How to breed mealworms

My chickens love mealworms.

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. Another less common but similar species, the Dark Mealworm Tenebrio obscura is sometimes used, the larva being somewhat smaller in size. Both species are natives of Europe but have long been distributed worldwide, where they occur in undisturbed damp grain and other cereal products.

How to breed mealworms

How to.. We highly recommend setting up a Bug Factory Mealworm Farm. You can purchase one here. Simply the best, easiest and cleanest way to breed mealworms. You will need to source some live mealworms — most local pet shops have them. Alternatively they can be ordered online and sent via the postal system. Put your live mealworms in a base unit provided with our Mealworm growing pods with some substrate — Supermeal is best, but you can use oats or pollard. Put a piece of vegetable or fruit in to provide moisture, but nothing with too much water that will rot. I prefer carrot, as it takes the longest to go off. Mealworms like a warm, dark environment. Around 25 degrees to 28 degrees is ideal, but they will grow in a reasonably wide range of temperatures. Outside of the ideal range their growth will be less though.

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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.

Pet Keen is reader-supported. When you buy via links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more. When you get mealworms from a pet shop, they are in a larval phase of life. They still have quite a metamorphosis ahead. When you bring home your mealworms, you notice that they have six short legs upfront with long, tough exoskeletons. After two weeks, these larvae worms begin to switch to the next phase of life. As mealworms develop rapidly, they shed their exoskeleton several times during the process. After a few months, they begin to take on a shorter, softer appearance while switching to darkling beetle form.

How to breed mealworms

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. You should start with at least one hundred mealworms, but can begin with many more. Then, all you need is a container, substrate, and a source of food and water. Container The container should have a large surface area and smooth sides. The sides of the container only need to be a couple inches higher the substrate in order to prevent the worms from escaping. An aquarium, terrarium, plastic box, or Sterilite container will make an excellent home. The container will also need a screened lid to prevent other insects and creatures from getting in and to allow airflow.

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Place your starter stock in the bin. It would just be easier to breed them at home than constantly going to the store. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. These are: One, or better still two, containers — e. The mealworms, which are the larvae of the darkling beetle, will need 10 or more weeks to go through their life cycle and reproduce to make new mealworms. Be social! Please log in with your username or email to continue. This all depends on how warm your climate is. Worms turn into pupae and begin the metamorphosis into a beetle which takes weeks. My next project is a ground feeder that allows Blackbirds to reach the mealworms, but not the local Magpies. Breeding Mealworms How to.. I have to say, since they were already set up in their container, and all I had to do was add more veggies if they ran out, it really was pretty easy and didn't gross me out very much. Rated this article:. Add more vegetables and oatmeal as needed and move the bedding around to prevent mould. Samuel Ramsey, PhD.

Last Updated: December 20, Fact Checked. This article was co-authored by Samuel Ramsey, PhD.

No account yet? These will become your fresh baby mealworms! Breeding mealworms is a lot of fun and much more cost-effective the purchasing dried mealworms. 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. If the mealworms start to run out of food, add more. Continue moving pupae and beetles to the second container as they mature. The difference we make How you can help Our science Understanding birds Develop your skills. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. The worms like to hide under them and wriggle around on them. After a few weeks of waiting in anticipation, you should have a healthy batch of mealworms at the ready! Use a plastic fork periodically to sift through and find any pupae - which get moved to the top drawer to hatch into beetles. You can use a heat lamp or heating pad to keep the container at the right temperature.