My mealworm colony

[piranhaking]

and finally my first babies. Hard to see much because my phone doesn't take the best of pics, but here it is anyway.

I wish i had started with the larger tubs on the bottom, but oh well, I'll work them in as the colony grows.
I have found out that the worms dont tend to use the full depth of the cornmeal, so in the future, I won't be using quite as much meal in the tubs. They also need a little more ventilation than I have drilled in now. The more crowded tubs tend to get some condensation in them and start to mold a little.

[jfreels]

Good start! I'd suggest not using cornmeal though. It's good for sifting, but as you mentioned, it molds easily and mold and definitely destroy your colony.

I'd suggest using wheat-bran. It's MUCH cheaper than the cornmeal. I get it for about 80 cents a pound which goes a lot further than a pound of cornmeal. I do a 2-1 mix of the wheat bran and Pro Gutload. I'm just about to upgrade my colony to a larger drawer system. I'll post pics and stuff when I get them transfered over.

[suzuki4life]

Good start! I'd suggest not using cornmeal though. It's good for sifting, but as you mentioned, it molds easily and mold and definitely destroy your colony.

I'd suggest using wheat-bran. It's MUCH cheaper than the cornmeal. I get it for about 80 cents a pound which goes a lot further than a pound of cornmeal. I do a 2-1 mix of the wheat bran and Pro Gutload. I'm just about to upgrade my colony to a larger drawer system. I'll post pics and stuff when I get them transfered over.

I use corn meal over wheat because of the terrible wheat mites wheat is prone to get which will wipe out your mealworms. Plus yellow cornmeal "shows" when it is becoming filled with frass, wheat goes from light white to light gray. Cornmeal goes from bright yellow to gray or black

[suzuki4life]

the answer to your moisture problem is simple...don't use lids. They can't climb the plastic

[piranhaking]

the answer to your moisture problem is simple...don't use lids. They can't climb the plastic

With out the lids, they wont stack. I also live at home and my mom would die if I had them with out lids.

[jfreels]

I freeze and microwave my wheat bran. If you want your colony to explode, then I suggest you switch. And with wheat bran you know when it needs replacing since they bran won't be in small flakes, it will be powder. At least your not using whole oats though.

[piranhaking]

Drilled my vent holes a little bigger, and the moisture problem has been resolved. Had to buy one last tub of worms to hold me over till my first babies are big enough to use. I think by the time this tub is gone mine will be ready to use.

I had a pretty major set back when I made the mistake of buying giant mealworms. I found out later after having major problems with them they are treated with hormones. Those hormones cause the beetles to either not form properly, or die EXTREMELY quickly. I've also heard reports that they are sterile, but I can't vouch for that just yet.

[piranhaking]

That one last tub might not have quite been my last. I am out of full grown worms store worms, and my first batch of babies aren't QUITE big enough. I think i need about another week. I may buy a few more worms next time i'm in town. I think i should be set after that, but I may be wrong. We'll see soon I guess.

I found a great trick the other day. I now keep a small piece of egg flat in with my pupae. When they morph to beetles MOST of the beetles will climb up on the flat, and then you just hold it about the beetle tub and give it a few good whacks, and the sorting is MUCH easier.

Also, I had a tub of ONLY beetles from the giant worms for a while. The beetles all died very quickly, but I kept the substrate for a couple weeks, and I never saw any larva in it. I had larva in "younger" substrate from the main beetle tub during that time, so it was plenty of time for them to hatch. So in my experience the giant beetles are sterile, but they may have just not lived long enough to breed . . . not sure which. Either way I had a batch of them and they never produced any young.

[jfreels]

Egg crate thing isn't a bad idea. Some people suggest apple. I use a different tactic, which I'll show in my write up when it's done.

Yeah, giants usually won't do anything for you. I'd suggest take out only your excess and keep it seperate so you don't use to much of your colony so it will build up. I can say for sure that I have way too many now. I have four trays, 18x18 or so, just packed with small, medium and large(ish). Give it a few more months and you'll have WAY more than you need.

[piranhaking]

Now that i think about it, I think I've heard the apple thing too, but then thats just one more thing to mold . . . I'm curious to see your method, I've only been using this one a little while but it seems to be doing ok for me so far.

Just feeding one leo, and only using them for part of her food, I'm sure I'll be way over stocked in no time. Its probably not even worth it for me to raise them, but its fun so who cares Having more than you need is a good problem to have though, sure beats not enough. I'm looking forward to having that problem with all three of my colonies . Especially my dubias.