CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How to cultivate mealworms on a large scale?

How to cultivate mealworms on a large scale?

Tenebrio molitor, also known as mealworm, is native to North America. It was introduced from the Soviet Union and grew up in my country in the 1950s. Dried mealworms contain 30% fat and more than 50% protein. Let's learn how to raise mealworms and learn about the methods of raising mealworms.

1. Breeding equipment

The feeding equipment for mealworms is simple. It can be raised with basins, cans, wooden boxes, paper boxes, brick pools and other containers, but the inner wall is smooth and the container is up to 15 cm deep to prevent insects from escaping. The inner frame of the wooden box for adults should be fixed with plastic film or transparent tape to prevent adults from crawling and laying eggs. In addition, a screen net must be installed at the bottom. The mesh size is about 3 mm, so that the eggs laid by adults can leak out in time and will not be eaten by adults. A layer of egg-collecting paper should be placed under the screen net to facilitate egg collection. If it is large-scale breeding, a certain number of 30×40x15 cm wooden boxes can be made as needed, and wooden box racks can be set up in the insect breeding room to stack the wooden boxes layer by layer.

2. The breeding temperature and humidity of mealworms

The suitable temperature for raising mealworms is 25~30℃ and the space humidity is 60%. If the temperature and humidity are higher or lower than the above standards, the growth and development of mealworms will be affected to a certain extent. During the feeding process, corresponding measures can be taken according to the specific situation. , adjust and control the temperature and humidity.

3. Management of mealworms in winter and summer

In winter, the temperature of the breeding room is raised by heating to about 25℃. In the hot summer season, ventilation and cooling are required, and the larvae are removed to reduce the density to avoid increasing the temperature in the population; direct sunlight is prevented. If active measures are not taken every summer, a large number of mealworms will die.

4. Precautions for mealworm breeding

(1) The breeding room must be away from natural enemies (such as mice, ants, etc.). Therefore, when feeding mealworms, not only measures should be taken to prevent escape, but also good anti-predation equipment should be provided. (2) The growth of larvae depends on the supply and quality of feed. The principle of feeding is to feed in small amounts several times, alternating between feeding with a variety of feeds. The thickness of the larvae in the breeding equipment should not exceed 3 cm. It is not advisable to feed more green feed to newly hatched adults. (3) Dead pupae and adults should be removed in time to prevent rotting and deterioration, and breeding of pathogens. It is not advisable to feed moldy feed.

How to raise and breed mealworms

Question 1: How to raise and breed mealworms? First, buy mealworms for 1 yuan (the number of mealworms you buy depends on the size of the breeding container), prepare a small pot to raise them, the temperature at home is enough for them to grow, and their food is the cheapest bran powder. Put the bran powder and them in the prepared breeding container, and feed them some vegetables properly at ordinary times, they will grow better! Soon they will become pupae. In order to prevent the mealworms from eating the pupae, I put them on a plate. After about a week, they will become adults (no management is required during the period of becoming adults), but be careful, if you see them molting out of the pupae, don't touch them. Last time, I pulled them because I saw that they were struggling to molt, but not only did I fail to pull them out, but I also lost their lives. Because they have just come out of the pupae, their bodies will Very fragile, after their body color darkens, you can put them in a breeding box. The space of this box does not need to be too large, about 25~30CM in length, and a plastic box of about 10~15CM in height will do (the box of ice cream is good), and 5~10CM of bran powder is spread in the box. At this time, you don’t have to worry about them running out. Although they have wings, they can’t fly, and they definitely can’t run out of the 5CM height! Don’t worry about them being hungry, because the bodies of adults who mate and lay eggs and die are their food. After a while, carefully open the bran powder in the box, and you can see the eggs attached to the bottom. The size of the small mealworms that have just broken out of the eggs is about 1MM, and the body is pure white. Don’t look at them as small, the bran powder in the box can already be used as their food! After that, just wait for the little bugs to grow up~

Note: Before becoming pupae, some insects may die, and there may be quite a few of them. If you don't clean up the dead insects and feces in the breeding box, it will emit a foul smell, and it will be very troublesome to clean up, but I hope you have patience!

Small insects will be a good feed for larval poisonous insects, but small mealworms are almost not sold on the market, so we have to do it ourselves!

Question 2: How to breed mealworms (breeding mealworms at home) For the breeding methods of mealworms, please enter "mealworms" in the search engine, and there will be a pile of breeding methods for reference. The answers to the several small questions you raised are as follows:

It can be bred at a family scale; the technical content is very low; it is not poisonous or aggressive. But as for the "smell", it should be said that any animal has a smell, and whether it belongs to the "smell" category, everyone has different opinions. But I have never heard of anyone who thinks that mealworms will emit a "smell" during breeding. However, it must be bred in a special room, and it must be protected from rats and mosquitoes.

Question three: How to raise mealworms? Flour, cornmeal, leftover steamed buns, dry bread, all grains can be their staple food. As for water, you really shouldn't spray it. You can use vegetable leaves, fruit peels, and leftover fruits. These vegetable leaves can increase the humidity. How can you spray water? It definitely won't work. You have to sell them and raise them again.

Question 4: How to raise mealworms and how to breed and cultivate them! Mealworm breeding technology

The feeding techniques and precautions for factory-scale production of mealworms are as follows:

1. Breeding of improved varieties

In any breeding or planting industry, the effect of varieties on production is huge. In the initial stage of breeding production, high-quality varieties that are professionally cultivated should be directly selected. The breeding of high-quality varieties should be separated from production breeding. The breeding temperature of high-quality varieties should be maintained between 24 and 30 degrees Celsius, and the relative humidity should be between 60 and 70%. The feed for adults of high-quality varieties should be nutritious, with sufficient protein, vitamins and inorganic salts, and royal jelly can be added if necessary.

2. Feeding equipment

(1) Factory-scale production of mealworms can make full use of idle rooms, but for intensive management, it is best to build them in close proximity to form a certain production scale. The rooms used must have holes and gaps in the corners blocked and be freshly painted to prevent rats and ants and keep them clean.

(2) Factory-scale production of feeding equipment must be consistent in specifications in order to determine the technical parameters of the process flow. The mealworm breeding farm at the Research Base of the Institute of Insects of Shandong Agricultural University uses a standard feeding tray of 72×30×15cm, lined with imported glossy paper. The bottom and surrounding walls of the standard feeding tray are equipped with ventilation holes to facilitate ventilation and dissipation of the heat generated by the insects' clustered breathing. The lining paper should be smooth inside and rough outside to prevent mealworm larvae and adults from crawling out along the wall. In order to save costs, wooden trays can also be made from old wood, but the specifications must be consistent with the above requirements.

(3) Feeding rack: The feeding tray is placed on a multi-layer rack made of welded triangular irons. The height of the rack is generally 1.6 to 2.0 meters. The specific height depends on the convenience of operation and the height of the room.

(4) Separation sieves are used to separate larvae and excrement. Prepare 20-mesh, 40-mesh, and 50-mesh wire mesh and nylon wire separation sieves, surrounded by 1 cm wooden boards.

(5) The spawning tray and the feeding tray are unified, which makes it easier to determine the technical parameters of the process.

(6) Hatching and Emergence Boxes The development of mealworm eggs and pupae is the longest in all ecological periods. In order to ensure their optimal temperature and humidity requirements and prevent the invasion of natural enemies such as ants, mites, and rats, the Institute of Insects of Shandong Agricultural University designed and produced hatching and emergence boxes. The box is composed of double-row multi-layer partitions. The distance between the two layers is preferably 1.5 times the height of the feeding tray. A large space is left on the bottom layer for water storage and moisture retention.

(7) Other thermometers and hygrometers, old newspapers or white paper (for making egg cards when adult insects lay eggs), plastic basins, sprayers or watering cans, tweezers, magnifying glasses, etc.

3. Feeding and management

(1) Egg collection and hatching: Place a thin piece of white paper at the bottom of a standard feeding tray and cover it with 2 cm thick feed. Place 2,000 adults (1,000 females: 1,000 males) in each tray. The adults will lay eggs evenly on the egg-laying paper. Each piece of paper can produce 5,000 to 15,000 eggs. The eggs are removed every two days to make egg cards.

Place the egg cardboard in a standard breeding tray, cover it with 1 cm thick bran, place it in an incubator, take it out after 1 week, and bring it to the production workshop.

(2) Collection and emergence of pupae: Since factory-scale production requires that the time from the day the egg card is taken out and placed is kept consistent as much as possible, the development progress of each insect stage is basically consistent, and the pupation is also relatively consistent. When the mature larvae reach a pupation rate of 80%, they are placed in the emergence box after a layer of fresh feed is added to the standard plate. After 7 to 10 days, they are taken out to cultivate adults and lay eggs. In the middle, they can be checked every 2 to 3 days.

(3) Rearing population density Yellow mealworms are social insects. If the population density is too small, it will directly affect the insect's activity and feeding, and the average and total production cannot be guaranteed; if the density is too large, the friction between them will generate heat, and the probability of cannibalism will increase, increasing the mortality rate. Therefore, the density of larvae is generally maintained at about 60,000 per tray. The larger the larvae, the smaller the relative density should be. The higher the room temperature and the higher the humidity, the smaller the density should be. The density of adults is generally around 4,000 per tray.

(4) Management precautions ① During the breeding process, mealworms are easily harmed by rats, geckos, and ants, especially rat and ant damage, which are more serious and should be prevented. ② It is strictly forbidden to place pesticides indoors. ③ Dead insect carcasses should be removed in time to prevent mold and deterioration that may lead to epidemics. ④ It is strictly forbidden to allow water to accumulate in the feed or water droplets to appear in the feed tray.

4. Technical parameters of the factory-scale production process of mealworms

The optimum temperature for each stage of mealworms is 25-30℃ and relative humidity is 75-85%. Larvae can safely overwinter at above 0℃. They can move and feed at 10-15℃, but their metabolism is slow. At 25-30℃, their food intake increases and their activities intensify. If the temperature is below 0℃ or above 37℃, they may be frozen to death or heat-killed. The life span of adults is generally 20-100 days. After the adults emerge......>>

Question 5: How to raise and breed mealworms. I bought 2 kilograms of mealworms online. How to breed mealworms? Mealworms are active by nature and are active both day and night. Generally, there are 3-4 generations, with overlapping generations, no overwintering, and they can still develop normally in winter. The suitable breeding temperature is 20-30℃. At 20-25℃, the egg stage is 7-8 days, the larval stage is 122 days, and the pupal stage is 8 days. It takes about 133 days from egg to adult; at 28-30℃, the egg stage is 3-6 days, the larval stage is 100 days, the pupal stage is 6 days, and it only takes 110 days for eggs to develop into adults. Humidity also has a great impact on its reproduction. The relative humidity is suitable for 60-70%. When the humidity is too high to 90%, most of the larvae die when they grow to 2-3 years old. When it is lower than 50%, the egg laying volume is greatly reduced. The adult emergence rate is more than 90%, the sex ratio is 1:1, and they like to live in groups. They like dark light and are more active after dusk. After emergence, they mate and lay eggs after 3 days. They lay eggs on the feed at night. Each female can lay more than 200 eggs, often dozens of them stick together, with food debris on the surface. The egg shell is thin and soft. The life span of females varies from 1 to 3 months. After half a month of laying eggs, the egg laying volume decreases and they can be eliminated. The egg stage lasts for 1 week in July and August. The larvae have 1 to 10 instars, molting once every 4 to 6 days, and last for 60 to 80 days. They like to gather together and start feeding activities above 13°C.

Question 6: How to raise mealworms and what should be paid attention to. If you want to raise mealworms for a longer time, my experience is that you should not put too much feed (wood bran). If you put too much feed, they will quickly shed their skin and become pupae, making the house full of moths. Only put a small amount of wood bran. If there are a few black dead insects, they will eat wheat bran, apples, and vegetable leaves. Find a dry container to raise them without touching water. Just throw them away. I don’t know if I can help you. Put the mealworms you bought in a shallow basin (plastic or iron), grab a handful of wheat bran, peel the steamed buns into several pieces, and throw them into the shallow basin. The mealworms will drill into the steamed buns and eat them. The mealworms will grow bigger and bigger. The unlucky ones will be caught to feed the rats, and the stupid ones will be eaten by their companions (mealworms are a kind of creature that kills each other). The big ones will become white pupae. After the pupae hatch, they will become dark brown adults. The adults don’t seem to be able to fly. At this time, continue to give them enough food. After a long time, you will find that small and thin mealworms will naturally appear. In addition, some seniors pointed out that the adult mealworms need water. It is recommended to throw a ball of wet toilet paper. Be careful not to wet the environment. The feed can also be fed with Taisugar feed, which is quite economical. It is really a must-have companion for home travel. White steamed buns, wheat bran, eel powder and grass shrimp feed can all be fed. As for water, just take the white meat of leftover watermelon with skin and let them eat. In short, mealworms are a kind of creature with quite strong vitality! Easy to raise and high nutritional value! Suitable for the growth of mice after they are born and open their eyes, the recovery of female mice during pregnancy and after giving birth, and the maintenance of male mice who are usually fine-Huliyabu! But be careful not to feed too much during non-essential periods to avoid overnutrition or imbalance. Mealworms, also known as flour worms, have the characteristics of fast growth, strong reproduction, simple breeding methods, and reproduction in all seasons. It is the most commonly used animal feed containing high protein for ornamental birds. The entire life cycle of mealworms is about 4 months, and the breeding method is relatively simple: clean the enamel basin or ceramic basin with smooth walls, add bran about 10 cm thick, then put the mealworms in, sprinkle some flour or corn flour on it, and cover it with a few leaves or slices of vegetables, such as pumpkin, zucchini, cucumber, Chinese cabbage, cabbage, and Chinese cabbage. These leaves can be eaten by mealworms and increase humidity. Then place the basin in a place with a higher indoor temperature, generally 22-25℃, and a humidity of 50%-60%. Mealworms need to go through 6-7 moltings from egg hatching to adulthood, and it takes about 3 months to become adults (black shell insects). The average body length is 32 mm, the body width is 3.5 mm, the average weight is 0.2 grams, and some can reach 0.25 grams. After becoming pupae, the pupa is 17 mm long, 4 mm wide, and weighs 0.1 grams on average. The process of mealworms turning into pupae is that they first open a small crack from the head, the tail starts to wriggle, and the skin slowly sheds from the top of the head to the back, and the whole shed can be completed in 5 to 10 minutes. The whole body of the pupa is milky white, and it turns dark yellow after 5 to 6 hours. After another 3 to 5 days, the pupa begins to turn into an adult (black shell worm). After mating, the adult begins to lay eggs 2 to 3 days later. During this period, some leafy vegetables can be placed in the pot, which can be eaten by mealworms on the one hand, and on the other hand, the adults can lay eggs on the leafy vegetables. The eggs are milky white and the size of millet grains. Be careful not to throw away the remaining leafy vegetables, so as not to throw away the eggs at the same time. After 9 to 10 days, the eggs hatch into larvae. If you observe carefully, you can see the larvae wriggling in the wheat bran. At this time, you can take out the dry leaves, cover the wheat bran with a layer of fresh leaves and flour or corn flour for the larvae to eat, and the larvae will grow up quickly. In the breeding of mealworms, large pupae should be selected for seed and placed in a single pot for egg laying. The larvae are basically the same size, and the eggs will not be sieved out when the worm feces are replaced. When feeding birds, you can pick out the larger ones first. Those that have turned into pupae can be picked out and placed in another pot for further reproduction. Mealworms of different sizes should be raised separately. After a pot of mealworms is fed, the old pot should be cleaned and reused when breeding again. During the breeding process of mealworms, you should often check whether the wheat bran has been eaten. If it has been eaten, you can use a sieve to sieve out the worms and replace them with new bran. After the bran in the pot turns black, you can sprinkle a little fresh drum skin and flour, corn flour, etc. on it. New leaves should be replaced frequently, and don't put too much each time. The new leaves for insects to eat should increase the humidity, but it is not advisable to put too much, so as to avoid the feed from spoiling and moldy. During the breeding process of mealworms, some new and larger seed sources should be introduced every two or three generations to avoid the body shape and physique of the insects getting worse and worse due to inbreeding.

Question 7: How fast do mealworms reproduce? How to cultivate them? Prepare two porcelain basins with smooth walls. Scrub the basins clean, then put the mealworms in, cover with a layer of wheat bran and sprinkle with some flour or corn flour, cover with a lid and place in a place with a temperature of about 30°C. After a period of time, the worms will shed several layers of skin and begin to turn into pupae, and then into black shell worms. At this time, a layer of cabbage leaves should be covered, on the one hand for the worms to eat, and on the other hand, it can make the worms lay eggs on the leaves. Do not replace the leaves after they are dry. After a while, you can see worms wriggling in the wheat bran under the leaves, which means that the larvae have laid eggs. At this time, you can take out the dry leaves, sprinkle some flour on the wheat bran, and cover the flour with another layer of leaves. The larvae will grow up quickly. When feeding the birds, you can pick out the big ones first. For those that have turned into pupae, you can pick them out and put them in another prepared basin, and then continue to breed. During the breeding process, you should pay attention to the following issues:

① Do not stir the wheat bran in the basin up and down to avoid affecting the hatching of eggs. At the same time, turning up the insect feces at the bottom of the basin will also affect the growth of the larvae.

② After the wheat bran in the basin turns black, sprinkle new wheat bran on it in time and continue to sprinkle some flour.

③ Often cover the wheat bran with vegetable leaves to provide food for the larvae and increase the temperature. But it is not advisable to put too much, as too much will easily rot.

④ The culture pot should not be covered too tightly, as this will cause the temperature of the bran to be too high, affecting the growth of insects. It is best to cover it with a layer of screen to prevent ant invasion.

⑤ After the birds have finished eating, the adult insects in a pot should be completely removed and re-cultivated.

⑥ During the reproduction process, the insects must be mixed with adult insects of other species every two or three generations, otherwise the insects will degenerate and the bred insects will become smaller and smaller.

Question 8: How to raise mealworms? Mealworms, also known as flour worms, have the characteristics of fast growth, strong reproductive ability, simple breeding methods, and can reproduce in all seasons. They are the most commonly used high-protein animal feed for ornamental birds.

The entire life cycle of mealworms is about 4 months, and the breeding method is relatively simple: clean the enamel basin or ceramic basin with smooth walls, add bran about 10 cm thick, then put the mealworms in, sprinkle some flour or corn flour on it, and cover it with a few leaves or slices of vegetables, such as pumpkin, zucchini, cucumber, Chinese cabbage, cabbage, and Chinese cabbage. These leaves can be eaten by mealworms and increase humidity. Then place the basin in a place with a higher indoor temperature, generally 22-25℃, and a humidity of 50%-60%. Mealworms need to go through 6-7 moltings from egg hatching to adulthood, and it takes about 3 months to become adults (black shell insects). The average body length is 32 mm, the body width is 3.5 mm, the average weight is 0.2 grams, and some can reach 0.25 grams. After becoming pupae, the pupa is 17 mm long, 4 mm wide, and weighs 0.1 grams on average. The process of mealworms turning into pupae is that they first open a small crack from the head, the tail starts to wriggle, and the skin slowly sheds from the top of the head to the back, and the whole shed can be completed in 5 to 10 minutes. The whole body of the pupa is milky white, and it turns dark yellow after 5 to 6 hours. After another 3 to 5 days, the pupa begins to turn into an adult (black shell worm). After mating, the adult begins to lay eggs 2 to 3 days later. During this period, some leafy vegetables can be placed in the pot, which can be eaten by mealworms on the one hand, and on the other hand, the adults can lay eggs on the leafy vegetables. The eggs are milky white and the size of millet grains. Be careful not to throw away the remaining leafy vegetables, so as not to throw away the eggs at the same time. After 9 to 10 days, the eggs hatch into larvae. If you observe carefully, you can see the larvae wriggling in the wheat bran. At this time, you can take out the dry leaves, cover the wheat bran with a layer of fresh leaves and flour or corn flour for the larvae to eat, and the larvae will grow up quickly. In the breeding of mealworms, large pupae should be selected for seed and placed in a single pot for egg laying. The larvae are basically the same size, and the eggs will not be sifted out when the worm feces are replaced. When feeding the birds, you can pick out the larger ones first. Those that have turned into pupae can be picked out and placed in another pot to continue breeding. Mealworms of different sizes should be raised separately. After a pot of mealworms is fed, the old pot should be cleaned and reused when breeding again. During the breeding process of mealworms, you should often check whether the wheat bran has been eaten. If it has been eaten, you can use a sieve to sift out the worms and replace them with new bran. After the bran in the pot turns black, you can sprinkle a little fresh drum skin and flour, corn flour, etc. on it. New leaves should be replaced frequently, and don't put too many each time. The new leaves for insects to eat should increase the humidity, but it is not advisable to put too many, so as to avoid the feed from spoiling and moldy. During the breeding process of mealworms, some new and larger seed sources should be introduced every two or three generations to avoid the body shape and physique of the insects getting worse and worse due to inbreeding.