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keeping giant mealworms alive
- Thread starter venus fly trapper
- Start date
nepenthes gracilis
Nepenthes Specialist
I have a small mealworm farm and all I do is keep them in oat bran and a little oatmeal. And for food I toss in a whole apple. They usually devour it in a fw weeks. Also, DO NOT KEEP THEM WET OR LET MOLD FORM. It will ruin your farm. Also make sure the oat bran media they will live in is nice and dry. They will hatch into beetles and lay eggs so the farm will become self productive within a short amount of time.
Hi,
I have 2 notes to add to the above post. While it is important that the food not be wet so as to avoid mould, it is also important that the air humidity be relatively high. It's often recommended to put a slice of fruit on top of the food to add moisture to their environement. The fruit should be removed and replaced once it starts to spoil. Probably not a bad idea to place the fruit on a small dish or piece of plastic so it's not in direct contact with the food, which could spoil if it's touching it.
Also, I have noticed that my mealworm culture cycles, with periods of high population, and fairly long periods of nothing at all. This is normal sometimes, and I think it can take up to 6 months for the eggs to hatch.
Take care!
Chris F.
I have 2 notes to add to the above post. While it is important that the food not be wet so as to avoid mould, it is also important that the air humidity be relatively high. It's often recommended to put a slice of fruit on top of the food to add moisture to their environement. The fruit should be removed and replaced once it starts to spoil. Probably not a bad idea to place the fruit on a small dish or piece of plastic so it's not in direct contact with the food, which could spoil if it's touching it.
Also, I have noticed that my mealworm culture cycles, with periods of high population, and fairly long periods of nothing at all. This is normal sometimes, and I think it can take up to 6 months for the eggs to hatch.
Take care!
Chris F.
Houstonherp
Send in the Clones
VF Trapper -
The information everyone has posted here is correct. One thought, though...if you are talking about GIANT mealworms, these are common mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) that have been treated with a hormone that prevents them from pupating into a beetle, making them get larger than a regular mealworm. If you want to raise them, use regular (untreated) mealworms and follow the basic directions everyone has shared.
The information everyone has posted here is correct. One thought, though...if you are talking about GIANT mealworms, these are common mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) that have been treated with a hormone that prevents them from pupating into a beetle, making them get larger than a regular mealworm. If you want to raise them, use regular (untreated) mealworms and follow the basic directions everyone has shared.
