9 replies to this topic

[Major]

So I got 12 mealworms from petco. How do I breed/care/raise them? I’m using them as food for my ants. How do I kill them in the most humane way?(besides boiling or freezing) Do they bite? Should I put them into the Outworld live?

[AntsAreUs]

Feeding them alive isn't a good idea as some ants can't kill mealworms. 12 probably wouldn't be great to start breeding with. To care for them just place them in a plastic container with a grain that has calcium in it and feed them potato or carrots. You would probably want to use carrots with only 12 though. They will not bite at all because of how small they are. As for killing, I'm not sure about a humane way of killing them without freezing or boiling. I personally freeze all mine for about 15-30 min which seems to kill them and any grain mites that might be on them.

Edited by AntsAreUs, July 3 2018 - 1:56 PM.

[Major]

Well I did buy some more and now am at around 70. I fed them an apple slice and they devoured it. I tried feeding one live to my Camponotus Pennsylvanicus with 30+ workers and they killed it. I'm impressed. I keep them in a container with oats and the occasional fruit/veggie. How long till reproduction?

Edited by Major, August 7 2018 - 2:36 PM.

[AntsAreUs]

Well I did buy some more and now am at around 70. I fed them an apple slice and they devoured it. I tried feeding one live to my Camponotus Pennsylvanicus with 30+ workers and they killed it. I'm impressed. I keep them in a container with oats and the occasional fruit/veggie. How long till reproduction?

I avoid fruits because they can mold very easily. It should take about 3-4 months from the mealworms you have now to new baby mealworms. This depends a lot on heat.

[Major]

Should I put some of their nest on a heat pad?

[AntsAreUs]

Should I put some of their nest on a heat pad?

I would say no, the better way is to have a warmer ambient temperature than direct heating. You could use a heat lamp over their setup.

[Ant Broski]

So I got 12 mealworms from petco. How do I breed/care/raise them? I’m using them as food for my ants. How do I kill them in the most humane way?(besides boiling or freezing) Do they bite? Should I put them into the Outworld live?

The way I raise and breed my mealworms is by raising them in one of those critter keeper cages on a thin layer of the desert beetle substrate that Peter Clauson sells https://shop.bugsinc...?productId=481. I just feed them pieces of vegetables and pieces of oats. I haven't experienced any grain mite or mold issues yet using this method yet, I’ve only used this method for a year and but it seems that the mealworms are growing at fast enough rate fir me to feed my ants.

[Major]

That is exactly what I'm doing.

[Trythis22]

I bought refrigerated giant mealworms from PetCo. Rumor has it they are sterile because they are fed differently but nobody had empirical evidence. Why would they be sterile? Seemed like an excuse for impatience to me. I tested it out and they are not sterile. Anyways here's my experience with them. 

 

- Will grow and pupate pretty fast onward from 1/2" to 1" size. About 1 month for 90% of a batch of 100 mealworms starting out at that size to pupate. I had 13 deaths at the larval stage, but the refrigeration prior may have been a factor.

- Pupae will become beetles in 1 week. I did cook them more than the mealworms so their development may have been faster than normal. 4 pupae dried up and/or was eaten. 

- Beetles start mating as early as 3 days after they "hatch". I moved the beetles to a new bedding after 2 weeks. The "oldest" beetles were in that nest for 3 weeks. 

- I saw little mealworms after 2 weeks of moving the beetles. So the eggs took any time from 5-2 weeks to hatch; most likely much closer to 5-4 weeks since they are very small. 

- Am currently recording the time it takes for mealworms to mature since this is my first generation in captivity. Biggest one is bigger than a Tetramorium nanitic. They are about 1-2 weeks old now. Lots of them wriggling about, I'll probably need to cull them like I did with the fruit flies. 

 

Heating was bottom only, 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit. The top was close to room temperature, but they were obviously not dying from heat exhaustion. Each stage of mealworm was kept separately. Wheat bran, cabbage and carrots. 

[AntsAreUs]

With room temperature, this is what I had after 4 months as the 2nd generation. Currently I have loads of beetles and a LOT more mealworms shortly on the way as the 3rd generation. Keep in mind I only started with 100. They seem to grow exponentially.

 

Edited by AntsAreUs, August 7 2018 - 8:34 PM.