Bluebird Feeding - Raising Mealworms (Part 3)

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: 

• Feeding bluebirds by Linda Janilla Peterson (including the bluebird banquet recipe)
• The cottonseed meal recipe for bluebird food
• Bluebird feeder sketches by Linda Janilla Peterson
• Mealworm feeding
• How  To Start And Maintain A Mealworm Colony by John Thompson
• FEEDING MEALWORMS - Solving the Problem of Mealworm Getaway By Nola Aiken
• Peanut Butter Pudding by Katherine Smith
• The Smith Meal Worm Feeder by Katherine Smith
• Feeding bluebirds by Jan Alhgren

Hi Folks:

Returned from Hawaii to find my mealyworms have been infested. It looks like thrips, I think, but entomology class was a long time ago. Small maybe 1/8 " long and very skinny, gray/black. Is there any way to save the colony or are they destined for the compost pile? I added zucchini as an added treat with the potato, could they have come from that?

Saw many great unusual birds in Hawaii also lots of HOSP...they can breed all year long. :(

Vicki Butler
Sacramento

Vicki wrote: Returned from Hawaii to find my mealyworms have been infested. It looks like thrips, I
think, but entomology class was a long time ago. Small maybe 1/8 " long and very skinny, gray/black.
Is there any way to save the colony or are they destined for the compost pile? I added zucchini as
an added treat with the potato, could they have come from that?

Vicki - did you get an answer from anyone? (Frustrates me a bit when people answer questions but
not to the list - then I can't archive the answer plus I don't know if a response is still needed).

I have only heard of grain mites (Acarus sp.) getting in mealworm farms. But they are tiny and
round, whitish or tan in color, and have eight legs.

I've also gotten Indian mealmoths in the bedding.

Bet from CT

Raising mealworms: http://www.sialis.org/raisingmealworms.htm#mites

hi all i am goin to start raising some meal worms...i wanted to see if someone can tell me what has been sucessful for them and/or show me a picture...i have a 5 gal fish tank i want to use for them...what all should i put in there for them....can i use horse grain as the bedding and throw half an apple on top for moisture?

Tyler

West Central OH

I use a plastic three door storage container that is pretty small and sits on top of my curio cabinet. The drawers are about 2" deep and are the size of a piece of standard paper. I use oats that I grind up into a more powdery like form for easy sifting. I put 250 mealworms in the bottom drawer and let them all pupate. I use potato or carrots for moisture. Pupae do NOT need the moisture so when they all became pupae I removed that stuff. Once the bugs formed I left them in that drawer until I saw small worms. Moved the worms to drawer number two and let them grow up and started harvesting for food.
Got enough worms to put some in drawer number three to go to pupae and the cycle starts again. The bottomed drawer all the bugs have been removed and worms are growing up there now and I have tons of new bugs in the other drawer, lots of mealies and doing pretty well with my farm.

Denise

Tyler, there is a lot of information about raising mealworms here, including info on containers,
bedding, sources of moisture etc. http://www.sialis.org/raisingmealworms.htm

I have tried the 3 door plastic bin set up - did have a few beetle escapes.

Phil has good luck raising mealworms in an aquarium. I would find it difficult to clean out (after a
while the frass gets stinky and ammoniated from excretions.)

My husband just through out my entire farm - he thought everything was dead because there were no
worms (just beetles.) Sigh....

Personally, I found raising mealworms an interested experiment but also a big pain.

SOME folks do have a reaction to the frass (dusty waste) - sort of like asthma/respiratory problems!

Bet from CT

From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net]
Sent: Wednesday, October 04, 2006 8:19 PM
Subject: RE: mealworm packaging

Actually I’m sure the rehabber is thrilled – it’s very expensive for them to buy food.

Usually mealworms are shipped:
1. with a potato wedge
2. in a container that has either crinkled newspaper or egg cartons in it (to keep them from overheating I think) 3. inside a muslin bag with a drawstring that is inside a box, or a box that has window screening securely stapled on the inside of two square holes in the sides box for ventilation 4. with the carton taped securely shut and marked “live food, open immediately” or something to that effect

Bet from CT

From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net]
Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 9:41 AM
Subject: spray for growing bigger mealworms?

I got this email - anybody ever hear of such a thing? Or hear of any commercial mealworm growers using such a thing?

"I live in Thomaston, Ga. An older gentleman asked me to try to research something for him on the internet. He says he knew an old man who raised golden meal worms and that he mixed some ingredients together in a spray bottle and refrigerated it. Before he was ready to start collecting worms from the box he started spraying this mixture on the bed for so long before he gathered worms, and this supposedly increased the size of the worms. Have you ever heard of such? If so what is the mixture?
This friend of mine is now raising meal worms and that is his reason for finding out. The old man that he knew tried to sell him the recipe years ago for $700.00.
Thank you in advance"

Bet from CT

From: Larry A Broadbent [mailto:rockets"at"cogeco.ca]
Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 2:30 PM
Subject: Re: spray for growing bigger mealworms?

Hi Beth,
This is in essence "Growth Hormones" being sprayed / used. These mealworms will grow much larger and quicker, however they will not morph / pupate into beetles.
I would definitely NOT feed growth hormones to mealworms or to superworms, and I definitely would not recommend any Bluebirders feeding mealworms or superworms that have been treated with growth hormones.

http://www.mealworms.com/
What Are Giant Mealworms?

Giant Mealworms are treated with a growth hormone that stops them from turning into the adult beetle. This hormone causes the worms to grow to two to three times their normal size. We do no recommend that you use Giant Mealworms to feed your reptiles, birds and pets, but they are great for fishing bait. Fishermen just love Giant Mealworms for bait.

Regards,
Larry A Broadbent
Ontario, Canada

From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net]
Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 2:35 PM
Subject: RE: spray for growing bigger mealworms?

Thanks Larry! Is this how they make "giant" mealworms? What kind of hormones do they use? How often do they use them?

Bet

From: Lana Hunt [mailto:lanahunt"at"kcp.uky.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 3:34 PM
Subject: Re: spray for growing bigger mealworms?

Bet,
I have never heard of such a thing. I try to 'fatten'
meal worms up before feeding them to the birds by giving them a baby carrot while they are warming up. I think anything with moisture will make them look bigger. Mine end up almost an inch and a half. That seems to be big enough for the birds to handle. :-)

Lana Hunt
Morehead, KY

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