Raising mealworms can be an interesting side hobby. I use and highly recommend something like a Sterilite countertop drawer thingie, the relatively shallow kind, like Walmart sells. Zero known escapees in the colony I've kept going since 2007.
I also recommend using non-poop-related bedding because it could attract fly maggots etc that can attack eggs and newly hatched mealworms. I use spilled chicken feed, the dust at the bottom of the feed bag, etc. Also I save the ends from loaves of bread, let them dry, and whirl them in a food processor.
For moisture, banana peels are my favorite because they don't seem to mold, and I've seen female beetles lay eggs on them, in a line as they walk. (And I like bananas.) But also apple cores (seeds removed) and carrot ends work.
There are many management styles you can use successfully, and it can be as simple or complicated as you want. I like to have larvae (mealworms of various sizes) in one container. Weekly-ish I remove the pupae to the next container so they're not disturbed by the larvae moving around. Then after the adult darkling beetles emerge, they go into a breeding container. I move the living beetles into a new breeding container every few weeks, and remove the dead ones from what is now a nursery for eggs and baby worms.
I also recommend using non-poop-related bedding because it could attract fly maggots etc that can attack eggs and newly hatched mealworms. I use spilled chicken feed, the dust at the bottom of the feed bag, etc. Also I save the ends from loaves of bread, let them dry, and whirl them in a food processor.
For moisture, banana peels are my favorite because they don't seem to mold, and I've seen female beetles lay eggs on them, in a line as they walk. (And I like bananas.) But also apple cores (seeds removed) and carrot ends work.
There are many management styles you can use successfully, and it can be as simple or complicated as you want. I like to have larvae (mealworms of various sizes) in one container. Weekly-ish I remove the pupae to the next container so they're not disturbed by the larvae moving around. Then after the adult darkling beetles emerge, they go into a breeding container. I move the living beetles into a new breeding container every few weeks, and remove the dead ones from what is now a nursery for eggs and baby worms.
