13 Crucial Considerations for Successful Yellow Mealworm Farming

Yellow mealworms, also known as flour beetles, boast rich nutritional content with 60% crude protein and 29% crude fat in their larvae, delivering exceptional breeding and economic benefits.

Understanding Yellow Mealworm’s Biological Traits

To succeed in raising yellow mealworms, a grasp of their biological traits is essential. Let’s delve into these aspects pertaining to artificial breeding:

Mealworm:Reproductive Behavior

Yellow mealworms attain reproductive capacity only in their adult phase. The natural male-to-female ratio is 1:1, with lifespans ranging from 2 to 196 days, averaging 51 days. Mating and egg-laying commence 3 to 4 days after emergence, spanning 22 to 130 days, with over 80% of eggs laid within a month. A female beetle, on average, produces 276 eggs, and egg quality is influenced by feed.

Locomotion Behavior

Both adult beetles and larvae move through crawling. Maintaining smooth container walls is essential to prevent larvae and beetles from escaping. These creatures are highly agile, requiring consideration for containment.

Social and Cannibalistic Behavior

Yellow mealworms prefer a group habitat, facilitating high-density cultivation. Optimal density per square meter is around 2 kilograms of mature larvae or beetles, equivalent to 6000 to 7000 individuals.

Cannibalism occurs when beetles consume eggs, bite young larvae, or prey upon older ones, affecting productivity. Solutions include moderating density and age separation during rearing. Careful egg collection, timed hatching, and grouping are crucial for uniform growth stages.

Response to Light

Yellow mealworms thrive in dim environments, unaffected by light. Leveraging this behavior allows for multi-tiered cultivation without light requirements. Beetles shy away from intense light, seeking refuge in darkness. Capitalizing on this trait aids in sorting pupae from adult beetles.

Environmental Requirements

Temperature

Yellow mealworms thrive between 15°C and 35°C, with an optimal range of 26°C to 32°C. At suitable temperatures, their developmental stages follow a shorter timeline with increasing warmth.

Humidity

Relative air humidity of 40% to 80% is ideal. Moisture mainly comes from feed, with water absorption and nutrient utilization affected by feed moisture. Ideal feed moisture is approximately 20%.

Predators

During artificial breeding, yellow mealworms face threats from rodents, geckos, ants, mosquitoes, and mites, with rodents and mosquitoes being the most significant threats. Measures must be taken to control these predators and safeguard colonies.

Rearing Equipment

Egg-Laying Screen

Used for adult maintenance and egg-laying, this screen ensures smooth egg collection. The sieve’s bottom features 30-mesh iron wire, covered with a thick egg-laying paper.

Breeding Box

For egg hatching and larvae rearing, the breeding box is similar in design but closed with a wooden board at the bottom.

Feeding Rack

This tiered framework holds egg-laying screens or breeding boxes.

Feeding

Yellow mealworms have a diverse range of food sources including bran, cornmeal, soybean cake, carrots, corn stalks, peanut shells, vegetable leaves, mung bean husks, tofu residue, and fruit peels. However, to produce high-quality yellow mealworms, JHBIO Technology Limited Company employs a feed mix centered around bran. The ratio consists of 60% bran, 35% carrots, and 5% fresh vegetables, promoting favorable growth and development in yellow mealworms.

Egg Hatching

Matching adult beetles with the appropriate egg-laying paper, managing moisture, and changing papers regularly ensures optimal egg hatching. Transfer eggs to empty boxes for hatching. After a month of egg-laying, halt it and process beetles for mealworm powder.

Larvae Rearing

To provide live mealworms or produce mealworm products, rearing to the mature larvae stage suffices. For breeding, the process continues to the beetle stage. Mature larvae have slightly lower protein content than pupae and beetles but are still nutritious, making them ideal for feed.

Understanding yellow mealworms‘ biological behavior paves the way for efficient breeding and rearing, resulting in superior products and sustainable practices.