How to breed mealworms

How to. We highly recommend setting up a Bug Factory Mealworm Farm.

The problem for many people is the high cost of maintaining a continuous supply for their garden birds. I have been rearing my own mealworms for years, a real cost-saving practice. However, it must be said that patience is essential as it takes four months or so before your mealworm culture starts to produce a steady and continuous supply of fully grown mealworms. Mealworms are not worms but the larval stage of a beetle. It is the larvae of the Yellow Mealworm Tenebrio molitor that are used widely as food for wild birds, as well as captive birds, reptiles and amphibians.

How to breed mealworms

My chickens love mealworms. In fact, they gobble them up at such an alarming rate that a few years ago I decided it would be more economical for me to try to breed my own. So I found a guy who sold them in bulk and bought a huge box of live ones. I was so excited about this new venture. I opened the box, took one look at the mass of squirmy wrigglers inside, panicked, and tossed the entire box into the run with my chickens. In the blink of an eye, all 40, worms were gone! And my chickens went to bed very happy - with crops stuffed with mealworms. But over the years, I've been asked so many times about raising and breeding mealworms that I've decided to share with you how to do it, in case you are more brave than I! The Ramirez family, who follow me on Facebook, explained how they breed their mealworms. The kids are in charge of the "farm". They have a three-tiered plastic storage bin with drawers set up for different stages of the worms' life cycle. The mealworm life cycle takes several weeks, so it does take a while to have plenty of mealworms for your chickens. And you always have to make sure you leave enough mealworms to mature into adult beetles to complete the life cycle over and over again. Put your live mealworms larvae in the bottom drawer in in inch or so of a mixture of corn meal, flour, and oatmeal or other ground grains you have around the pantry. Put a vegetable or fruit in to provide moisture, but nothing with too much water that will rot.

Beetles live for weeks. This approach means that you do not disturb the breeding beetles every time you harvest some mealworms. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy.

This site has limited support for your browser. We recommend switching to Edge, Chrome, Safari, or Firefox. Mealworms are a popular food for many pet reptiles and birds, and they are easy to raise at home Before we tell you how to farm mealworms here is a quick overview about their lifecycle. Mealworms, also known as Tenebrio molitor, are the larvae of the darkling beetle. They go through a complete metamorphosis, meaning they have four distinct stages in their life cycle: egg, larva mealworm , pupa, and adult We have written a in-depth blog, check it out for more info.

Mealworms are the larvae of mealworm beetles and are used as a food source for many different exotic pets. Reptiles , amphibians, sugar gliders , skunks, chickens, hedgehogs , and other animals consider various sizes of mealworms as part of their regular diet, but they don't always contain the nutritional components these pets need because they are often sitting in a store without food for extended periods of time. Additionally, the cost of regularly purchasing live food sources, such as mealworms, can become inconvenient and expensive to pet owners. Thankfully, raising your own mealworms is easy to do and can help you ensure your pet is receiving nutrient-dense food. In order to raise mealworms, you'll need a little bit of space dedicated to housing your mealworm colony.

How to breed mealworms

Mealworms are a very tasty, nutritious treat for your pet, but can get very pricey buying at your local pet store. Instead, why not learn how to breed mealworms at home? Breeding your own mealworm farm is simple to do, inexpensive and can provide a never ending food supply for your pet. Feel free to jump ahead, by clicking any of the links below. It will take you right to the section that you are interested in learning more about. As a pet owner, we want to keep them happy and healthy. Some pets, such as geckos, bearded dragons and lizards require protein in their daily diet to survive.

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Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. Once the life cycle has completed in the first bin, the substrate will be depleted. Article Bird tracking Phil Atkinson explains the technology behind tracking. The beetles will copulate and lay eggs in the substrate, which hatch 1 to 4 weeks later. Sift the substrate and keep the process going. Put the lid on top of the bin. You'll need a few large containers, mealworm substrate, and a collection of mealworms in order to start your own colony. This will prevent them from moving into the pupae stage and will preserve them as mealworms. All rights reserved. Thanks Helpful 25 Not Helpful 2. Support wikiHow Yes No. Things You'll Need.

Raising mealworms is fairly easy since they are prolific breeders and are hardy insects. It is also fairly inexpensive and can save you quite a bit of money if you use a lot of worms every month. Breeding will take a while to get started, but once there are plenty of beetles laying eggs you will have worms for as long as you need.

Rated this article:. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. It takes a few months to get a really good and productive mealworm farm going, but I enjoy tending my herd of prize beetles. I prefer carrot, as it takes the longest to go off. The difference we make How you can help Our science Understanding birds Develop your skills. I've been feeding the wildlife in my garden for years, and after a recent visit to my local vet with an injured magpie, I was told that magpies thrive on mealworms. Pupae should be placed on the upper section of the beetle tray. The beetle tray should be left in place for around 2 weeks in the base unit. Finally, the pupae emerge as adult beetles, which mate and lay eggs to start the cycle again. Once the new larvae hatch from their eggs, you'll need to move all the pupae and beetles to the second container.