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From: klm@eecs.cs.pdx.edu (Kathy L. McRae)
Newsgroups: rec.pets,rec.birds
Subject: Re: raising meal worms
Keywords: How do I?
Message-ID: <2638@pdxgate.UUCP>
Date: 15 May 91 20:49:56 GMT
References: <1991May8.135330.13185@tc.fluke.COM>
Sender: news@pdxgate.UUCP
Reply-To: klm@eecs.UUCP (Kathy L. McRae)
Organization: Portland State University, Portland, OR
Lines: 22

In article <1991May8.135330.13185@tc.fluke.COM> halfdome@tc.fluke.COM (Alex Dorchak) writes:
>
>Does anyone out there know how to "raise" a mealworm (is that one word 

I found some pupas in a batch of mealworms once and decided to see if I could
"grow my own" ;-)  It's pretty simple, actually.  Find yourself a container thatwill hold the mealworms.  They don't really need water, but you need to give
them something to eat.  Grains that have been made into meal work best, of
course---oat meal, corn meal, probably even Malt-O-Meal.  

Anyway...the mealworms will go through the normal insect cycle.  They are first
in a larval stage.  Eventually, they pupate and lie dormant for about 4-6 weeks.Then, suddenly one day, you'll see beetles in the container.

Well, the beetles breed, lay eggs, and (Ta Da!) these hatch into MORE MEALWORMS!

I don't know how big these birds are that you want to feed mealworms to, but it
seems to me that you'd have to grow mealworms on a mighty big scale if you have
a lot of birds.  But give it a try.  Me...I'd be seein' if they'd eat
nightcrawlers.  %-)

Good luck!

Kathy