? What could I be overlooking here?
The majority of my beetles are looking a bit half formed with a Beetle head and front legs but the backend is still pupae looking and the wings do not develop. They all crawl around a bit and then die. I'm getting a very small percentage of successful adults.
I have seen this happen very rarely in the past, just a random beetles here and there sounded by almost all successful development. But with it now over taking my whole worm farm it's clear something is amiss. My only thought right now is the heat--it's very hot and dry at the moment were I live and my keeping things cool resources are a bit over stretched so I know they are warmer than is ideal (but I have raised them in the desert heat before without this problem so I'm not sure)
Has anyone seen this problem enmass? What could I be overlooking here?
