I'm a mealworm farmer. Let me introduce you to my bugs.
Mealworms are a large yield food. Mealworms produce more food per unit of feed than traditional livestock. They don’t need much water, either. Raising mealworms is a straightforward process that requires a small investment, a small area to operate, and four months wait to harvest. They’ve got four stages in life from egg to larva to pupa to adult. They shed exoskeletons as they grow larger.
Once you get your processes and temperatures and humidity dialed in, you can outgrow your own farm. I know, I raise mealworms. When things grow successful and huge in numbers, the crow eat well outside. My mealworm farm numbers in the hundreds. The most I’ve maintained as adults was five hundred. In full operational mode with four plastic tubs holding mealworms in their four stages of life, there were about two thousand.
With two leopard geckos, that was a bit much. But that is how easy it is to raise mealworms. They eat just about anything, and drink just about nothing. Raise them in a bed of bran or oatmeal, or both. I feed my farm worms carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, calcium powder (for the lizard’s benefit), apples and blueberries. Again, for the lizard’s benefit. Gut loading is a thing with insects and reptile feeding. And if you raise mealworms for humans, what you feed your worm, is what you are feeding you. A veritable vitamin pill. Mealworms have a nutty side flavor. Umami excellence arrives when you add fresh fruits to their diet.
There are three types of mealworms to consider. The superworm, the mealworm, and the giant mealworm. Giant mealworms are mealworms that have been taking hormones to slow down their pupation time. Which allows them to grow larger. Mealworms, kept long enough, will pupate into beetles. Giant mealworms do this rarely but if they do, they’re sterile because of the hormone treatments and won’t lay eggs. Superworms turn into beetles that are impressive and not sterile.
The pupae of a mealworm, giant mealworm, and superworm are gruesome biomechanical looking things that have a built-in defense mechanism. Pick one up and they will fight to be dropped by wiggling a vile tail like end. If you ask me, Ridley Scott used mealworm pupae as a model for the alien creatures in his movies. The grow tub holding pupae is a nightmare movie waiting for a title. So much so it’s hard to look away. Pupae are a soft cream color, like almond milk. The color matched with that pre-beetle mechanica design seals the creepy deal, or it could be the wiggling that allows them to pop hop or dig down into their substrate. In either case, watching this stage is a mental workout. The best horror movie moments you can’t stop watching.
Superworms are five times the size of regular mealworms and look like they’re wearing a dark brown cowl, with their tail end transitioning from the center tan into the brown again. A predator would have a hard time telling which end bites. Mealworms are a buttery tan. Mealworms are docile, don’t bite, and are less creepy to work with. For me. Tolerances vary. I raise both worms depending on the season. Brumation periods I keep mealworms. A sleepy lizard needs a docile meal. Nutritionally, they are about the same. Superworms have more chitin (exoskeleton) which delivers more calcium, fat, and fiber, though.
Mealworms can feed reptiles, songbirds, wildlife, small pocket pets like hamsters and hedgehogs, chickens, parrots, and humans. A giant mealworm can convince a pan fish to jump on your hook if you’re fishing. They are a historical food source in Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. In North America and Europe, population demands are bigger than beef supplies. Mealworms and other insects are gaining ground as a protein-rich ingredient in smoothies, baking flours, and snacks. They don’t call them mealworms for nothing.
In countries such as Brazil, beef is not only a staple, but a cultural bragging right. Mealworms or any other insects are unlikely to replace beef as a food source. But as resources and land space decline and population growth increases demand for sustainable food sources, the mighty mealworms could play an important role in meeting the food needs of that hungry world.
There are 1900 edible insects in the world. Offering a wide range of protein possibilities. Mealworms aren’t the only option for protein and nutrition. Comparatively, crickets are higher in calcium, iron and are an excellent source of B-vitamins. Grasshoppers offer proteins and vitamins along with being high in unsaturated fatty acids. Ants are high in protein, with a few species delivering essential fatty acids. Using these nutritional points to create a vitamin is a possibility as well.
Mealworms are a nice place for a new insectivore to get started, though. Mealworms have the smallest legs. For me crawly legs are a tall wall. Border wall tall. Oroville Dam wall tall. Great Wall of China wall tall. Which is why I raise mealworms rather than crickets. I’ve got enough of those in my garage in the summer. And a few in my bedroom wall in the spring and fall, keeping me awake all night while they look for hot dates. If a mealworm escapes, I may end up with a beetle, or they may end up as a toy for one of my dogs. If a cricket escapes, that’s an annoyance.
Did I mention mealworms don’t make a sound? Another plus. With seven parrots, I’ve got enough of that, too. All seven birds like a fresh mealworm for a snack. Kirby, our Indian Ringneck parakeet, likes to tear the heads off first, then eat. He’ll leave a pile of mealworm heads behind. I do the same thing with mudbugs at Cajun Café during crawfish season.
Food is relative. And sometimes crawly.
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