Breeding mealworms

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Sep 29, 2015
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Is there someone that can possible ship some darkling beetles(mealworm beetles) to harlem geargia. Or someone close by that I can get some beetles from. I bought some mealworms and they havent pupated yet. And no the were regular old mealworms, not the giant ones that are sterile and wont pupate.

Also I have questions

1. Can mealworms chew through fabric, cloth, etc. What about their adult beetle form, can they chew through it?

2. Can I damage eggs if I use a spoon? Or a shifter to separate.

3. What is the best way to dry out the mealworms/bettles? I dont have any equipment.

4. How many mealworms do I need to replace the adults for specific quantities. Like 100, 200, 300 or more.

5. About how many pounds should I expect for certain amount of beetles. 100, 200 so on, if I transfer them every week, Two weeks, or three.

6. Can I keep all mealworms in one container, or will the bigger eat the smaller ones?

7 What is a good way to keep out flies?
 

Alaskamike

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Just a tip
If you can access YouTube there are dozens of videos that answer all your questions with short movies on how to do it.
 
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Well before I bought the mealworms, I watched many of them. But they dont answer my questions. I have a nice set up and containers to separate them. But none answer my questions. I even serched them online and nope, no answers.
 

Len B

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If you are not getting beetles you may need to increase the temperature to get things moving. it takes a while to get a colony going but once it starts producing it's hard to hold it back. The trick with super worms is to separate the worms to one per deli cup, it will then become a beetle. I tried doing them once, but for me it was more trouble and the results didn't justify to keep doing it. If you are raising them to dry them why not just buy them dry ? Wal mart has them in the wild bird food section. I can't say I have ever seen meal worm eggs. I keep all sizes of worms and the beetles together and pick out the ones I need. To start a new colony I just use old style quaker oats and raw potatoes cut in half. If i make a large colony I use Purina Layena mash as a base instead of the oats.
 
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Its just costly to buy mealworms. I dont have super worms, just mealworms. I have them in oats right now, an I feed them potatos and grapes.
 

Tom

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What are you feeding them to? Mealworms aren't a very good food for anything.

Have you ever considered a colony of dubia? Way easier, and they are a much better food for any insectivore.
 
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What are you feeding them to? Mealworms aren't a very good food for anything.

Have you ever considered a colony of dubia? Way easier, and they are a much better food for any insectivore.

What are they, and what eats them. Can you explain why they are better.
 

Tom

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What are they, and what eats them. Can you explain why they are better.

Blaptica dubia. They are a tropical species of non-invasive, non-pest species of roach. They have a higher meat to shell ratio, less chitin, are more nutritious, more digestible, they don't stink, they don't fly, they don't climb smooth surfaces, they don't make noise, they are extremely easy to propagate, they are extremely easy to handle, if they escape somehow they won't survive for long outside of tropical conditions, if some get left in the enclosure they won't bite or chew on or harm your animals of any size or age, and any thing that eats insects loves them.

An internet search will tell you all about them.
 

Tom

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They are roaches. Hey @Tom do chickens like them?

About half of my chickens pounce on them the first time they see them. Others take a while to start eating bugs. If your chickens are already used to eating bugs like mealworms or crickets, then they will probably love dubia right away.
 

Michael in MO

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pill bugs are easier to breed IMHO and if they aren't eaten immediately in the pen they eat things you DON'T want in there until they're eaten, I don't know about fish but turtles love then
 
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