Breeding Mealworms

There are several stages of the mealworm cycle they are:
Beetles-Eggs-Mealworms-Pupae-Beetles.
Mealworms are an easy, practical way to produce live food for wildlife in your care. There is a large range of wildlife coming into Fauna Rescue that will benefit from being fed mealworms of which include insect eating birds, lizards and bats.
They are good for encouraging birds to self feed. Seeing a wriggling worm in a container on the bottom of the cage will get them to show interest in live food.
To set up for breeding mealworms you can use a plastic container 35cm x24cmx6cm is a good size. Cut a square in the lid and cover with fly wire, something that can let air in but not the mealworms/beetles out.
You will then need to use a medium to breed them in. As we are feeding different species but all insect eaters I breed mine in a medium of equal parts Bran & Wombaroo Insectivore Mix , mixed thoroughly together. this way the mealworms eat through the Insectivore Mix thus passing it on to the wildlife you are feeding the mealworms to.
I then feed the mealworms strips of carrot. Do not put too much vegetable matter in as it can turn the medium mouldy. I give mine fresh food every couple of days. Remove any left over food. 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.
It is best to have two or three mealworm farms on the go. The beetles lay the eggs so once the beetles turn from a brown to black it is best to remove the beetles into a new farm so they don’t start eating the newly laid eggs. Magpies do like to eat the beetles so can be used for feeding also.
Mealworms should never be fed as an animals total diet. They are a supplement food and a food to encourage an interest in live food which is most
important if the wildlife in your care is to be released.
If you are feeding mealworms to smaller animals like bats and small birds it is best to remove the head of the mealworm before feeding as mealworms do bite and it can discourage the bat/bird to eat the mealworms.

Back to Article Index