Questions about raising Meal Worms

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Moisture is essential to a mealworm colony, infact, the veggies/fruit you provide will make up 40% of their diet if you do it often. It will also make them healthier to eat.

With constant feedings, good heat, and other things, mine go from egg to beetle in 2 1/2 months. The beetles often live up to 1 1/2 to 2 months after that.

I've tried carrots, potatoes, celery, apples. Only once did I see a carrot that appeared to have been eaten, but only slightly
 
I found this excerpt on moisture; "Too little moisture slows growth and reduces size. Too much can produce mold. If larvae are provided with dry food, they can survive and produce one generation a year. If they are provided moisture, they will undergo six generations per year and will be fatter.
 
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Probably the reason your babies lived for those two months is that they were getting their moisture from dead beatles.

That's probably their source of moisture in nature.
 
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Moisture is essential to a mealworm colony, infact, the veggies/fruit you provide will make up 40% of their diet if you do it often. It will also make them healthier to eat.

With constant feedings, good heat, and other things, mine go from egg to beetle in 2 1/2 months. The beetles often live up to 1 1/2 to 2 months after that.

I've tried carrots, potatoes, celery, apples. Only once did I see a carrot that appeared to have been eaten, but only slightly

You have mutant mealworms then.
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I've been breeding several colonies for awhile, mostly for my herps I've had over the years. None of them waste time when veggies/fruit is added, within 5 minutes it just a writhing mass of beetles and mealworms! And I give them the stuff almost everyday! Of course they will fill up eventually, I just have too much. (Also, I use chicken layer as bedding. It's probably higher in protein and the calcium is good for hens!)
 
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Beginner question about mealworms - what do the eggs LOOK like? I've had my mealworm farm for a couple months now, all the worms are now beetles and have been for a while, but I don't think I see any eggs. Unless, of course, I don't know what to look for which is ENTIRELY possible.
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I have never seen the eggs (tiny!) but eventually teeny tiny worms will appear.

Re: the above question about onions, I have never heard of that being a viable choice. Apples and carrots work great and each goes a long way if you put in slices every day or two. (I'm sure some of the other suggestions in this thread work great too).

JJ
 
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They actually, aren't THAT small. After more than a year of breeding them I just discovered what the eggs look like a couple months ago. A CLEAR glass or plastic container is needed. When you have that, and breeding beetles, you should see plenty of egg-laying at the bottom. The eggs look like little beans with no curves, about 1.5 mms or so.
 
Boo-Boo's Mama :

I cut up a pie pumpkin for my chickens and gave 1/2 of it to the mealworms today. Will see how they like it. I finally have baby worms and dead beetles. I'm using chick starter as their bedding.

Well, did they eat it?

Here is some more info I found on what to feed them;

• "Add a chunk of cabbage, raw potato (half a potato, or a chunk about 1"x3"), a slice of bread (which the mealworms will also eat), romaine lettuce, kale (high in calcium and inexpensive), yam (also nutritious) or apple slices (1/4 of an apple is enough for 1,000 mealworms, once or twice a week - I find apples get moldy too quickly). Some people use celery (e.g., bottom end of bunch), broccoli stems, carrots (grated carrots on a plastic lid), banana peels, or asparagus chunks. Cabbage leaves do not get as moldy as some other choices. Cover cabbage etc., with a cloth to keep it from drying out if you use a heat lamp. A crust of bread (replaced when dry) can also be laid face down on the bedding. You may wish to wash/peel vegetables first to prevent the introduction of pesticides.
• Place potato/apple slices cut side up, even with top of bedding. By putting the skin side down, you keep the bedding/dry food from getting too moist.
• Try kiwi skin with about 15% of fruit still in it (after scooping out the rest with a spoon for your own enjoyment). A.M. Prendergast found that it made mealworms grow about 3 times fatter and 30% longer in just 2-3 weeks versus wheat bran alone. The worms also use the skin as a "cave" as it dried and curls up.
• To make them easier to replace (every 2-3 days or weekly), put vegetable on a little plastic lid, tinfoil pie plate or a piece of cardboard, or stick a toothpick in it. Replace immediately if mold appears."​
 

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