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

Hi all, I am in Australia and raising mealworms for the local Noisy Miners. I have tried this mealworm thing before to no avail. I have three full tubs of mealworms (from tiny to fully grown) under the house that are brimming with grain mites. I'm still going to strain these and feed them to the 'locals' but I need to buy more worms to begin a new farm. I've had to consider heating as the new colony will live under the house. The old one was inside the house and when the mites broke out, I had a LOT of cleaning to do! After looking into all heating options (and reading all of your advice), I am thinking of buying a ceramic heating lamp with a thermostat. The basic idea is to put the beetles/babies container directly under the lamp with empty containers either side (for the egg-filled strained beetle subtrate). These 'sister containers' will benefit from the lamp, but to avoid overheating of the beetles, I will put the thermostat sensor in that box. Hopefully, by keeping an eye on the temperature and humidity (with a cheap Thermometer & Humidity Gauge) I will avoid those horrible mites. Oh, and for anybody that is interested, I've been playing around with a beetle container that I saw on youtube with the mite infested beetles to find what works best before I begin the new colony. So far, the best that I have found was http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKJ52gW8i9M He does call it a 'Superworm box' but I've found that it works really well for the mealies (in a smaller box). I used a different substrate though, a roughly blended mix of corn flakes, wheat bix and oats. Instead of filling the bottom box, I gave it a little shake and let the loose stuff fall. When the beetles began to lay, the eggs/babies fell through and thrived in the lower box. Oh, I also used two of the same containers (he used a plastic container and a kitty litter container) and drilled air holes (with mesh) in the sides so the babies can breathe. I'll let you all know how it goes :)

I raise mealworms for feeding birds. The cold weather will freeze the pupae. Fresh, frozen pupae are good for the birds, and they will eat them. Remember the birds are still hunting for whatever insects they can find, and surely they must be finding some frozen insects in 22 degree weather. I don't think you will have any problem. Perhaps you could put a bowl with slick sides out to put the pupae in. While I've never heard of mealworms damaging wood, it would keep them inside the bowl. Then the birds or other wildlife could get to them easier too.

All birds don't eat bugs out side of nesting season. Sparrows, cardinals, finches, Jays prefer seeds, orioles like jelly or sweet sugar nectar like hummingbirds.