Raising your own Mealworms

AUTHOR:Unknown
DATE: March, 2004
INTENDED GRADE LEVELS: Any
SUBJECT: Life science

DESCRIPTION:

I call them regular mealworms, you may just call them mealworms, but if you really want to be sure that we are talking of the same type of insect- lets call them by their Latin name- Tenebrio Molitor.

The larvae of the Tenebrio is most commonly used to feed to a wide variety of reptiles and amphibians, and birds kept in captivity. You can purchase Tenebrio in the pet store or by mail order. The larvae are about an inch long, and they are a golden yellow color.

Mealworms are the larvae of the darkling beetle. Darkling beetles undergo complete metamorphosis, and have an egg, larva, pupa and beetle stage. The female beetle lays 500 to 1000 bean shaped white eggs. These are seldom seen because they are sticky and rapidly become coated in substrate. Eggs hatch in about one week but the larva are very small so it may take a few weeks before the larvae are large enough to be seen well. As a larva grows it moults several times- shedding its exoskeleton. After a period of approx 3 months the larvae eventually becomes a pupa. The pupa stage lasts about two weeks.

The beetle that eventually emerges from the pupa is a light beige, darkening to red, brown, and finally black after about two days.

Keeping and Breeding Tenebrio

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.

Here is how I keep and breed mine:

1. shallow tupperware or rubbermaid container

2. 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.

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

4. Put one small shallow dish in the bottom of the container - I use the tiny tinfoil pie plates. 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 dragon.

5. Change the veggies every couple of days- they will go bad and mold- mold and dampness will kill the mealworms.

6. 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 change into pupa, and the pupa into adult beetles. The beetles will mate and lay eggs in the substrate or on a porous piece of wood in the container. They will cycle themselves with little help or bother from you. All you have to do is feed them.

Make Daily Observations of your Mealworms

INSTRUCTIONS: Do NOT open the cages. Do NOT tap the cages. Treat the bugs kindly. Write the date above the boxes. Write and draw what you see the bugs doing.