bubblez825
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- Glendale, AZ
So, I've seen many posts lately and over time asking questions about how to start your own mealworm colony, what to do, what bedding and what to use for moisture, so I thought I'd set up step by step instructions for a "How to" about breeding mealworms, and hopefully clear up most of the questions anyone has 
If anyone has any different methods on how they do their colonies, please feel free to add your own, and/or correct me on anything if needed
Step one: Order your mealworms!
Some local pet shops sell mealworms in 500ct cups, but if you're really looking to start a colony, I would suggest starting with around 1,000 worms. Some websites and places are pricier than others, and for some places, the shipping is the expensive part. Where you order from is really your own choice, based on experience with the company, recommendations from others, quality of worms, who has the best deals, and what you are willing to spend for "x" amount of worms combined with shipping. Here is a list of websites to order from. These aren't all, but these are the ones I know of;
-Rainbow Worms
-Fluker Farms
-Grubco
-Exotic Nutrition
-NY Worms
-Worm Man's Worm Farm
-DunCraft
-Georgia Crickets
Mealworms, when ordered in bulk, usually(from my experience) come in poxes with holes in it, and inside are tied sacks with newspaper inside, for easy packing/removal of worms, and good ventilation.
Step two: Bins/Bedding!
Personally, I use identical 16qt Sterlite bins with holes drilled in the lids. I've heard of people using those plastic drawers, but I just find this easier to store my colony in and its also easily accessible. As for pupae, I just keep them in a deli container with a lid. I punch holes in the lid so beetles have air when they hatch, and aren't suffocated to death :main_laugh:
Beetles:
Lid
Bin
Worms:
Lid
Bin
Pupae:
Deli Container
I drilled more holes in the beetles bin, because there's more activity, and WAY more heat and moisture released from beetles than the worms.
Now, for bedding, there are endless things you can use. For my own personal colony, I like to use whole oatmeal and a ground up mixture of several different grains(corn meal, more oatmeal, wheat, etc. I don't remember exactly what all was in there). People have also used dry dog food as bedding, but I prefer "all natural" stuff for my worms. Whatever bedding you use, make sure there is enough to give ample space for your worms to move around and "burrow". For beetles, I only keep a thin layer of oatmeal and grains in there, just enough to basically cover the floor with a little padding. It makes it easier when it comes to seeing baby worms, pulling out dead beetles, and switching the tubs, which I'll explain here soon.
Worm bedding
Beetle bedding
Oatmeal
Also, it doesn't really matter if its the "instant oatmeal" or "one minute" stuff or the expensive stuff, its all the same honestly. Maybe to us it tastes different, but they have no different results with worms or beetles.
Moisture:
I like to use large carrots as my moisture. I have used baby carrots in the past, but baby carrots do not last as long, and don't hold as must moisture over a long period of time. I have had bad luck with potatoes and red apples killing many of my worms and beetles, and they absolutely LOVE the carrots so it all works out in the end. I also occasionally throw in any leftover kale, collard greens, or mustard greens I have from my bearded dragons for added nutrition. Don't worry about putting the carrots underneath the bedding, the worms will find the carrots and end up making it "disappear" beneath the surface of the bedding. I usually put more carrots in there about twice a week, or sooner depending on how much of the carrots are left and still "moist".
***MAKE SURE TO WATCH OUT FOR MOLD! One way I prevent this is every few days, I mix around the bedding in both the mealworm and beetle containers. This lets air INTO the bottom of the bins, and heat and any excess moisture OUT. Also, dry the carrots off with a paper towel BEFORE putting them in the bins. This way, water will not get in the bins and cause mold to grow. I've had mold destroy a colony of worms, and its a pain in the butt and a waste of time and money!****
Carrots
Step three: Pupae!!
Depending what size the worms are that you order, it may take a few weeks for them to reach full size and pupate. But once they do, I pull out my pupae and put them in a small deli container, so they aren't eaten by the worms. Here is an example of what a freshly formed pupae(left), a "medium stage" pupae, and an about-to-hatch pupae looks like:
Example
Step four: Beetles!!
Now, in my experience, it takes around two weeks for a pupae to turn into a beetle. Once they hatch, I always throw them into my beetle tub as soon as I see them, so no pupae get eaten. Beetles looking for moisture can view the pupae as a tasty treat.
Right after beetles hatch, they are a real creamy white color that will eventually fade to a reddish brown, then finally to black. I don't have a picture of a newly hatched beetle, but I will try to get one soon if possible.
Example
Just leave the beetles alone for a while, and let them do their thing. Don't forget to give them carrots!
Step five: Babies!!
Mealworm beetles usually lay eggs about every two weeks, but I'm not sure how long it takes the eggs to hatch. What I DO know is, though, that I look for baby mealworms about once a month, and I can usually see tiny little itty bitty worms crawling on the bottom of the tub. They are VERY small, so make sure to look under good light, preferably natural light. The babies seem to almost be transparent sometimes.
When I see plenty of tiny worms, I switch my beetle and mealworm tubs. This is where the identical Sterlite containers come in handy :main_yes:.
First, I pick the beetles out of their tub(ONLY THE BEETLES, NOT THE BEDDING), and put them all in a container just for a few minutes while I switch the tubs.
Second, I take the mealworm tub and dump its contents into the former beetle tub with all the baby mealworms. This is so the baby worms can eat and feed off of the bedding and carrots and any eggs that have yet to hatch will be able to hatch, and I will have a clean tub for beetles and not have to worry about switching tubs again till the next set of worms hatch
Third, I put down a new thin layer of bedding in the now-empty mealworm container, and dump all the beetles in.
Fourth, I match the lids up to which tub they go on(mealworm lid with less holes, beetle lid with more holes), toss a few carrots in each tub, and we're done!!
Step six: You've got WOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRMMMMSSS!
Now that we have officially switched your baby worms over, it should take around a month for them to get to feeder size. All you have to do is wait As they get older, mealworms shed just like reptiles, so expect to find little reddish brown shed pieces floating around. Just like beetles, worms also are really pale after they shed, and turn to their normal reddish-brown color shortly after. When they're full grown, they should look something like this:
Worms
If you follow these guidelines, you should be well on your way to a very healthy colony of worms, and great feeders that your lizards will love! This is also a very neat science project, so if there's any younger kids out there interested in doing this who want to impress their teachers, here's a project for you!! :main_thumbsup:
My colony!
Good luck to you guys and your colonies!
~Emily
If anyone has any different methods on how they do their colonies, please feel free to add your own, and/or correct me on anything if needed Step one: Order your mealworms!
Some local pet shops sell mealworms in 500ct cups, but if you're really looking to start a colony, I would suggest starting with around 1,000 worms. Some websites and places are pricier than others, and for some places, the shipping is the expensive part. Where you order from is really your own choice, based on experience with the company, recommendations from others, quality of worms, who has the best deals, and what you are willing to spend for "x" amount of worms combined with shipping. Here is a list of websites to order from. These aren't all, but these are the ones I know of;
-Rainbow Worms
-Fluker Farms
-Grubco
-Exotic Nutrition
-NY Worms
-Worm Man's Worm Farm
-DunCraft
-Georgia Crickets
Mealworms, when ordered in bulk, usually(from my experience) come in poxes with holes in it, and inside are tied sacks with newspaper inside, for easy packing/removal of worms, and good ventilation.
Step two: Bins/Bedding!
Personally, I use identical 16qt Sterlite bins with holes drilled in the lids. I've heard of people using those plastic drawers, but I just find this easier to store my colony in and its also easily accessible. As for pupae, I just keep them in a deli container with a lid. I punch holes in the lid so beetles have air when they hatch, and aren't suffocated to death :main_laugh:
Beetles:
Lid
Bin
Worms:
Lid
Bin
Pupae:
Deli Container
I drilled more holes in the beetles bin, because there's more activity, and WAY more heat and moisture released from beetles than the worms.
Now, for bedding, there are endless things you can use. For my own personal colony, I like to use whole oatmeal and a ground up mixture of several different grains(corn meal, more oatmeal, wheat, etc. I don't remember exactly what all was in there). People have also used dry dog food as bedding, but I prefer "all natural" stuff for my worms. Whatever bedding you use, make sure there is enough to give ample space for your worms to move around and "burrow". For beetles, I only keep a thin layer of oatmeal and grains in there, just enough to basically cover the floor with a little padding. It makes it easier when it comes to seeing baby worms, pulling out dead beetles, and switching the tubs, which I'll explain here soon.
Worm bedding
Beetle bedding
Oatmeal
Also, it doesn't really matter if its the "instant oatmeal" or "one minute" stuff or the expensive stuff, its all the same honestly. Maybe to us it tastes different, but they have no different results with worms or beetles.
Moisture:
I like to use large carrots as my moisture. I have used baby carrots in the past, but baby carrots do not last as long, and don't hold as must moisture over a long period of time. I have had bad luck with potatoes and red apples killing many of my worms and beetles, and they absolutely LOVE the carrots so it all works out in the end. I also occasionally throw in any leftover kale, collard greens, or mustard greens I have from my bearded dragons for added nutrition. Don't worry about putting the carrots underneath the bedding, the worms will find the carrots and end up making it "disappear" beneath the surface of the bedding. I usually put more carrots in there about twice a week, or sooner depending on how much of the carrots are left and still "moist".
***MAKE SURE TO WATCH OUT FOR MOLD! One way I prevent this is every few days, I mix around the bedding in both the mealworm and beetle containers. This lets air INTO the bottom of the bins, and heat and any excess moisture OUT. Also, dry the carrots off with a paper towel BEFORE putting them in the bins. This way, water will not get in the bins and cause mold to grow. I've had mold destroy a colony of worms, and its a pain in the butt and a waste of time and money!****
Carrots
Step three: Pupae!!
Depending what size the worms are that you order, it may take a few weeks for them to reach full size and pupate. But once they do, I pull out my pupae and put them in a small deli container, so they aren't eaten by the worms. Here is an example of what a freshly formed pupae(left), a "medium stage" pupae, and an about-to-hatch pupae looks like:
Example
Step four: Beetles!!
Now, in my experience, it takes around two weeks for a pupae to turn into a beetle. Once they hatch, I always throw them into my beetle tub as soon as I see them, so no pupae get eaten. Beetles looking for moisture can view the pupae as a tasty treat.
Right after beetles hatch, they are a real creamy white color that will eventually fade to a reddish brown, then finally to black. I don't have a picture of a newly hatched beetle, but I will try to get one soon if possible.
Example
Just leave the beetles alone for a while, and let them do their thing. Don't forget to give them carrots!
Step five: Babies!!
Mealworm beetles usually lay eggs about every two weeks, but I'm not sure how long it takes the eggs to hatch. What I DO know is, though, that I look for baby mealworms about once a month, and I can usually see tiny little itty bitty worms crawling on the bottom of the tub. They are VERY small, so make sure to look under good light, preferably natural light. The babies seem to almost be transparent sometimes.
When I see plenty of tiny worms, I switch my beetle and mealworm tubs. This is where the identical Sterlite containers come in handy :main_yes:.
First, I pick the beetles out of their tub(ONLY THE BEETLES, NOT THE BEDDING), and put them all in a container just for a few minutes while I switch the tubs.
Second, I take the mealworm tub and dump its contents into the former beetle tub with all the baby mealworms. This is so the baby worms can eat and feed off of the bedding and carrots and any eggs that have yet to hatch will be able to hatch, and I will have a clean tub for beetles and not have to worry about switching tubs again till the next set of worms hatch
Third, I put down a new thin layer of bedding in the now-empty mealworm container, and dump all the beetles in.
Fourth, I match the lids up to which tub they go on(mealworm lid with less holes, beetle lid with more holes), toss a few carrots in each tub, and we're done!!
Step six: You've got WOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRMMMMSSS!
Now that we have officially switched your baby worms over, it should take around a month for them to get to feeder size. All you have to do is wait
As they get older, mealworms shed just like reptiles, so expect to find little reddish brown shed pieces floating around. Just like beetles, worms also are really pale after they shed, and turn to their normal reddish-brown color shortly after. When they're full grown, they should look something like this: Worms
If you follow these guidelines, you should be well on your way to a very healthy colony of worms, and great feeders that your lizards will love! This is also a very neat science project, so if there's any younger kids out there interested in doing this who want to impress their teachers, here's a project for you!! :main_thumbsup:
My colony!
Good luck to you guys and your colonies!
~Emily
Last edited:
