How do mealworms arise?

The mealworm larvae are the well-known mealworms that animal lovers like to use as live food for lizards, birds and even hamsters. They are easy to grow and are commonly known as mealworms. But there are also storage pests in flour and cereal products.

Mealworms aren't really worms

• Mealworms are larvae of the meal beetle (Tenebrio molitor). The nocturnal one Beetle feeds on flour and grain products. Therefore, it is known as a pest in bakeries. He prefers dark, warm corners.
• The female lays around 100 to 150 eggs, which are white and sticky. Larvae about two millimeters long later hatch from this. They grow quite quickly. As they grow in size, they develop into the animals we call mealworms. The question "How do mealworms arise" is thus initially answered. But what then happens to the worms?
• Since their skin does not grow with you, they molt up to fourteen times. The freshly hatched mealworm is light at first and then turns brown again. The mealworms pupate after a minimum of four weeks.
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• The finished, black beetles develop from the pupae and live for about four months.


Breeding flour beetles as food animals - this is how it works

The meal beetle belongs to the black beetle family. The better known mealworm is ...

• The flour beetles go through a complete metamorphosis from the egg to the imago (adult animal). Development takes very different times depending on the environment and temperature. It can last up to a year. This creates mealworms as an intermediate phase between egg and beetle.

How do the larvae develop in a farm?

Growing mealworms is not difficult. You need three small plastic containers that you close at the top so that air can get inside. A cloth is suitable that you place over it and tie it securely at the edge (with tape or a rubber).

1. Buy some mealworms from stores to start with. These go into the first container.
2. Put an egg box or sawdust inside to hide.
3. As food for the mealworms, use oatmeal, bread and a lettuce leaf every now and then.
4. When the mealworms pupate, carefully place the pupae in the second container. This is where the beetles develop.
5. You put this back into a new plastic bowl.
6. In the last container you put some moist soil and of course also food for the beetles. These lay eggs on the dark earth and new mealworms develop from them. So the cycle starts all over again.

Since the animals also eat each other, it makes sense to separate the stages of development for breeding.

Is it worth breeding mealworms?

• The baker likes to do without the pests. Mealworms are often used by breeders of reptiles, pet birds and hamsters. It is a very high-fat food that sick animals like to be fed back with. In healthy people, the owner must be careful not to feed too much.
• You can buy mealworms live at low cost in stores. It certainly makes sense to feed these animals so that they can be preserved as live food for a long time.
• Breeding is only worthwhile if you consume a lot of mealworms. How long your mealworms live as such also depends on the temperature. If you don't want to grow purchased worms, keep them in a cool basement.