Random Blatherings

22 May

Feeding mealworms

About a day after I first got the mealworms, I added a couple of slices of apple to the bowl, to see what they did. Within 60 seconds, the 2 slices were covered, and a couple of hours later, they’d been completely eaten. I’ve added more since then, that’s gone completely untouched. I think that perhaps the people I got the mealworm larvae off hadn’t been feeding them properly, or perhaps not providing enough moisture, and that’s why they polished the apple off so quickly. Some potato that I added also went untouched. I think I’m going to leave it a week, and try again.

Apparently, it’s important to keep the humidity up. There are a few ways of doing this - a damp sponge fixed to the lid, small dishes of moisture placed inside the tub & using a small hand-held mister to mist the substrate. Low humidity apparently causes cannibalism, which aside from being rather gross, will mean I lose some of my stock. I’ve tried using a hand mister, and it seems to be rather hit and miss, so I think I’m going to try a small piece of moistened kitchen towel in there, and see how they get on. One thing I’ll definitely need to do is drill some more holes in the lid of the tub, to allow better air flow.

2 Responses to “Feeding mealworms”

  1. 1
    Sandy (Momisodes) Says:

    Wow! Raising mealworm? I bet watching this process is pretty fascinating. I’m sure my daughter would love to see this….but I’m not sure if I can hack it.

    Sandy (Momisodes)s last blog post..Bribery Will Get You

  2. 2
    Solomon Says:

    Sandy (Momisodes) said…

    I bet watching this process is pretty fascinating. I’m sure my daughter would love to see this….but I’m not sure if I can hack it.

    It’s really easy. They basically breed themselves. If you’re squeamish, just use a spoon to move them about. :) I’d send you a starter culture, but I don’t think they’d survive the trip to the US.

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