Methods and Key Points for Winter Breeding Management of Mealworms

Due to their high protein content, mealworms have won the favor of many breeders. This has turned the “pests” that live in crop, grain and medicinal herb warehouses into a popular high-nutrition food in the blink of an eye, and in recent years more and more people have been breeding them. Breeding mealworms in winter is relatively difficult. Let us take a look below at what the key points of methods for winter breeding management of mealworms are.

1. What are the key points of methods for winter breeding management of mealworms?

1. The house must be well sealed

In winter, the weather in the north is relatively cold and the wind is strong, so sealing the house is very important. Generally, the method of nailing up plastic sheeting can be used, and if conditions permit, straw curtains can also be used to seal the windows. The doorway must be covered with a cotton curtain to prevent heat from being carried away by frequent coming and going of people. If several rooms form one building, the rooms should be connected to each other, unused doors should be sealed off, and cotton curtains should be used to screen off each room. If necessary, a second door can be installed to reduce cold air entering the room directly.

2. Strengthen heating work

Coal stoves can be used as heating facilities (generally honeycomb coal stoves, which produce less smoke and are easy to manage, should be the first choice). If conditions permit or the heating area is relatively large, central heating by burning a heating system can be adopted. When determining the number of coal stoves or radiators, the temperature for adults and pupae rooms should be higher, while for larvae it can be appropriately lower because their bodies rub together and generate heat (it can be 3-5 degrees lower). Special attention should be paid to heating at night; otherwise, if it is hot during the day and cool at night, the worms will not grow normally. The temperature day and night should be kept above 10 degrees, otherwise it will not meet the worms' growth needs and, on the contrary, will increase breeding costs. Humidity can be addressed by boiling water on the stove.

3. Feed must be kept at a certain temperature

The feed and vegetable leaves to be fed on the same day should be placed indoors in advance so that their temperature is close to the indoor temperature, avoiding the worms eating feed that is too cold, preventing illness and a drop in body temperature caused by low temperatures, which would affect normal growth. If conditions permit, the proportion of corn flour in the feed can be appropriately increased to add heat.

4. Be careful to prevent gas poisoning

Worms also need to breathe, so attention must also be paid to preventing gas poisoning. The method is to open a small breathable hole on both the front and back of the house's windows to create air convection, which can effectively prevent gas poisoning. At the same time, the stove must be sealed well and the chimney installed properly to prevent smoke from flowing back. When the temperature is relatively high at noon, the house door can be opened for brief ventilation.

5. Winter transport

When transporting worms in winter, two points should be noted. First, before loading the worms into the vehicle, they should be placed in a relatively low-temperature environment for a period of time so they can adapt to the transport environment. Second, when loading, canvas should be used at the front of the vehicle as a shield to prevent cold wind from blowing directly onto the worms. At the same time, they should be loaded and transported immediately to reduce the time the worms are exposed to cold air.

2. How should mealworm species be selected?

When selecting worm species for the first time, it is best to buy from a unit authorized by a national science and technology department or agriculture department to breed them. Afterward, you can learn to breed the worm species yourself, and replace the worm species once every 2-3 generations of breeding. Note the following:

Large individuals, with 3500-4000 worms per kilogram;

Strong physique, plump and full bodies, golden color, glossy body surface, obvious white part on the underside, and large larvae with a body length of 2.5 or 3 mm or more.

Strong vitality, crawling quickly, reacting quickly to light, and liking darkness. When placed on the palm of the hand, they crawl quickly, and when they encounter vegetable leaves and melon and fruit peels, they will quickly crawl onto them to feed;

Comprehensive nutrition. From the young stage onward, careful feeding and management are required, continuously increasing feed and melons, vegetables, etc., and reducing feeding density, so as to breed large, strong and vigorous improved species.