macksnowgecko
New member
Can anyone tell me how they breed mealworms with pics it would be appreciated
Mealworm Breeding
- Thread starter macksnowgecko
- Start date
gbhil
New member
You need the following:
Two 6 quart rubbermaid or Sterilite shoeboxes.
One plastic butter dish, cool whip tub, etc. (anything to store pupae in)
One 1 pound package of ***** Cody Castellanos' Pro Gut Load Dry Diet (or rolled oats)
100 mealworms
Carrots
Fill one of the shoeboxes half way with rolled oats. Place your mealworms & a chunk of carrot inside. Keep it somewhere at least 70 degrees F. Check every other day to see if the carrot has molded, as well as for pupae. Replace carrot when molded. Place all pupae you find into the plastic butter dish. Check the butter dish every day to see if the pupae have molted into beetles.
Fill the other shoebox about 2" deep with rolled oats & and some carrot chunks. When you get beetles, put them in this shoebox. Check the carrot every other day for mold, just like above. Keep them at least 70F.
After you get a number of beetles (10 or so):
Every two weeks remove the beetles & carrots. Pour oats from the beetle shoebox into the original shoebox the mealworms grew up in. It will be full of eggs/larvae. Put 2" of fresh oats back in the beetle shoebox. Return the beetles & their carrot.
The first cycle takes the longest & the most patience. After that you'll have a constant trickle of pupae & beetles molting to keep your breeding going.
Place mealworms you want to keep for feeding in the fridge so they don't pupate. Place them in a cup of ground oats, like you find when you buy them. If you don't keep those cold in the refrigerator, they will pupate faster than you can feed them off. Then you'll end up with hundreds of thousands more mealworms than you'll need.
***** Some folks feed mealworms veggies other than carrots. Carrots are ideal for beta carotene! When your herp eats those carrots, they absorb natural color enhancing minerals. Since carrots are inexpensive like as potatoes, just use the carrots and save $$ by not having to buy Naturose to brighten the oranges and reds in your animals. (?)
Keep your mealworms 24/7/365 in bedding like ***** Cody Castellanos' Pro Gut Load Dry Diet.
Two 6 quart rubbermaid or Sterilite shoeboxes.
One plastic butter dish, cool whip tub, etc. (anything to store pupae in)
One 1 pound package of ***** Cody Castellanos' Pro Gut Load Dry Diet (or rolled oats)
100 mealworms
Carrots
Fill one of the shoeboxes half way with rolled oats. Place your mealworms & a chunk of carrot inside. Keep it somewhere at least 70 degrees F. Check every other day to see if the carrot has molded, as well as for pupae. Replace carrot when molded. Place all pupae you find into the plastic butter dish. Check the butter dish every day to see if the pupae have molted into beetles.
Fill the other shoebox about 2" deep with rolled oats & and some carrot chunks. When you get beetles, put them in this shoebox. Check the carrot every other day for mold, just like above. Keep them at least 70F.
After you get a number of beetles (10 or so):
Every two weeks remove the beetles & carrots. Pour oats from the beetle shoebox into the original shoebox the mealworms grew up in. It will be full of eggs/larvae. Put 2" of fresh oats back in the beetle shoebox. Return the beetles & their carrot.
The first cycle takes the longest & the most patience. After that you'll have a constant trickle of pupae & beetles molting to keep your breeding going.
Place mealworms you want to keep for feeding in the fridge so they don't pupate. Place them in a cup of ground oats, like you find when you buy them. If you don't keep those cold in the refrigerator, they will pupate faster than you can feed them off. Then you'll end up with hundreds of thousands more mealworms than you'll need.
***** Some folks feed mealworms veggies other than carrots. Carrots are ideal for beta carotene! When your herp eats those carrots, they absorb natural color enhancing minerals. Since carrots are inexpensive like as potatoes, just use the carrots and save $$ by not having to buy Naturose to brighten the oranges and reds in your animals. (?)
Keep your mealworms 24/7/365 in bedding like ***** Cody Castellanos' Pro Gut Load Dry Diet.
macksnowgecko
New member
ok thanks a few questions though how much beetles produce how much meal worms and also how long do the beetles live for
Supreme Gecko
Member
Here is an article from my newsletter about breeding mealworms-
Gecko News 1.3
Gecko News 1.3
gbhil
New member
Not 100% sure on numbers, but I'd guess each female beetle can lay well over 100 eggs each week.
I started with 100 mealworms from the local bait shop. Two years later I have four 55 gallon drums and a total of about 50,000 - 150,000 mealworms at any given time, not counting whats in the fridge for sale, which varies from 20,000 to 50,000. I let them breed without pulling any from the colony for the first year. Now I feed quite a few pets as well as use them for fishing and still have more than I'll ever need.
If you simply want to keep them going to feed your own pets, feed heavily direct from the bin and you'll still have enough morph into beetles to keep the colony going. I'd guess 10 beetles will make enough babies to feed a single gecko and still leave enough to make 10 more beetles to do it all over again. But don't worry, mealworms are real easy to sell or trade away if you get too many. Hit up leopard gecko breeders, sugar glider breeders, and finch (bird) breeders with a decent price or trade offer and likely they will take them all.
The healthy beetles live about 4 months. Some will molt out weak or deformed and only live a few weeks. I pull those out when I find them.
macksnowgecko
New member
Now after you get the first done with it and your colony is going steadily do you still need to do that with the pupae or just keep them in the drum and they will go on turning into beetles slowly? Also how long when refridgerated do the mealworms stay mealworms, and do the mealworms still grow while they're in the fridge? You'vebeen a lot of help, thanks alot.
Supreme Gecko
Member
I just checked a group that was setup at least a year ago that have not been feed for months (I keep them in oatmeal and baby food substrate) and have mealworms of all sizes, beetles, and pupae.
gbhil
New member
Supreme Gecko is right, you don't have to separate a large healthy colony. You just get a bit less production. Big mealworms will eat pupae, and beetles will eat little mealworms. In my large bins, I still separate what comes to the top, because I'm in there every other day to add carrots. I don't have much luck raising them without some sort of moisture source.
In the fridge, they don't grow much at all, if any. They last about 45 days, then they start to get hard and turn black one by one. If they sit in the fridge a month, I just dump them back into a bin and refill the cup with new ones, then back in the fridge.
You're welcome. I found it's almost as much fun to culture and grow the feeders as it is to keep the geckos, so I'm happy to talk about it and share.
Riverside Reptiles
Administrator (HMFIC)
Nice thread. Very good description on how to breed these guys. I'm going to sticky this to the top so newbies can make an easy find of it. Good job and thanks for writing it.
macksnowgecko
New member
ok thanks again gbhill Supreme Gecko for answering my last few questions. You helped a lot
Let_It_Fade
New member
nice info, so a person should leave the black beatles together for two weeks and then remove them? I am trying this stuff myself and was just curious. thanks
MauricesExoticPets
New member
Wheat bran + 10% brewer's yeast is by far the best bedding cost wise.
Wheat bran + 10% Diamond V Yeast Culture is a close second.
Whole wheat flour + 10% brewer's yeast works wonders.
Whole wheat flour + 10% Diamond V Yeast Culture is very good as well.
Freeze the bedding to kill grain mites and other grain critters.
Use the calcium dust and sift method to ensure you start with a clean slate (see fruit fly mite removal).
Place containers on mite paper.
Use water crystals for hydration, trust me on this it will save you money.
Add 20% calcium carbonate to the mix replace the brewer's yeast or yeast culture with nutritional yeast and you have a good gutload.
Maurice Pudlo
Wheat bran + 10% Diamond V Yeast Culture is a close second.
Whole wheat flour + 10% brewer's yeast works wonders.
Whole wheat flour + 10% Diamond V Yeast Culture is very good as well.
Freeze the bedding to kill grain mites and other grain critters.
Use the calcium dust and sift method to ensure you start with a clean slate (see fruit fly mite removal).
Place containers on mite paper.
Use water crystals for hydration, trust me on this it will save you money.
Add 20% calcium carbonate to the mix replace the brewer's yeast or yeast culture with nutritional yeast and you have a good gutload.
Maurice Pudlo
T-ReXx
New member
Some will some won't, depends on their taste preference. The beetles aren't toxic or anything, but they are higher in chitin than the worms so I wouldn't use them as a base diet, but a couple every now and then for variety is fine.
MauricesExoticPets
New member
I'd leave using the beetles as feeders to an option for adult leopard geckos only.
Take particular care to feed the beetles well and make sure they are well hydrated if you do use them as feeders. Freshly molted beetles that are still pale white or slightly red would be better than fully hardened black beetles.
Maurice Pudlo
Take particular care to feed the beetles well and make sure they are well hydrated if you do use them as feeders. Freshly molted beetles that are still pale white or slightly red would be better than fully hardened black beetles.
Maurice Pudlo
Zilla
New member
Ok guys, here is a question for you. I have 2 colonies going and both were doing great and then all of a sudden BOOM!! I have mites. How do I get rid of them and what harm will they cause to the colony? I had not looked into mites as I didnt think it would be a problem but guess what. Sorry I dont mean to sound dumb but I was just wondering.
MauricesExoticPets
New member
There are four things you can do to address this issue.
1) Use the dust and sift method to eliminate mites from the mealworms you use to start the colony. Use calcium powder or previously frozen flour as the dust, then sift the dusted mealworms in a clean sifter, discard the dust outside of your breeding area.
2) Freeze the bedding prior to use. A week will be more than enough. This kills most if not all of the grain mites that may be present in your bedding in the first place.
3) Use only enough bedding to raise the mealworms to the desired size. This helps to reduce the number of generations that any mites that make it past your above efforts may produce.
4) Place your colonies on mite paper, or wash down the area with a cleaner that contains an active ingredient that kills them. This prevents new mites from attempting to colonize your cultures of mealworms. Simply cleaning the area daily can also help, but using anti mite products will extend the duration between required cleanings.
If you feel that the mite issue is very bad, you may wish to run this cycle a few times at one week intervals. Each cycle will reduce the number of mites and has the potential to leave you with a mite free mealworm colony.
Using the above steps every time you make a new colony will act as your ongoing mite prevention program, and assuming you eliminate them from the start they should no longer be an issue.
I allow my mealworm beetles to seed a bin with eggs for just one week, then all of the beetles are moved to a new container after a quick dusting and sifting. This reduces the potential for mite transfer from one bin to another and better allows me to adjust how much bedding needs to be use to grow the mealworms to the size I desire.
Also remember that whatever you use as a source of moisture mush be washed to eliminate the transfer of mites into the colony.
While it all seems like a lot of work, it is not once you get the system up and running, mite free mealworms are worth the exrta effort to me.
Maurice Pudlo
1) Use the dust and sift method to eliminate mites from the mealworms you use to start the colony. Use calcium powder or previously frozen flour as the dust, then sift the dusted mealworms in a clean sifter, discard the dust outside of your breeding area.
2) Freeze the bedding prior to use. A week will be more than enough. This kills most if not all of the grain mites that may be present in your bedding in the first place.
3) Use only enough bedding to raise the mealworms to the desired size. This helps to reduce the number of generations that any mites that make it past your above efforts may produce.
4) Place your colonies on mite paper, or wash down the area with a cleaner that contains an active ingredient that kills them. This prevents new mites from attempting to colonize your cultures of mealworms. Simply cleaning the area daily can also help, but using anti mite products will extend the duration between required cleanings.
If you feel that the mite issue is very bad, you may wish to run this cycle a few times at one week intervals. Each cycle will reduce the number of mites and has the potential to leave you with a mite free mealworm colony.
Using the above steps every time you make a new colony will act as your ongoing mite prevention program, and assuming you eliminate them from the start they should no longer be an issue.
I allow my mealworm beetles to seed a bin with eggs for just one week, then all of the beetles are moved to a new container after a quick dusting and sifting. This reduces the potential for mite transfer from one bin to another and better allows me to adjust how much bedding needs to be use to grow the mealworms to the size I desire.
Also remember that whatever you use as a source of moisture mush be washed to eliminate the transfer of mites into the colony.
While it all seems like a lot of work, it is not once you get the system up and running, mite free mealworms are worth the exrta effort to me.
Maurice Pudlo
Oh, my, I was about to ask a question when I just noticed the last posts were written by Maurice Pudlo! You may not remember me, but I am also participating in that Green Anole discusssion forum you are too, even if I read more than I write 
This post comes at a time where I am desesperate, because my superworm culture just went down the drain because of mites. That, and because it is the 3rd time this year that I loose a worm culture because of them.
I take great care of starting clean, but some of my cultures get infested many months later, either mealworms or superworms. I suppose it is because I keep a large amount of plants in my appartment, but my fruit fly cultures never had any, and I keep them in the same room. Anyways, I was hoping to find some insecticidal product to keep them away from the cultures, and I want to try anti mite paper.
I would like to ask canadian residents where do they get their anti mite paper? I would like to avoid ordering online because I only need a small quantity, if possible. Any peculiar store carrying it?
This post comes at a time where I am desesperate, because my superworm culture just went down the drain because of mites. That, and because it is the 3rd time this year that I loose a worm culture because of them.
I take great care of starting clean, but some of my cultures get infested many months later, either mealworms or superworms. I suppose it is because I keep a large amount of plants in my appartment, but my fruit fly cultures never had any, and I keep them in the same room. Anyways, I was hoping to find some insecticidal product to keep them away from the cultures, and I want to try anti mite paper.
I would like to ask canadian residents where do they get their anti mite paper? I would like to avoid ordering online because I only need a small quantity, if possible. Any peculiar store carrying it?
MauricesExoticPets
New member
Rawksan,
0.50% Permethrin is the active ingredient in the aersol spray I use to clean down the area. I wouldn't know exactly what products are available to you that contain this ingredient though. As for what you are allowed to use in Canada I can't say either, laws are so very differnt around the world and I sometimes forget that.
When you get your breeding bins up and running again, use just enough bedding to get the mealworms to the size you need, if you miss-judge it is easy to add bedding.
It's a small world isn't it? I frequent a number of forums, the anole board is one of them I enjoy from time to time when it is active.
Maurice Pudlo
0.50% Permethrin is the active ingredient in the aersol spray I use to clean down the area. I wouldn't know exactly what products are available to you that contain this ingredient though. As for what you are allowed to use in Canada I can't say either, laws are so very differnt around the world and I sometimes forget that.
When you get your breeding bins up and running again, use just enough bedding to get the mealworms to the size you need, if you miss-judge it is easy to add bedding.
It's a small world isn't it? I frequent a number of forums, the anole board is one of them I enjoy from time to time when it is active.
Maurice Pudlo