Breeding Mealworms
- Thread starter Xeyana S
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Tymeleon
New Member
I recommend this video!
https://youtu.be/bXC_9LoeAgE
https://youtu.be/bXC_9LoeAgE
MissLissa
Avid Member
Mealworms are dead easy.
I take four large stackable storage tupperware. The plastic has to be very sturdy, though, as mealworms will eat out of flimsy plastic. You don't need to put on the tops, unless you really want to- mealworm beetles very rarely fly. I leave mine open, but if they were closed I'd make sure there was plenty of ventilation; maybe a screen top or some such.
On one of the boxes, I cut out the bottom, and replace it with fine aluminum screen. This gets stacked on top of another box (no lid, obviously), making sure the boxes I'm using have a bit of space between them when they stack.
Into the third box I pour a mix of wheat germ, wheat bran, and coarsely ground flax, about 1-2" deep. The mealworm larvae (what you probably bought) go in here. Make sure they have a water source- carrots, apples, etc are all eaten with relish. It also makes a great gutload if you vary the veggies and fruits. Stay away from soft squishy fruit like mango though- it will make a right mess. I also toss in the random leftovers- bread crusts, fish food, rodent chow, whatever dryish edibles I have on hand. The beetles really seem to like puffed wheat.
The fourth box stays empty for now.
Once the majority have matured into pupae or beetles (75%+), I pour them into the screened box. The screen lets the beetles sift out their own poop and eggs and chewed up bit of food, so I don't have to. I leave them in there for 4 weeks- sometimes longer because I have a busy life. I add additional bedding as required.
At 4 weeks, I take the poop and egg and chewed up food mix that's gathered between the stacked boxes and pour it into the fourth box. At this point I also sift out the dead beetles, etc. The live beetles go back in their screen box with new bedding. To the new "egg" box, I add 1-2" of the wheat bran/germ/flax mix. Don't forget the carrot or apple or whatever, too, since there is likely already teeny tiny babies in there.
First instar mealworms are virtually microscopic; you won't see them for about a week after they hatch, depending on the temperature they are kept at (they prefer it warm and humid). Every 2 weeks once they are visible I sift out the fine poop/dust powder and add fresh bedding. With my temps, it takes about 8-10 weeks for them to make it to a reasonable feeding size, and they pupate shortly after that. Once they emerge as beetles, I sift them out and pour them into the screen box with new bedding. The old larvae bedding goes in the garbage/compost, and the box is cleaned to receive the next 4 weeks worth of old beetle bedding.
The whole cycle, from egg to beetle, takes about 170 days. Once a year I also grow up a new batch of mealworms to beetle stage and introduce them to my colony to maintain genetic diversity.
All in all, here is the care I do:
Daily: new "wet" food, temps and humidity
Weekly: Check bedding to make sure there is enough
Bi-weekly: sift out old poop stuff from current larvae container
Monthly: sift out dead beetles, pour old beetle bedding into clean egg container, transfer new beetles from old larvae container to beetle container, clean old larvae container. Make sure everyone has enough bedding.
Yearly: Add new beetle stock
I take four large stackable storage tupperware. The plastic has to be very sturdy, though, as mealworms will eat out of flimsy plastic. You don't need to put on the tops, unless you really want to- mealworm beetles very rarely fly. I leave mine open, but if they were closed I'd make sure there was plenty of ventilation; maybe a screen top or some such.
On one of the boxes, I cut out the bottom, and replace it with fine aluminum screen. This gets stacked on top of another box (no lid, obviously), making sure the boxes I'm using have a bit of space between them when they stack.
Into the third box I pour a mix of wheat germ, wheat bran, and coarsely ground flax, about 1-2" deep. The mealworm larvae (what you probably bought) go in here. Make sure they have a water source- carrots, apples, etc are all eaten with relish. It also makes a great gutload if you vary the veggies and fruits. Stay away from soft squishy fruit like mango though- it will make a right mess. I also toss in the random leftovers- bread crusts, fish food, rodent chow, whatever dryish edibles I have on hand. The beetles really seem to like puffed wheat.
The fourth box stays empty for now.
Once the majority have matured into pupae or beetles (75%+), I pour them into the screened box. The screen lets the beetles sift out their own poop and eggs and chewed up bit of food, so I don't have to. I leave them in there for 4 weeks- sometimes longer because I have a busy life. I add additional bedding as required.
At 4 weeks, I take the poop and egg and chewed up food mix that's gathered between the stacked boxes and pour it into the fourth box. At this point I also sift out the dead beetles, etc. The live beetles go back in their screen box with new bedding. To the new "egg" box, I add 1-2" of the wheat bran/germ/flax mix. Don't forget the carrot or apple or whatever, too, since there is likely already teeny tiny babies in there.
First instar mealworms are virtually microscopic; you won't see them for about a week after they hatch, depending on the temperature they are kept at (they prefer it warm and humid). Every 2 weeks once they are visible I sift out the fine poop/dust powder and add fresh bedding. With my temps, it takes about 8-10 weeks for them to make it to a reasonable feeding size, and they pupate shortly after that. Once they emerge as beetles, I sift them out and pour them into the screen box with new bedding. The old larvae bedding goes in the garbage/compost, and the box is cleaned to receive the next 4 weeks worth of old beetle bedding.
The whole cycle, from egg to beetle, takes about 170 days. Once a year I also grow up a new batch of mealworms to beetle stage and introduce them to my colony to maintain genetic diversity.
All in all, here is the care I do:
Daily: new "wet" food, temps and humidity
Weekly: Check bedding to make sure there is enough
Bi-weekly: sift out old poop stuff from current larvae container
Monthly: sift out dead beetles, pour old beetle bedding into clean egg container, transfer new beetles from old larvae container to beetle container, clean old larvae container. Make sure everyone has enough bedding.
Yearly: Add new beetle stock
MissLissa
Avid Member
Mealworms are not recommended for chams. I breed them for my skinks, geckos and other reptiles 
The same process is not perfect for superworms- their larvae are not fond of pupating when kept together (they are crazy cannibalistic, in my experience anyways). I isolate large larvae individually to get them to pupate more reliably. Other than that, yep, pretty much the same
The same process is not perfect for superworms- their larvae are not fond of pupating when kept together (they are crazy cannibalistic, in my experience anyways). I isolate large larvae individually to get them to pupate more reliably. Other than that, yep, pretty much the same
If you wanna breed feeders silkworms are easier because you don't need to maintain them. If you get a tree or can get leaves they'd be free. Using chow is expensive for bigger silks but you can get hundreds if not thousands to mealworm size using prepared food for fairly cheap. When I bred mealworms, I just used a large aquarium filled with oatmeal and added potatoes here and there and I sifted it once I saw a lot of babies. Was a pain to clean but it gave me the ability to know when there were babies.I don't know if they actually needed water because I would never see babies at the vegetables but when I decided to give up and feed them off I was clearing it out and found there were thousands of babies at the bottom and they were already halfway to adult size and there's no way they had any water. This is why I started using a tank instead of plastic bin. Either way good luck!
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