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Bluebird feeding - raising mealworms (part 1)In addition to Messages that have appeared in the Bluebird Mailing Lists on this topic, the following are on the Audubon Society of Omaha website:
Subj: RAISING MEALWORMS Subj: Re: mealworms
From: Wright, Merlin C. Date: Wednesday, December 15, 1999 10:53 AM Subject: mealworms What is the opinion on the best food for mealworms. Some people use dogfood but do you need something else? Subj: Re: mealworms Subj:
Meal worms Subj: Re: Meal worms I try
to change the bedding about once a month. I've found that if
I put one of the sheets of grocery store bag (cut to fix the
box) on top of the reversed top of the box, left sitting on
the box, then covered with about 1/4 " of the old bedding,
all the mealworms will crawl under the paper in a few hours,
and I can put them into clean bedding with little or no trouble.
I keep repeating this until I have them all in fresh bedding.
They look healthy. I'm ready for bluebirds! Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2000 15:51:36 -0500 Hi. I'm new to the list and bluebirds. I've got a few looking over my rental property but no takers yet. I want to up the ante for them by supplying meal worms and would like to know how to get started with them, raise them, etc. I can get some at the pet store...can I use them as breed stock? Are there any sites that describe how to raise meal worm? Thanks.
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2000 17:24:27 -0500 Hi Leo, It seems that most websites that relate to birds have
information about feeding bluebirds including information on
mealworms. To save you some time, I've listed some for you to
check out: and also check out the article on keeping and raising mealworms
at The Bluebird-L reference lists has information about mealworm suppliers. I've copied the information below for you. FEEDING BLUEBIRDS. Nature's Way: 1-800-318-2611 (mealworms) Grubco: 1-800-222-3563 (mealworms) Rainbow: 1-800-777-9676 (mealworms) Good luck. Patty in WV Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2000 11:40:22 -0400 I used to put them in old fashioned oatmeal in a container, they won't crawl out. Beetles will develop and produce more worms. I kept them in the basement. I think you can also use oat bran. http://www.wbu.com/edu/mlwrm.htm That link should give you some information. Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2000 20:50:55 -0500 Thanks to everyone for the help. I got a container about the size of one that you'd put sweaters in. I layered it with oatmeal and threw in a few pieces of apple. Right now, the worms are out in the garage. ...
Date:
Tue, 25 Apr 2000 17:50:16 -0400 Hi Bruce and all. I got tired of giving the mealworms apple, potatoe and carrot slices for moisture, so now I give them a sponge moist with water. I wrap the bottom of the sponge with tinfoil and stand it upright in the corn or oat meal. This gives them moisture and I can easily re-wet the sponge and also wash it when needed! The tinfoil prevents water from getting into the meal. Fawzi
Date:
Sat, 29 Apr 2000 23:21:08 -0400
Mealworms are easy to raise, but it takes some time to get a good colony going. To raise mealworms take the largest several mealworms which you have bought and put them in a large deli container with a cup of oatmeal or corn meal. Add a couple of slice of apple to provide moisture. Add a piece of dried cat or dog food to encourage them to pupate. Cover with a piece of paper (i.e., not tightly, but just enough to keep them from drying out). In a couple of weeks after pupation (which may happen fast if the mealworms were large enough to start, or may take a few weeks if they were smallish) you will have adult black beetles. Do not worry, the beetles will not come out of the container unless they run out of food. At this point you can remove the cat/dog food because you don't need to encourage pupation. Now you must wait for the beetles to mate and lay eggs and for the eggs to hatch and the baby mealies to grow large enough so you can see them. Keep changing the apple slices as they get moldy or dry. After a while you will notice tiny mealworms. Keep feeding them. Eventually (about 3 months) they will get large enough to feed to your birds. You can actually feed them to the birds when they are smaller, and if you get a really large colony going you can just remove a tablespoon of food, mealies and all and put it out for your birds. If there are any questions, additions or corrections contact me at the address below. I hope this is helpful. --Jill Miller MMS"at"TheMillers.com
Date: Mon, 22 May 2000 17:08:32 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst, MA I cannot believe I've gone out and bought organic dog chow to feed my mealworms. Truly I've gone over the edge! When I was at the natural food store I remarked about the stupidity of selling honey flavored dog bones to dogs. Then I realized what I was embarking on and figured that what I was doing was even more absurd! Anyway, I did this because someone said somewhere to feed high protein dog food to mealworms. Alrighty, have done, but wonder, do I need to crush the dog food up or can I just put the whole nuggets in with the mewos. Thanks. H Date: Mon, 22 May 2000 20:06:38 EDT So Haleya, You don't even have a DOG?!??!??? When I feed my mealies Eukaneuba Light...I had my Golden as an excuse!!!! Well, just put a chunk or three in. The mealworms nibble these cute little indentations in the chow. Kind of fascinating, huh! Take care. Nancy PS- My mealies at school have a baggie full of dog food that my kids have contributed. It's pretty cool!
Date: Mon, 22 May 2000 20:18:26 -0400 In the movies, they love hardtack. I used cornmeal. It is very easy to sift. I think it a problem to get the worms out of the kibble. Use the dog food to make cookies. It is probably very pure and clean (most dog food is). To answer your question, I would think it necessary to grind it or crush it to fit through a sieve, while the MW staid behind. regards jer Our single feeding family seems to consume about 1000 worms a day. Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 17:45:26 -0400 (EDT) How long does it take to get eggs and small mealworms after they become non-flying beetles (at room temperature)? Is there anything you can do to hasten the process? Higher temperature? What's the limit?
Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 19:47:07 -0400 Dorene Scriven has a good chapter on this, as does Andy Troyer in his book. I believe they say one month for the eggs, and one year for the complete cycle. Of course this depends on the temperature. Randy Jones Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 22:19:19 -0500 Many of you are spending a lot of $ on mealworms and if you are able to handle them, feed them and store them you could easily raise your own also. One of our Oklahoma Bluebird Society members recently put on a presentation on this and I was amazed at how easy it is to do. She will be glad to help anyone get started. Call her at 918-438-1986 (Tricia Beach). This is a repeat Message, but I believe that some of the new members may not have the info. Bluebird Bob, Northeast Oklahoma. Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 22:32:18 -0500 Call Tricia Beach - 918- 438-1986. She is our mealworm expert. Bluebird Bob, Northeast Oklahoma. Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 10:35:54 EDT Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 09:02:09 -0500 Don't forget, they will try to escape their container so have the lid on correctly. Good luck, Carolyn Hall, Bassett Ne ... Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 13:31:02
-0500
Katherine & All, If you place your mealworms in a container with some wheat bran with a potato or apple slice or slices, depending on the amount of mealworms and size of the container, they will do fine without any refrigeration. As you probably know, the only thing refrigeration does, is to cause them to go into a dormant state where they require little, if any food or moisture. I raise my mealworms by the thousands out in my garage and they seem to fare well regardless of what the temperature might be or how often I add, or forget to add slices of potatoes. I have found by experience that its easy to overdue the potato bit, when you do you end up with a lot of moldy bran. Raising your own mealworms should prove to be interesting as well as a cost cutting measure for you. Best regards, Bruce Johnson ~ Life Mbr. NABS 2795 Long Oak Drive Germantown TN 38138 901-755-6842 Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 15:03:06 -0400 Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 16:50:35 EDT Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 16:53:35 EDT Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 17:00:10 EDT Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 16:51:54 -0500 Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 19:09:03 -0400 Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 19:11:04 -0400 Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 20:26:55 -0400 Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 22:02:12 -0800 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. Without a microscope, how can you distinguish between just-hatched mealies or mites. Not too long ago, I noticed almost microscopic whitish round mites(?)in my mealworm buckets and at first assumed it was mealworms just hatched. I've grown mealworms for a few years and something just didn't seem right with the last buckets. With the naked eye and under a 10x jeweler's loupe, these whitish round crawlers looked similar in shape to bird mites. Whatever they were, they were also on the mealworms themselves. Because I grow my mealies in 5-gal plastic buckets in my living room, I didn't want to risk having some type of infestation so the buckets were all dumped and I'll start over again with a large order next spring. If this happens again, I'll look at some samples under a microscope for a better ID. Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 09:24:52 EST That is not good! I just went in to check mine a little closer,
I don't see anything, but maybe I don't know what I'm looking
at. I haven't experienced any type of problem in the past but
I'll sure keep a closer eye on them. Let me know if you find
out what they are... can anyone out there fill us in on this? Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 06:25:38 -0800 Hi Linda and all; If you can't ID them, put a few of the mealies (with attached "guests") in a small Ziploc bag, and freeze 'em. Then send them to me, and I'll ID 'em for you (I've got the gear--and can probably find the references...). L8r, Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 11:53:03 -0400 I have received a number of queries about the culture of mealworms. I will get confused so feel free to ask questions. I have raised
mealworms for years. I have expanded somewhat this year. I will
raise somewhere around a million as compared to 3/4 of a million
last year. When the larva in a culture begins to pupate I scoop out a couple scoops into a shoebox size plastic container. (I like to use clear ones so I can see how much the frass (manure) is building up in the bottom.) Every couple or three days I go through the container and pick out the pupa by hand. This only takes a few minutes. I put the ones I find in a small shallow container with nothing else in it. A newly formed pupa will take 7-12 days to turn into a beetle. I buy wheat bran at the local coop for $6.20 for a 50 pound bag. I add things to it, which I will get to later but the bran is ALL you need. I put some bran in a container, pick out the beetles from the pupa every couple of days, with a spoon, and put them in this container. I usually do this for a couple of weeks, set that container aside and start a new one. I wait a couple of weeks and take the beetles out of the first container, throw them out or start ANOTHER container. Even if you only keep beetles in a container for a week there is wide variation in the maturity of the larva. Kept at room temperature you will get your first pupa at 3 months but it will be another 3 months, at least, before the last larva pupates, even if the eggs were laid within a week of each other. For the first couple of months you can hardly see the larva. You can have tens of thousands in a shoebox size container. After that I separate them into more containers. Where you have one pound at the end of two months, you will
have sixteen pounds at the end of the third. At the end of the
third month I start The beetles do not fly. The larva can't get out if the container is filled no higher then an inch from the top. I have some 64 quart Rubbermaid containers that we got at a garage sale. Each one of these will hold 50,000 to 100,000 larva. Give them moisture every couple of days. DO NOT OVERDO!!!!! Better to little then to much. You can use carrots, potatos, apples, etc. My favorite is lettuce leaves. Second is bread. I spray some water on both. I also give the larva laying mash, yeast, finely ground egg shells, finely ground dog food. I experient with all sorts of different ways to raise them. All you need is bran a moisture. That is it. Even with my playing I will spend less than 10 cents per thousand to raise them. I have not bought any mealworms in years. Just cut down on
the number of containers in the summer and ignore them. Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2000 18:14:09 -0500 (EST) The recent e-mail from Morgan Davidson about growing mealworms has been edited into a webpage at http://www.crosswinds.net/~bluebirdguide/mealworm-md.htm or http://birds.cornell.edu/bluebirdsmealworm-md.htm Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2001 09:42:27 -0500 I ordered a batch of mealworms from Rainbow, from whom I had been getting them regularly during last year's nesting season. I ordered medium, as usual, but the ones they sent me this time seem quite a bit smaller than in the past. So here's my question. I was thinking that once they grow to a reasonable size, I could then put them back in the fridge so they wouldn't turn into beetles (I'm not interested in managing a mealworm farm)... assuming there are any left by that time. -- Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2001 11:40:38 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA Hi Katherine, My mealworms also come small even though they are technically "medium" size. Your ideas are exactly on target. I never bother putting mine in the frig for the same reasons. I'd rather get more for my money and let my mealworms grow bigger. Also I don't have room in the frig, my teenager hates mealworms in the frig, and it takes time to keep mealworms in the frig. When I buy mine, I put them in a large plastic tub. I place them between a few layers of cut up paper bags. I sprinkle oats and also hi-protein organic dog food (optional) throughout all layers. I place them in a closet at room temperature. Meanwhile I take mealworms out as needed to feed to my EABL. Meantime, the mealworms are all growing and getting MUCH bigger. I go through 5,000 mealworms in about 3-4 wks. At the end of this time I might have about 6-7 mealworms that have gone through all stages and have turned into beetles - and perhaps 50 or maybe more that have turned to the pupae stage. If I were to keep them longer than 3-4 wks I would up them in the fridge to slow their growth down. But with this small amount of mealworms that have changed to pupae or beetles there is no need to go through the hassle of refrigerating them. I've done this through both summer and winter and I find I lose VERY few mealworms to dryness, etc. I never use any carrots or potatoes or anything that will rot. The oats suffice. The EABL will eat both the pupae and beetles, although the larvae is their favorite. One thing that is critical is that 5,000 mealworms eat A LOT of food, so I have to make sure they don't run out - especially in the beginning when I've got the full lot. You'll notice they are very warm - they produce lots of energy! The healthier the mealworms, the healthy they are for the EABL. Also, about a week or 2 into the batch, I strain out all the
little gritty leftovers - either it is mealworm poop or left
over oats, etc. (I am not sure) Because otherwise every time
I get some mealworms out I am also getting all that gritty stuff
and I don't like that in my bluebird feeder. Haleya Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2001 13:38:20 -0500 Thanks, Haleya and all the other mealwormers who answered my question. I have taken the worms out of the fridge and they are now basking at room temperature, gorging themselves on bran and, I hope, getting bigger as we speak! I just have one other tiny question to add to the ones I asked: How much bran per how many worms? As long as they were refrigerated and not growing, it really didn't matter, but now that they are actually eating, I wouldn't want to starve the poor li'l critters! :-) -- Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2001 12:49:25 -0800 (PST) Hi all, I also have a question about the mealworms. I started my mealworm farm back in October and I now have little baby mealworms(teenie weenie). My questions: Do I remove the babies from the tub that the
beetles are in and into their own tub?? How many days do the
beetles lay eggs?? Kerry in NE corner of Okla. Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2001 19:01:20 -0400 If you keep your culture at around 72 F. or so, your first pupa should appear in three months from the time you put the beetles in. The beetles will lay for two or three months and die in four months or so if kept at 72 F. Always let a few of your larva pupate from each culture. That
way you can continue having larva coming along. Start a new
culture every couple of weeks or so. That way they will all
be about the same age. After a couple of weeks pull the beetles
out and put them in a new container. Depending on how many
you wish to raise your containers can range in size from a
cottage cheese container up to large rubbermaid containers. Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 12:38:13 -0500 My mealworms are growing apace, thanks to the good advice from all you folks. How do I know when they're about to turn into something else (which I *don't want), and it's time to pop them in the fridge? -- Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 18:14:54 -0500 Katherine: Our mealworms get about an inch plus-a-bit long, then turn soft and plump. They stop moving around and curl into a gentle "C" shape; they look almost helpess. --Once you've had several turn into larvae, you kinda learn their typical pre-change size and attitude. Good luck. Dot - eastern Mass Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 00:10:31 -0500 (EST) Can someone who has successful experiences raising mealworms answer a few questions for me, please. I seem to have plenty of pupae and beetles, but I get few to no little mealworms. I am using corn meal, paper and cardboard, potatoes and dry dogfood, adding water occasionally, growing in plastic boxes shoebox size and larger. The cultures seem kind of dry, but when I used apples there was too much moisture and condensation, and mold developed. Where they are is usually dark (does that really matter?). It is also on the cool side (probably 60's): is there a minimum temperature at which they will breed and lay eggs? What is the optimum temperature? What can I do to increase the production of small mealworms in these cultures? Thanks for your help, Barry SC Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 07:53:33 -0600 (CST) Barry- This may help Keeping and raising mealworms http://www.icomm.ca/dragon/mealworm.htm "ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST AND FOUND THE BLUEBIRD OF HAPPINESS" "HAPPY BIRDING" Professor B.F. Booby http://www.homestead.com/BLUEBIRDSOVERAMERICA/BLUEBIRDS.html Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 08:34:23 -0400 ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: "Keith & Sandy Kridler" kridler"at"1starnet.com Hi Keith and All: Last week while visiting my Rehabilitator discovered she was feeding her massive supply of mealworms a chick starter, purchased at local feed mill & highly nutritious as you have stated. Henceforth, I shall feed chick starter (and I had just purchased 25 lb. bran). I was advised yrs. ago by a researcher at Ft. Detrick, MD that the mealies we feed our Bluebirds will only be as nutritious as the food they consume. I hope to see some industrious student undertake this study and have NABS award financial backing for the research. Thanks for your valuable input. Betty Nichols, Middletown, MD I am sorry about this but I want everyone to know I am NOT
against mealworm ... Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 16:29:01 -0400 Hi everyone, from Karen Unruh I recently bought some chick starter from the feed store to feed my mealworms. The saleslady asked if I wanted "medicated" or "non-medicated" chick starter. Make sure you ask at your feed store, because if you are just using it to feed to your mealworms, they don't need the medication. That is for the baby chicks! Karen Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 23:57:21 -0500 Okay friends. I need you to laugh with me on this one ... Last summer was my first attempt at growing mealworms. After awhile I had quite a few worms. I did have a bit of a problem determining which stage of growth they were in ... since they didn't look like the photos I saw on web. They were darker ... much darker. And OH how awful the mealworm bucket smelled. And birds didn't seem to eat them. At the end of the season I tossed them in our mulch pile. This spring it was encouraging to see how they had multiplied. At NABS Convention I had an eye-opening experience. Somewhere I saw a photo of blowfly larvae. And then I read on Internet about the strong ammonia smell they produce. My dark "mealworms" were MAGGOTS! ... No wonder we've had so many flies in our backyard this summer!!! Pauline Tom Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2001 11:43:18 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA Being a compost fanatic, I've been looking at all the mealworm "frass" (sp?...mealworm droppings plus the powder left over from their eaten meal) and decided to dump some into a ailing potted Ficus (sp?) tree I have. Within a week it started growing new leaves, so I've been adding more and more. My gosh, the ficus is nearly pushing through the roof by now. I've never seen it with so many green leaves! :-) Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2001 23:55:45 EDT Susan Bulger Rainbow Mealworms in Compton, CA bags the 'frass' and leftover bran for fertilizer. They give it away for free. The owner showed me a photo of his lawn where he spelled out his name with the 'fertilizer' and the letters were much greener than the rest of the grass. I am using his product this summer along with other plant food and the results are better than usual, however, our weather has been cooler than normal so I can't determine the reason for my healthier-looking roses and perennials. From: "res0amse" d.drjrsam3"at"verizon.net I need to either find a cheaper source of meal worms or learn how to raise my own. I use between 3 & 4 thousand per mo. I tried to raise my own but not having much luck at all. Any advice would sure be helpful. Hope I'm doing this rite- is my first time online thanks riddle From: "wlc164wlc" wlc164wlc"at"rcn.com Hello fellow birders: Anyone experience similar problems? Are they mites? Thanks for your help. Wanda (SE PA) Bluebird feeding - raising mealworms (Part 2) |
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