Hi Kendra,

I do separate the beetles before I can even see any offspring. No idea how long they are eggs vs. tiny worms that you can't see. I try to separate them about every month.

I just started all this last summer. Things moved fairly smoothly last summer/fall, but since I keep the house cool for the winter and the worms are in the basement, things are changing much more slowly. Pretty frustrating.

Hope that helps,

Ann

Ann, it does help. Thank you for your reply. Even though I still don't know if the adult beetles are consuming their young. I did search around different websites and couldn't find a mention of the need to move the adult beetles out. I do know that moving them out has worked for me in the past, and it is working for you. I'll move the adults after a month from now on and see how that goes. I also just started this last summer, and I also keep mine in a basement room. So maybe they are just developing more slowly because it is cooler.

You need to keep your mealworms in a warm environment for the best results - 70-80 degrees is best. The adult beetles will eat the young mealworms and/or larvae, especially if they are not provided with enough moisture. I make sure to keep carrots or potatoes in the bin at all times and I mist the towel in the bin with a couple light squirts each day. I do also move the beetles out and away as the mealworms get bigger. It already seems to take longer during the winter months for the different stages to progress but, if you are not keeping them warm enough, I doubt you'll have pleasing results.

Thanks Traci. The temperature could be part of my problem. I checked the thermostat and it is about 63 degrees down in the basement. I would be afraid of an accidental release if I moved them up to a warmer spot in the house, so I'll have to be content with them growing more slowly for now. I do keep them hydrated with carrots, potatoes, apple pieces, etc.

Will bluebirds eat the freeze-dried mealworms as well as the live mealworms? I'm a newbie to bluebirding.

Many people have said they ignore the freeze-dried. However, because of recent shortages of live mealworms, one vendor tells me that if I mix a few freeze-dried with the live ones, the bluebirds will learn to enjoy both. But I have not tried it yet. She expressed concern that the shortages will occur again, so she recommends to give it a try, and that during a shortage, the mealworm growers will favor sending shipments to zoos first, for their animals.
BlueBars

I give mealworms to wild lizards. I have kept them in the fridge for months when the lizards stop eating during the winter. We have a shortage here too(Australia) but it seems suspicious and I wonder if they are being described as possible human food in the face of all the movements to replace meat. Registering them as food products edible by human would make them very expensive and the big industries would be locking down the supply and possibly even killing off what they cant control. Whatever is happening shouldn't be. Meal worms are easily bred insects and should be available in massive numbers. I know I might be totally wrong but I dont think so