Feeding insects are widely used to feed birds, fish, reptiles, and other animals. If you have several animals that eat meal insects, it would be wise to start raising your own insects. The preparation of a meal insect farm costs less than you can imagine and its maintenance takes very little time.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Preparation
Step 1. Collect the necessary:
- Dried oatmeal.
- Moist foods that don't get moldy quickly. Carrots are best suited for this purpose.
- Three plastic containers with ventilation holes on the top.
- Several pieces of cardboard such as egg containers or finished toilet paper rolls.
- Feeding insects, also known as darkling beetle larvae, about a thousand.
Step 2. Create a base of 2.54 cm of oatmeal at the bottom of each plastic container
This will act as a litter for the insects, in their various stages of development.
Step 3. Place a few thin slices of vegetables in each container
You can use any type of fruit or vegetable, such as celery, lettuce, potatoes, or apples. Carrot takes longer to spoil than other vegetables or fruits. If you decide to use other types of foods, be sure to replace them often.
Step 4. Place the live insects in one of the containers
Some feed insect breeders like to add a few slices of bread, crushed cereals or dry dog food to the mixture.
Step 5. Place a few pieces of construction paper on the base of the container
These little creatures love to be in the dark.
Step 6. Put a label on each container
One will contain the larvae, the other the pupae and the other still the adult beetles.
Step 7. Seal the containers and store them in a warm, dark place
Heat speeds up their life cycle, so your meal bugs will pupate faster if they stay warm.
Method 2 of 2: Maintenance
Step 1. Take care of the containers periodically
Some breeders like to keep everything under control on a daily basis, while others only do it once a week.
- Remove any leftover rotten vegetables, dead insects or pieces of mold from the oatmeal substrate.
- Add other vegetables and oatmeal if necessary, and shake the litter to prevent mold from forming.
Step 2. Keep an eye on the pupae in the habitat of your insects
Depending on the temperature and maturity level when you bought them, their transformation to pupal stage can occur at any time, from a week to a couple of months.
- Maturation is manifested by the gradual darkening of color in all stages of the life cycle.
- The pupa starts off with a very pale white color and looks like a coiled beetle rather than a fractional insect.
- You will notice that meal insects moult several times before progressing to pupal stage. It's normal.
Step 3. Separate the pupae as soon as you start noticing them
You can use tweezers if you feel disgusted.
- The pupae do not move and do not need to feed. The humidity is not harmful, but the food inside the container will not feed on.
- It is important to keep pupae separate from larvae and adult insects, as they are unable to defend themselves and run the risk of being devoured before they even hatch.
- The pupal stage lasts from one to several weeks depending on the temperature. You will know they are on the verge of hatching when their color gets darker.
Step 4. Take a look at both containers regularly to check the evolution of the life cycle
This becomes more important as you have more insects at various stages of development.
Step 5. Remove adult beetles from the pupal container immediately
They will begin to feed on other pupae if they are not moved quickly.
Place the adult beetles in a separate container with the same preparation as the container for the larvae. It never hurts to add more oatmeal so that they have more space available to nest
Step 6. Check the container of adult beetles regularly to check for eggs
They will be more abundant if there are more adults in the container. Eggs are usually found at the bottom of the container.
- It is not necessary to remove the eggs, but they are a signal that more larvae will soon be there.
- Adult females lay around 500 eggs at a time.
- The eggs hatch within 4-19 days, depending on the temperature.
Step 7. Move the larvae from the adult beetle container to the larva container after hatching
Since females lay so many eggs at a time, you will have a lot of work to do with each generation of larvae.
Step 8. Take care of your habitats daily or weekly
This includes replenishing food, separating insects based on their evolutionary stages, removing dead insects, and shaking their litter.
If you notice that you are starting to produce more insects than your animals' needs, take some adults to a natural habitat and let them go. You can also feed some pupae to adults, or put other larvae in your backyard bird feeder
Advice
- Don't forget to replace old, moldy food with fresher food
- If you have a smaller amount of meal insects, you can keep them in a smaller container such as those from Ikea
- Try not to stack too many worms in the same container
- For superworms to progress to pupal stage, you need to keep them in separate containers
- If you keep meal insects in the fridge, their evolution will be slowed down. So if you want to feed your pets larvae rather than beetles, keep them in the fridge.
- You can also use this guide to take care of superworms, but don't put them in the fridge. They are tropical insects so they need quite high temperatures
- You don't have to clean their cages very frequently
