Mealworms are commonly used as food for small reptiles and birds. They can also be a good bait for fishing. They are usually sold in pet stores or can be ordered in large numbers from the growers.

We use large numbers of mealworms and so raise them ourselves.

We use plastic tubs with about a 6-7 inch sides. Do NOT put the lid on the tub, the mealworms won't crawl out. In these, we put 1-2 inches of wheat bran. On top of the wheat bran, put 2-4 sheets of newspaper to give them a dark place to live. For moisture, we use apple slices. Add enough apple slices to last about a week. You should end up with only a peal at the end of the week. You don't want too much moisture so that you end up with mold.

I then bought 500 mealworms from a pet store. The mealworms are the larvae of a beetle. The first thing you will see is a white pupae about 1/2 inch long which will then become a black beetle. It is the beetle that lays the eggs that produce more mealworms. Depending on the temp., it might take a while to get through the beetle stage but once they get started, you'll have mealworms forever.

Norm Kopecky