How to breed mealworms?

Yellow mealworms , commonly known as mealworms, have extremely high nutritional value and can be used directly as feed to breed frogs, turtles, scorpions, centipedes, ants, fish, ornamental birds, medicinal animals, poultry and other animals. So how do we breed mealworms themselves? Let’s learn more about it below.

1. Breeding container

Mealworm breeding containers can be made of wooden boxes, plastic boxes or homemade breeding racks, which must have good ventilation, moderate light and easy management. A layer of wheat bran, rice bran or sawdust should be laid at the bottom of the container as food and egg-laying substrate for mealworms.

2. Temperature and humidity requirements

Mealworms are suitable for living in dark environments and do not need light. Therefore, special attention should be paid to temperature and humidity conditions. Usually the suitable temperature for the growth and development of mealworms is 15℃-35℃, and the optimum temperature is 26℃-32℃; in terms of humidity, the suitable relative humidity of the air for mealworms is 40%-80%, and the moisture content of the feed should generally be controlled at around 20%.

3. Feeding

Mealworms eat feed from a wide range of sources. In artificial breeding, in order to purify and strengthen the population and accelerate reproduction and growth, wheat bran, cornmeal , bean cake, carrots , vegetable leaves, melon and fruit peels, etc. should be added. There are also compound feeds for chickens to increase nutrition.

4. Breeding management

(1) Adults and eggs: After the adults emerge from their shells, waste materials and pupal skins must be removed, and appropriate amounts of green fodder and concentrated feed must be added. Adults start laying eggs 3-6 days after emergence. White paper needs to be laid to collect the eggs. The white paper needs to be replaced regularly and feed needs to be supplemented.

(2) Larvae: After hatching, the larvae need to be fed with sterilized bran immediately, and the ratio of concentrated feed to green feed should be gradually increased as they molt. Reduce or stop feeding during the molting period, keep the feed sufficient in the morning and evening, and supplement it appropriately at noon. In addition, clean insect feces regularly and adjust the density of larval box breeding to suit different growth stages.

(3) Pupa: After the larvae molt several times, they begin to pupate. Before pupation, they should be fed with green feed. Pick out the newly hatched pupae in time and put them into a new box, and cover them with a small amount of fine feed, taking care not to cover the pupae.

5. Disease and pest prevention

Mites, dry wilt and soft rot are common diseases and pests of mealworms, and corresponding prevention and control measures need to be taken. In addition, attention should also be paid to the prevention and control of natural enemies such as rats, birds, geckos, and ants.

6. Harvest and storage

The growth cycle of mealworms is about 100 days and they can be harvested when they mature. After harvesting, it can be used directly as feed, or dried and frozen to extend the shelf life.

In general, mealworms are holometabolous insects, that is, they have four metamorphosis: adult, egg, larva, and pupa. The management points in each stage are different, and it is necessary to distinguish the breeding details so that the mealworms can be raised well.