breeding meal worm(Tenebrio Molitor)

jo x · 18th August 2009, 09:03 AM

Breeding mealworm-Tenebrio Molitor.

When you purchase Tenebrio from the pet store you may be instructed to keep them in the refrigerator. You may do this if you like- but the growth of the larvae will slow down and you will likely never be able to breed the mealworms while they are in the fridge. Also, if the mealworms are kept at room temperature they will eat, and if you feed them a good diet you can be sure that your pet is getting a nutritious meal when you feed him the mealworms.

housing
you can house them in a shallow Tupperware or Rubbermaid container Put lots of air holes in the lid, or cut out a large portion of the lid and use a hot glue gun to glue some fine window screening material to the inside of the lid around the hole. This allows perfect ventilation

substrate
Fill the bottom of the container with a substrate of rolled oats or bran normally a couple of inches deep. The mealworms will eat this.

heating To keep your worms constantly breeding they need to be kept in a warm room or at a temperature of between 22-28 degrees. Cold temperatures will result in slow breeding. In winter it is a good idea to keep your mealworms in the main room of the house that has heating.

feeding
Put one small shallow dishes in the bottom of the container the tiny tinfoil pie plates are perfect size. Fill these dishes with a half potato, a chunk of carrot and if you like a 1/4 to a 1/2 of an orange. Other veggies can be used- they will eat these and get their moisture from them so you may want to also sprinkle the veggies and fruit with calcium and vitamin supplements so that the mealworms will be a wonderful healthy meal for your reps to eat Change the veggies every couple of days- they will go bad and mould- mould and dampness will kill the mealworms.
The Tenebrio will eat and live for a long time in these containers when kept at room temperature. Eventually you will notice that some of the mealworms metamorphosis into pupa, and the pupa into beetles. The beetles will mate and lay eggs in the substrate or on a porous piece of wood in the container. The will cycle themselves with little help or bother from you. All you have to do is feed them.

Tom · 18th August 2009, 09:13 AM

good post jo..

i breed my own meal worms as you have mentioned, very cost effective way once they get going!

jo x · 18th August 2009, 09:25 AM

it takes a while to get them going but soon as they are saving all round

Tom · 18th August 2009, 09:41 AM

i also heard you shouldnot clear the shells of the dead ones for a while, as in the bugs due to the fact they lay on them?.
just something i heard, might be a old wifes tale, but do you know if thats true jo?

jo x · 18th August 2009, 10:08 AM

As far as im aware the Tenebrio beetle lays its eggs on its food source, which in most cases is the substrate i havent hear that, you may be right everyone has there own way of doing things.

lizardking · 18th August 2009, 11:09 AM

great post jo

KrazyReptiles · 22nd December 2009, 07:14 AM

yeah ive just recently started and im at a great start...uhhh i mixed giant and regular mealworms together and im planning on saving alot of money. :]