Best/worse food for mealworms?

[Harmonicon]

Hey everyone, I will be starting a mealworm colony soon. I was wondering what are the best foods for mealworms, or whatever you guys feed your own.

They will be on wheat bran as a base.

Also, what are the worst foods, like what they should NOT eat? I know that I shouldn't feed oily and greasy foods or dinner leftovers, I am talking about vegetable and fruit wise.

 

[FrogMantid]

Wheat bran is the only suitable bedding for indoor culture IMO, so your on the right track. However, they need moisture as well. This gets tricky because too much moisture will breed mites and mold which are both bad for your colony. I found that water gel crystals and wheat bran to be the worst combination possible. It just creates a mess. Just about any fruit will cause mold if you don't change it out daily. Through trial and error, I found that shredded carrots are by far the best source of moisture if your after low maintenance colony. They are cheap when bought in large bags and keep well in the fridge. No need to peel, just shred the whole carrot. Get a feel for how much they can completely consume in 24 hours and give them the carrots every other day. Don't feed them again until all the previous carrots are consumed, otherwise you will end up with a mite colony. When the bedding turns completely to frass (looks like cream of wheat instead of flakes), sift the worms out with a mesh strainer and give them new bran. You can occasionally give them pieces of bread and other food, just keep a close eye out for mold and remove whatever is not eaten in a day or two. Things like apples and fruit are good for them, but creates alot more work in the long run and not worth it IMO. You can throw a little dubia chow and reptile vitamins in the bran for extra nutrition. I'm finding that this base diet method works well for not only meal worms, but super worms, Dubia roaches and red runner roaches as well. The only thing I found that is picky is hissers. They prefer water crystals over carrots for some reason, so I give them water crystals in a lid as a dish.

Interestingly, mealworms will eat styrofoam as well. There has bean research that suggests the digest it into "usable organics".
If your not worried about mold and whatnot and your colony is outdoors, you can give them just about anything, even wet cardboard. Superworms eat dried leaves in nature. I'm transitioning to superworms because they don't turn to beatles unless you want them too and they are easier to care for.

 

[FrogMantid]

Another note, it could take up to to two months to notice baby mealworms after beetles lay eggs because they are so small they are invisible, so be patient. I thought I had sterile beetles at first, then I saw the bran flakes twitching as the only sign of life after several months of waiting.

 

[Polenth]

I use oats as a base and dried cat food for protein. They get whatever fresh fruit and vegetables I have to hand. They'll eat all of the various fish foods and invertebrate foods I own. They're really not that picky. If there's a food that kills them, I've not found it.

Do keep quantities of wet stuff down so that they can eat it all within a day.

 

[FrogMantid]

I use oats as a base and dried cat food for protein. They get whatever fresh fruit and vegetables I have to hand. They'll eat all of the various fish foods and invertebrate foods I own. They're really not that picky. If there's a food that kills them, I've not found it.

Do keep quantities of wet stuff down so that they can eat it all within a day.

Curious. Is there a specific type of oats you use? I tried plain instant oatmeal because I had some on hand and they never ate it, so it never broke down into frass, which make sifting/sorting a pain. The method I described might be overkill, but I like it because in the end, I always get pure worms and no extra debris with a quick sifting.

 

[Polenth]

Curious. Is there a specific type of oats you use? I tried plain instant oatmeal because I had some on hand and they never ate it, so it never broke down into frass, which make sifting/sorting a pain. The method I described might be overkill, but I like it because in the end, I always get pure worms and no extra debris with a quick sifting.

I use basic porridge oats. The "instant" sort usually has stuff mixed in so you can microwave it, whereas the ones I used are just plain rolled oats. Mealworms break it down to a powder, though I don't worry about getting every last mealworm anyway... the last remains go out into the food digester, where they help break down our food waste.