Use any of the above listed under dry food. Place dry food
in container. Cover food and mealworms with 2-3 layers of moistened
burlap. Moisten the burlap once a week to maintain moisture level in colony.
Burlap will make gathering of the mealworms easier as they gather between
the layers.
Lay slices of apple, potato, carrot, or over-ripe banana over the surface
of the colony to provide fluids for the mealworms and a place for them
to lay their eggs. To start a new colony in a differnt container,
you can take one of these slices out and place in a new container.
After taking your mealworms out of their "breeding" colony, place
them in a container that they cannot crawl out of. Place about 2"
of bedding material in the bottom. To insure they stay in their
larvae state, cover the container (make sure there are holes in the cover)
and place in the refrigerator (40 to 50 degrees is ideal as they will die
at lower temperatures. If you plan to keep your mealworm larvae for
30 days or more they will need food. Place pieces of potato on top
of their bedding. After 3 to 4 hours remove the uneaten potato and
replace the container cover (and container back into the refridgerator)
Never put the lid on their container when feeding them. The potato
will cause excessive moisture to build up and can kill your mealworms.
You will notice over time a residue will appear. This is called
frass. Frass is made up of eggs and waste. You can screen this
out of the colony. If you put the frass in a new container with food
(dry and moist) the eggs will hatch in time (estimated time of one month).
A few weeks after they hatch you can gather the larvae and place in a new
container.