Mealworms and More! 8.18.22

The Facebook Live Event in Mealworm Farming CO-OP group was a lot of fun today! There were several questions that led us into the farm today to walk through specific examples.
Some of the topics we covered:
- beetles and light
- spraying water
- feeding moisture to bins
- beetle tray labeling and documenting
and much more!
If you have any questions, don't be bashful about throwing out a comment below or reaching out to me directly - [e-mail]
#mealworms #mealwormfarm #howtoraisemealworms #live

[@mealwormfarmingpakistan]

May God bless you for helping mealworms farmers 👒 soff

[@miller17013]

I commented on an older video 15:30 for sorting ive seen others that use plastic trays upside down with sides cut almost like table legs and put the pupa on the table top so to speak, when the beetle emerges it climbs off looking for the food source and dark areas under the 'table' leaving the pupa above and not being able to get back up too them which could make harvesting them easier. just remove the pupa tray and dump the beetles.

[@MidwestMealworms]

yes, that's what we affectionately call a 'pupae bridge'. I may end up trying them again...

[@miller17013]

@@MidwestMealwormsIn your video you use water crystals were do you buy then in such bulk?

[@MidwestMealworms]

@@miller17013 watergelcrystals.com and watersorb.myshopify.com/

[@brokenleftearbuglord9106]

Might be worth making your own pupae “bridges” that beetles can crawl off down into the bin. There’ll certainly be a bit of material cost but it could make beetle retrieval easier! Edit: looks like someone beat me to it haha

[@MidwestMealworms]

I've used the bridges before, I wasn't super successful with them.

[@1337farm]

IMO I think a pupae bridge that sits in a 1/8 screen tray that sits in a solid tray with bran may be the most efficient

[@MidwestMealworms]

I'd go with plastic, the mesh will give the beetles something to climb on - after they hatch they may cling to the bottom. Probably low numbers though that would do that. If the no-bran method doesn't work well, I will be trying some form of bridge...

[@1337farm]

@@MidwestMealworms currently I use upside down Rubbermaid for pupae bridge inside concrete mixing tote. My future design will be… upside down rubbermaid inside a concrete mixing tub that has the top edge cut off (to make shorter) and cut the bottom out to put metal mesh (probably 1/8) then that modified tote will sit inside (with the pupae bridge inside of it) an un-modified concrete mixing tub. This way everything is separated and fits inside the overall dimensions on a un-modified concrete tub.

[@TheRealDogfart]

Sorting hatched from unhatched beetles. Without a bran bed - Instead of paper towels use micro netting. Use the type of netting that some mealworm sellers package their larvae in. Not cloth but vinyl netting. Similar to paper towels, beetles love to climb in, up and around folded netting to find a place to harden. When you want to separate, carefully pick up the netting, place into a 5 gallon bucket or tall container and give it a shake. Make sure everything is below the top of the bucket or they will fly everywhere. This may not be the very best solution, but it's far better than paper towels.

[@MidwestMealworms]

I've tried mesh bags in the past, it didn't work well. Do you have a visual example of what you describe, maybe I'm doing it wrong.

[@TheRealDogfart]

@@MidwestMealworms I don't have a visual. I use old mealworm bags that I've saved. I lay them on top of the pupae, just as I would paper towels. If they are too long I simply fold the bag over. Too short and I use multiple bags. When they get dirty I wash them. I don't get 100% of the beetles out, but if I want to I can. I'll sometimes use a bag layer on the bottom. After I'm done with the top, I'll slowly remove the bottom, pouring the pupae back into the bin. Beetles will usually cling just like the top bag.

[@sherimoen617]

Scott at South Coast Worms has a beetle sorter and you could ut the pupea in the toarea and the beetles we I'll walk over and fall into the beetle sorter bottom. Then your beetles will see PO arate themselves.

[@sherimoen617]

Sorry my auto spell check is acting up.

[@MidwestMealworms]

Great suggestion! I have several of the pupae bridges from Space Coast Mealworms, they didn't work for the volume of pupae I'm going through.

[@hobbyt2041]

Great videos.. do you have one from your packaging process? How do you make sure they are delivered in top shape?

[@MidwestMealworms]

Hydrate them overnight, mesh bags and boxes with adequate ventilation. There's at least one video posted on the channel of the shipping process.

[@1337farm]

Do you see an increase in humidity in your grow room on the day that you feed moisture? Do you freeze the cucumbers or squash before feeding it?

[@MidwestMealworms]

increase in humidity - yes. freeze cucumbers/squash - no, unless they have a lot of external bugs on them.

[@Dada-go2yo]

Can you tell me where you buy your shelves or if there is an online distribution channel?

[@MidwestMealworms]

Beekenkamp in the Netherlands.

[@brokenleftearbuglord9106]

I wonder if a filing system using alphabet and number would be as efficient or better. Such as: A1 -> A10, B1 -> B10 … AA1 -> AA10 … and so on. Do you recycle your alphabet? Like once “A” has run its course will you reuse it or just retire it?

[@MidwestMealworms]

I went to double letters, so AA, AB, AC, then BA, BB, BC. That worked well, enough of a time/use gap that they don't overlap.

[@earplugs23]

I want to start growing mealworms for a science experiment for my son and feed our fish a treat. Do I need a different area specifically for mealworms? I grow compost worms in our basement but with the frass and possible dust and breathing don’t want to have that issue. I could have them in an area in our garage if I enclose it. Would that be a better option?

[@MidwestMealworms]

Yes, garages are a common place to have mealworms. Be mindful of the temperature, getting higher than 80-85 will be problematic.

[@brendaposey4476]

What are the different screen sizes needed to make your trays into the different size sifters?

[@MidwestMealworms]

1/8", #8, #30, then #38 for finer frass/small mealworm sifting.

[@SeniorgrawRoblox]

@@MidwestMealworms can you write it in MM?

[@MidwestMealworms]

@@SeniorgrawRoblox I don't know what they are in MM.

[@hassanzaidi1767]

WHERE R U FROM .ME PAKISTAN

[@MidwestMealworms]

I'm located in Ashland, Missouri, in the United States.

[@lionelcusack9098]

Where did you get the blue. Trays

[@MidwestMealworms]

they are made by Beekenkamp in The Netherlands.

[@jamespotts4848]

Where can I buy those trays?

[@MidwestMealworms]

I sell them in quantities up to 50, and I purchase them from Tricycle.eco in Canada.

[@dongkuvneak_kh]

Now I trying feeding mealworm in Cambodia as you, my idol 🙏 @khmermealworm

[@MidwestMealworms]

That's awesome, keep going!

[@hassanzaidi1767]

DOING BEAUTIFULY GRET