# Mealworms.. what to do with them.



## burrow (Nov 5, 2007)

My mealworms started changing into pupae so i bought some new ones for my leo. I'm not sure what to do with the old ones though? Most are in the pupal stage, there's the odd mealworm left and there are now 3 beetles. Do you just chuck them out into the garden or kill them or what?!


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## markhill (Sep 22, 2006)

I've frozen them before now

Why not just feed them to your Leo? My BD eats them


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## tombraider (May 6, 2006)

I keep all mine a spare container to breed : victory:


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## markhill (Sep 22, 2006)

tombraider said:


> I keep all mine a spare container to breed : victory:


what do you feed the beetles?

I kept some in a pot for ages and nothing happened

Do they need somewhere to lay eggs etc?


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## tombraider (May 6, 2006)

markhill said:


> what do you feed the beetles?
> 
> I kept some in a pot for ages and nothing happened
> 
> Do they need somewhere to lay eggs etc?


 
I just fed mine breakfast cereal. it took them ages to breed, i never saw any eggs, the first time i realised everything was working ok was when i saw loads of baby worms wriggling about. I did find that they bred faster if i keep them warm : victory:


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## markhill (Sep 22, 2006)

tombraider said:


> I just fed mine breakfast cereal. it took them ages to breed, i never saw any eggs, the first time i realised everything was working ok was when i saw loads of baby worms wriggling about. I did find that they bred faster if i keep them warm : victory:


thanks


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## andie (Sep 23, 2007)

Ive got a tub of beetles that my wife is gonna take to work on monday to feed the Robins with, ive bred them and they take months to grow to a useable size so i wont bother again. Its easier just to buy some more to be honest.


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## Rainwater (Apr 18, 2007)

markhill said:


> I've frozen them before now
> 
> Why not just feed them to your Leo? My BD eats them


my fussy/non-feeding leos love the pupae mealies...


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## Pioden (Feb 13, 2007)

I've found it worthwwhile to breed mealworms. Very low maintenance. You don't have to put much effort into them. Juat have 2 tubs, one for worms and one for beetles. Each tub has a substrate of bran or oats with some card on the top for egglaying in the beetle tub. I feed them spring greens which also provide their water. The worms grow, then pupate then turn into beetles. The beetles are then transferred to the beetle tub. Beetles then breed and lay eggs on the card and in the substrate. The eggs take around 6-8 weeks to hatch, although mine were kept on top of a vivarium so they were warm. The eggs just look like white dust. You can sieve the substrate every few weeks to clean them. The resulting "fras" (or poo ) makes good fertiliser for the garden! The fras from the beetle tub can be put straight into the worm tub as this will also contain the eggs from the beetles. The eggs hatch and you can repeat the cycle. It's well worth it as it produces A LOT of mealworms. It is a bit slow to start the cycle up but once you've got it going then you have a regular supply of mealworms


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## burrow (Nov 5, 2007)

I think i'd rather just buy them to be honest.

You can feed the pupae to leos?! I thought you could only feed them the larvae (the mealworms)???

The pupae look like aliens =|


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## Roysy (Jun 9, 2007)

markhill said:


> I've frozen them before now
> 
> Why not just feed them to your Leo? My BD eats them


I have heard the beetles are not very nutritious so best probably not to use them as feed. Breeding them is easy, I never have to buy any. Just leave the bettles feeding on your bran or bug grub, maybe a little veg scraps, I use the scraps from preparing veg. They will die. Remove the dead beetles and you will find small wriggly worms which will grow up quite rapidly.
Roy: victory:


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## burrow (Nov 5, 2007)

My housemate didn't like the beetles being there so i just killed them and half the pupae. They were disgusting things anyway. Flushed them down the toilet. Didn't know how else to dispose of them!


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