Breeding and maintaining mealworms

[packer43064]

How comes you dint use a mesh over the container with the beetles i tink that was an easy solution ,nice tread by the way, in new york thay sell 1000 for 18.99 with delevery included

I don't think they climbed out, they suck at climbing on slippery things. That's why I used plastic bins. It was than likely from me spilling a mealworm or two when I put them in the bins and they changed to beetles. I had them upstairs during the winter for awhile, and I'm sure there was some crumbs and such for them to eat, lol. Thanks though, like I said I just jumped into this way too fast. A few hundred would have been fine to start with. I think I ened up with like 2000+ mealies before they even started to change.

 

[packer43064]

Stupid damn mealworms. I'm still mad that they got out, even if it was my fault. Grrr!

I'm having a go with superworms now. I live by myself now so I don't have to deal with parents complaining or anything. I'll make a new thread whenver they start to get a going.

 

[WickedJester]

This thread made me laugh. I might pick up some meal worms and try to breed them. i could sell them around here. People use them as trout bait.

 

[nes999]

i would bought some of those millies you threw away. i was waiting until u said u have some for sale and i had full plans on buy loads from u

 

[dogofwar]

So to grow the baby mealies out do you need to separate them from the beetles?

 

[packer43064]

This thread made me laugh. I might pick up some meal worms and try to breed them. i could sell them around here. People use them as trout bait.

Go for it! Just try and not FAIL like me.

i would bought some of those millies you threw away. i was waiting until u said u have some for sale and i had full plans on buy loads from u

..............WTF. lol Well thanks I guess.

So to grow the baby mealies out do you need to separate them from the beetles?

Some people do....others don't. I hear the beetles can eat the little uns for moisture and just plain cannabalism. I would just keep them in there from 2-4 weeks and make a new container for worms. Or if you don't want multiple containers just make your substrate deep (3-5 in) and the beetles will staya roun d the top and the little mealworms near the bottom. I hardly ever see a beetle near the bottom.

Didn't know people still had interest in this topic, I even got a PM!!! And I never get PM's. Just checked....even a visitor message....holy crap.

 

[Bighurt]

Mealworms are easy as hell to breed but can be a pain to keep up with, I'm sorry you had a hard time but so long as you keep them feed and watered (potato) they muitiple fast. The hardest part is separating them and you should separate them.

The best thing to do is get wheat bran from a feed store you can get a 50lb bag for like $5. Buy 2 batches one to feed out and the other to breed, you don't need a lot of breeders 50 beetles in a 25 gal tote makes a lot of babies. The beetles will lay their eggs in the bran and die off in about 2 wks you'll see tiny mealworms, thousands of them. Once the larvae start going to pupa separate them into another tub. Again 50 beetles makes a lot of babies.

Just keep the cycle going and a steady supply of potato, when the tub is MT of worms or they all have went to pupa, toss out the old bran and start a new, there will be plenty of poo you don't want to deal with.

Keeping the whole colony over 75° Heat tape works great. I used 25 gal and 15 gal Rubbermaid duratotes with screen lids. Those work really well for Mealworms, Crickets and Roaches...

Superworms are a different species of beetle, not like the darkling beetle at all. They have to be stressed to go from larvae to pupa. I hear the best is to put the worm into a film canister, but I forget the conditions... from what I hear its a pain never tried it though.

Best of Luck

 

[packer43064]

^^^^^
This man speaks the truth. Very good info, thank you very much. Like I said before people, do not start with 2-3k as I did. Buy a few hundred at the very tops if that especially if your just breeding them. If your breeding/using the mealworms now for the fish or whatever than getting more is okay but other wise DON'T. Please I beg you people, lol. I'm using oats for the supers but as I get more to breed then buying the huge bag will help definetely.We have a feed store in town actually. Thanks!

I've bred a few random supers before just because I was the kind of kid that would do such things. I used craft/jewelry/nuts+bolts/containers. They have like 25 little compartments per case. It was a mere 4 bucks plus tax so wasn't too bad for now at least. The good thing is that the superworms are much bigger(a good 2.5 inches) compared to just over an inch for a mealie.

 

[skateatburners]

iv been breeding mealies for my hedgehog and my beardies for almost a year

 

[packer43064]

I bought some superworms on the 1st and their eating some oats now and potatoes and I just bought some carrots also for their water source. I hear carrots don't mold up as fast(the potatoes aren't really moldy at all but still) as a potato does. I just bought a pack of 25 which had 28 in there actually. But after a few minutes...I only had 27 left. My puppy decided to munch on one. lol

To get them to change they need to be stressed. SO their in individual compartments from a craft/jewelry box. I only put two in, nothing has happened yet. I'm going to let the superworms grow a bit more for a week or so then put a few more in the craft box. That's about as fun as it gets people.