Mealworms

[P. Novak]

...these crickets get annoying and smelly....

so...how do you start a mealworm colony?

thanks!

 

[cacoseraph]

...these crickets get annoying and smelly....

so...how do you start a mealworm colony?

thanks!

i use a 6" tall critter keeper

fill it about half full with oatmeal

add meal worms

i either mist or add water laden food at least once a week, try to do it twice a week or more

 

[P. Novak]

so just mist it twice a week, and use oatmel and i should have a colony going??

 

[cacoseraph]

so just mist it twice a week, and use oatmel and i should have a colony going??

oh, well, i think you should periodically give them some fruit or something

i haven't tried just giving them pure oatmeal to eat

remember, the nutrients and what not you give your feeders are the nutrients that you give your real pet bugs

 

[Buspirone]

=demonhunterhow do you start a mealworm colony?

thanks!

Here are some links to get you started:

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/cmeal.htm
http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/misc/ef002.htm
http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/whatyoucando/mealwormculture/mealworms.asp
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/universal-viewid63.html

There are alot of variation in the ways that people raise mealworms. There is more than one way to get the desired results. Find a method that seems easiest for you. You don't have to get too fancy or get into complicated bedding mixes. DO NOT try to get a culture started using GIANT MEALWORMS or KING WORMS. These are mealworms that were treated with a hormone that is used for pest control. It affects the molting and maturing process of the insect which causes the worms to go through more molts resulting in a larger size but prevents maturity. If these treated mealworms do manage to pupate and turn into beetles, which is rare, they will most likely be sterile. Good luck.

 

[P. Novak]

oh ok i think i got it now! thanks!!!!!

one more question though...

can i use mealworms as my Ts and scorps, main source of food?

 

[Stylopidae]

You can, but I prefer to feed my spiders (I now have some small lycosids in my new home:razz: ) crickets. I like to watch them hunt.

 

[P. Novak]

haha amusing...but other then amusement mealworms will be fine as a staple diet?

 

[Bloodletting]

Don't mist the meal worms. You will get moldy oatmeal. I use a mixture of oat bran, oat meal, corn meal and anything else in the grocer aisle that looks good. All you need is fruit and veggies, no water. If you want, use water crystals, avoid misting at all costs. You don't need to do it.

Scott

 

[NiGHTS]

Here's the best way to house your mealworm/beetle colony. Get a kritter keeper and lay down a few inches of oat bran (you can get it in the bulk bins at a health food store for dirt cheap), mixed with "chicken egg layer mash" (found at feed shops, also in bulk, and also cheap as chips). About 3 or 4 inches of this substate is good. You will have to add a bit of both substrate ingredients every six months or so, as it gets chewed up.

For feeding, add a slice of potato every few days. They'll get all the moisture they need out of that, and the potato dries up nicely, so you can remove it with ease. You can also feed other vegetables such as cucumber, etc, but watch out, because they mold quickly and can attract pests such as flies and mites. You shouldn't ever mist the cage, as it can mold the substrate. Also, be sure to always have a piece of edible potato in the cage (if the mealworms can't find a source of moisture, they will eat each other).

 

[jojobear]

O.k here is my 2 cents worth; I agree with the previous posts about the set-up with a few exceptions which are:

1. I always kept a piece of burlap on top of the bran folded over and that is where you put the moist food. By using the burlap it will absob extra moisture and it gives the mealworms a "cozy" place to eat. You can also use the cloth bag the mealworms are shipped in.

2. My first choice of moist food has always been either thin sliced apples or for better nutrition I used sliced carrots (sweet potato is good too). They both dry up before molding even at humid times of the year.

3. I would also reccomend setting up a colony then waiting and then setting up another with new worms. This way when one colony has pupae, beetles or eggs you have another colony at a different stage. I always had 4 going at once that were spaced out 3 months apart. (I was feeding a lot of animals at the time)

I was an intern in my local zoo when I was younger and spent quite a bit of time working in the commissary. We raised mealworms in bulk there and we always had to have them available.

 

[P. Novak]

oh ok thanks guys!!! alot!!!!!!!


for the second colony wait about 3 months before starting another one?

 

[Ecilious]

Mealworms are a great cheap to raise, low-maintanance food: use old washed ice cream tubs and feed them poatato and carrot peelings (on top of a swatch of burlap) with some cheap cereals for the base as previously stated. Good luck.