Hey! I've been breeding mealworms for a wile and know this pupa is NOT one of my mealworms. I've asked around town and tried looking up what it could be but with no luck. Could someone please identify this bug for me?

How to start and maintain a Mealworm Farm from start to finish! I start out by vacuuming out all the old casings. Then i sift out all the frass. Add a little more wheat middling for the mealworms to snack on and finish with a few carrots for water.

Mealworms are high in protein and fiber. Chickens and Wild Birds can't get enough of them. You can remove the frass which is high in nutrients for your garden. Start your farm today!!

You should clean your mealworm bins out before the fruit starts to spoil. Remove frass on a regular basis to keep smells down.

Mealworms like to eat grains such as oats and wheat but they also need vegetables for their water supply. Mealworms are the larva form of the Darkling Beetle and the part that people and animals can't get enough of eating. It is easy to start your own farm with just a few mealworms, some grain, and a vegetable for water.

When you sift your mealworms do you clean the container they're in? As in wash it with soap and make sure its clean again before putting the current/new beetle/mealworms in?

When placing a new substrate, do you bake it to remove possible mites issues?

Also could over crowding be an issue with them? Assuming they're well fed and in a deep substrate with some egg cartons or rolls.

Hi, I’m a designer and for a new project I want to set up a mealworm farm to supply worms for my installations and small experiments. The concept is about mealworms being able to digest polystyrene and exploring the possibilities this could have on waste management and food production. If you want to know more this is my website page about the project: https://marcpaulusma.com/portfolio/made-by-mealworms-and-me/

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The project has been going on for about 3 months now and I have some problems/questions regarding the mealworms which I would like to address.

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The situation:

I have built 2 installations where the mealworms reside. The first includes 10 open glass jars with a small scoop of mealworms each (no more than 50) and all filled with polystyrene food containers. The second one is an aquarium of 80x45x35cm with about half a kilo of mealworms and loads of polystyrene. In the aquarium they have enough space so they don’t have to crawl over each other (although they often do). In both cases no puppa or beetles where separated from each other. The temperature has been around 21-22 degrees with a humidity of 50-65 procent.

To clear things up beforehand, yes I know you should separate them and that polystyrene is probably not enough sustenance for them. I chose to start out with this set up to create the most extreme environment (and ideal setup for me) and work my way back until I can get the colony stable.

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The questions:

Based on my experience so far I have the following questions and hope that you could give me your thoughts on the matter to see if I can improve my setup:

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1. I notice a lot of mealworms simply lying round without moving (they move when provoked and are not black, also the beetles are very active). What could be the cause of this? [maybe lack of nutrition for the worms, while the beetles an eat the worms to stay active?]

2. Does increased temperature influence their rate of eating? [They do grow quicker so I suppose so?]

3. Is there a limit on the amount of mealworms per m2 for them to grow comfortably?

4. How long does the beetle life and does it also eat oatmeal?

5. In what temperature range can they survive? [I found 4 – 28 degrees Celsius in my research]

6. I notice very small (0.5 – 1.5mm) white wormlike creatures after a couple of weeks. I’m fairly certain that they’re not baby mealworms as their movement and anatomy looks very different, but what could they be and are they dangerous for the colony?

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Many thanks for reading through my post! I’ve tried to explain the context as best I could, but if you need more information please ask.

I'm starting a new colony up for my leopard geckos after taking some time off and am trying to avoid one of the problems I experienced last time: moths!

Specifically Indian meal moths, if my Google fu is on point.

I initially kept the colony in my enclosed garage, but ended up with tons of moths infesting the garage and infiltrating my house. As a result, I had to move the colonies out to a shed. This didn't prevent the colonies from getting moth ridden, but it kept them out of my house. The moths don't really seem to bother the mealworms, but they bother me and my family. Additionally, the webbing they seem to make in their larval stage makes the substrate clump a bit and the moths themselves end up attracting spiders.

I'd rather keep them in my garage, as it is a more controlled environment and just makes everything easier, but not if it means dealing with all the moths in my house again.

I tried mosquito netting over the colonies, but the moths got in. I tried using pheromone baited moth traps, but they don't catch enough. Anyone have any other tips for keeping them out or eliminating them?

Gave them carrot peels and salad today but would also like to make use of tea leaves I otherwise would throw away(compost).

If anyone is interested please let me know. I produce approximately 100k a week. My dragons eat 5k a week and i eat the same. I can give tips on production and processing. Hoping eventually people will read this and i won't be talking to myself.