Use these creatures for fishing, feeding wild birds, or supplementing your pet lizard's diet. Breed worms, it is a simple and inexpensive alternative for buying them.
Materials
Bran flakes: Unprocessed wheat bran is the best medium in which to keep your meal worms. If unprocessed wheat bran is unavailable, then "old-fashioned" rolled oats (not instant oatmeal) will do.
Mealworms: Any quantity between 100 and 1000 mealworms will work. Fewer than 100 mealworms will be unlikely to produce a viable colony. Mealworms can be found at specialty bird stores, feed and grain stores, or over the Internet.
Container(s): A wide variety of containers can be used to house your mealworms. Your container must be smooth-sided, so that your mealworms don't crawl out. It needs to allow air to circulate, to prevent mold from forming. Containers with lids can be used, but they need to be modified for ventilation. The container must also be easy to clean and disinfect. It is possible to use a small glass aquarium, although the container most frequently used to house mealworms is a simple plastic container.
Although any plastic or glass container with sufficient depth will do, a large rectangular container with a lid is best. The most frequently recommended size is about 18" x 6"x 12". This size of container will allow you to have a reasonably large colony without running the risk being unable to use what you produce. A plastic shoebox works well for this purpose. To keep your colony going in the most efficient manner, you'll probably want to have several containers on hand. Not all of the containers need to be as large as the main breeding container, as they will be used to hold the "worms."
Screen mesh: The same size mesh as that used for screen doors or window. The size will vary on whether a lid is used or not. If using an aquarium for a container, small-mesh aquarium screens are available.
To start a colony, you will also need some fruit or vegetable slices and a section of newspaper.
Procedure
First, the box needs to be prepared. Wash and thoroughly dry your box and lid. Cut a generous hole into the lid and secure a square of mesh over the opening, to provide ventilation for the mealworms. If you prefer not to use a solid plastic lid, simply cut a piece of mesh to fit the top of the box and create a makeshift lid.
Once your box is dry, you can add the bran or oatmeal bedding, which is called "substrate." Fill the box no more than 1/3 of the way with the substrate. Because your mealworms actually eat their substrate, it doesn't hurt them for you to vary their diet a bit, or provide a little additional nutrition. By improving their nutrition, you then pass on more nutrition to the animals you're feeding. Some sources recommend 12-grain cereal, rice baby food, red or white bran, or even tropical fish flakes for this purpose. To keep the mealworms healthy, the substrate should be replaced every two weeks or so.
At this point, you can add your starter mealworms. Sprinkle the worms evenly over the surface of the substrate. Place slice of bread, or a little sliced fruit or vegetable to the top of the substrate. Potato, melon, or apple all work well to provide some food and moisture for them. Placing some cardboard or newspaper between the slices and the substrate will prevent the bran from remaining damp and getting moldy. Do not offer too much fresh produce to them; an eighth of an apple is good for up to 500 mealworms. Replace the bread, fruit, or vegetables every few days to prevent spoilage. An alternate method of providing moisture is to place some newspaper over the substrate, leaving about 1/3 of the substrate uncovered. Spritz it with water from a spray bottle until it is damp (not soaked). Spray the paper only once each day, taking care not to dampen the bedding
Storage
Once the bedding, worms, and moisture have been prepared, you need to put your mealworms where they will be undisturbed. Try to find a place that is warm, although not hot. A warm location will speed up the process of producing your own mealworms. Although your colony can be kept in the refrigerator, the refrigerator is better for storing adult mealworms that you will be using soon instead of breeding your own mealworms. The warmer the location, the quicker the process will begin.
When Will my Mealworms Start to Lay Eggs?
They won't. Mealworms are only the larval stage of the Tenebrio beetle, not an actual species of worm. The next thing that you will see, once you've prepared your breeding colony, is the development of pupae, which is the stage where worm undergoes its metamorphosis into a beetle. Pupae are tan in color. They will not move, but they are not dead, so don't throw them out! Dead mealworms or pupae are usually dark brown or black in color. The transformation usually takes between 18 and 24 days, depending on the environment the mealworms and pupae are kept in.
When your beetles eventually emerge from the pupae, they will be soft and white. It will take them about a week for them to develop their hard, black outer casings. At this point, the beetles are young adults and ready to start the breeding process. The beetles' life span ranges from two to four weeks.
Female beetles can lay 200 to 500 eggs during their adult lives. The oval-shaped eggs are tiny, about one millimeter long and are laid singly or in clusters. The Tenebrio beetle lays its eggs on its food source, which, in this case, is the substrate. Adult beetles will eat the eggs, so it is best to separate the beetles from the eggs when you change the substrate. Depending on the temperature in which they are kept, the eggs can hatch in as little as 20 days or in as many as 40 days. When they hatch, reserve enough of the mealworms to keep your colony going and start the process all over again.
In just a couple of months, enough mealworms should be produced for a self-sustaining colony. You should also have enough adult mealworms to keep your birds or lizards happy until the next generation matures. Make certain you store your non-breeding adults in the refrigerator, in an otherwise empty container-you don't want them maturing into pupae before you can use them.
