Yellow Mealworm (Superworm) Farming: Profit Prospects and Farming Techniques Explained

The yellow mealworm, also known as the superworm, has larvae containing 51% crude protein and 28.5% fat, giving it high nutritional value. It is a common pest of crops, and yet today it is being farmed on a large scale. So can farming yellow mealworms make money? Today we take you to Jijiazhuang Village in Shanxi to learn about the yellow mealworm farming situation here.

1. Can farming yellow mealworms make money?

Lifting the door curtain, a wave of hot air hits you in the face. On two rows of wooden shelves inside the cave dwelling, thousands of paper boxes are neatly stacked. The yellow mealworms kept in the boxes make a rustling sound as they crawl. The room is hot and has no ventilation, so villager Zhao Qinghong has to step outside the cave dwelling from time to time for a breath of fresh air. Stepping out of the cave dwelling, what meets the eye is still the familiar Loess Plateau and its ravines and ridges. Jijiazhuang Village, where Zhao Qinghong lives, sits on a mid-slope hillside.

1. First taste of success in farming yellow mealworms

In 2016, the Shanxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology carried out targeted poverty alleviation in Fenxi County and introduced high-quality protein feed yellow mealworms to neighboring Heping Village. It also invested 500,000 yuan to cooperate with Fenxi County Kangruilai Biotechnology Trading Co., Ltd. to build a processing base with an annual output of 300 tons of dried yellow mealworms. At the beginning of this year, having seen the returns, Heping Village made yellow mealworm farming a poverty-alleviation industry under the “one village, one product, one entity” model. At present, 5 yellow mealworm farming greenhouses have been built, with a farming scale of 50,000 boxes, driving 30 poor households. The township government encourages villagers to use idle cave dwellings to raise yellow mealworms, provides villagers with farming technique training and breeder insects, and also gives each poor household 500 farming paper boxes free of charge. In May last year, Zhao Qinghong quit his job and returned to the village. “I invested nearly 30,000 yuan and raised 1,000 trays of yellow mealworms. After drying, I sold about 3,000 jin at 16 yuan per jin.” Zhao Qinghong said that not only did he recover his investment cost that same year, he also earned nearly 20,000 yuan. Having gotten a taste of success, Zhao Qinghong increased his farming volume to 2,000 trays this year.

2. Encouraging poor households to expand farming scale

From nothing to something, Jijiazhuang Village finally has an industry that everyone can participate in. The role of yellow mealworms in sustained poverty alleviation has produced immediate results. Jijiazhuang Village, which has 24 poor households, achieved whole-village poverty alleviation last year. To encourage poor households to farm yellow mealworms, Jijiazhuang Village lends them the village's idle school buildings to expand their farming scale.

The mountain road into the village is still winding, and the hometown before his eyes remains as before, but Zhao Qinghong feels that coming back was the right choice. “Every day at 8 o'clock I water the yellow mealworms, feed them bran, and pick out the pupae, keeping the indoor temperature at around 30°C, and I stay busy until after 11. In the afternoon I am busy again from 3 until 7. The work is easy, and I earn more than on a construction site.” He said that while farming the land he also takes care of the insects, doing both without neglecting either.

3. Going abroad to create high returns

The government provides farming techniques, and the enterprise is responsible for purchasing and sales. The villagers have signed a buyback agreement with Kangruilai Company, so they do not need to worry about producing insects they cannot sell. In March this year, this company successfully achieved the export of yellow mealworms from Fenxi County to the United Kingdom. It can process 300 tons of dried yellow mealworms annually, generating more than 1 million US dollars per year. Zhao Qinghong and the villagers earned money from exports for the first time.

Zhao Qingsheng has 2,000 trays, Zhao Kang has 1,500 trays…… Villagers farming yellow mealworms come in one group after another. Jijiazhuang Village, Heping Village, Huiwang Village…… Yellow mealworm farming has spread across Heping Township and even Fenxi County.

“Now that output has risen, the next step is to work on the industrial chain, incubate and cultivate deep-processing enterprises, and research and develop yellow mealworm products to raise added value, so that villagers can have greater and more numerous returns.” Zhao Qinghong looks forward to the future and sees the hope of continuous development. Yellow mealworms have a very high protein content and can be used both as animal feed and made into food, so the market is very large. “Turning raw materials into products requires the combined efforts of scientific research and enterprises to promote together. Heping Township will create a favorable policy environment to attract investment and talent and advance poverty alleviation.” Zhao Qinghong said.

4. Advantages of yellow mealworm farming

There are many advantages to farming yellow mealworms, mainly in the following aspects:

The farming cost of yellow mealworms is very low. Apart from the capital for purchasing seedlings, you only need to buy farming equipment. Yellow mealworms have strong adaptability and can live in various environments. They are both heat-resistant and cold-resistant, and basically have no diseases, so there is no need to worry too much about failing to keep them alive or about deaths and similar situations. Yellow mealworms have strong reproductive capacity and high output. In addition, yellow mealworms have very high nutritional value and are an important source for deep food processing, feed, and medicine. Therefore, farming yellow mealworms is a good way to become wealthy.

2. Yellow mealworm farming techniques

1. Conditions for farming yellow mealworms

To farm yellow mealworms, you must properly address issues such as breeder insects, feed, and equipment.

1. Breeder insects. Breeder insects are key to farming yellow mealworms. Adults, pupae, and mature larvae can all be used as breeder insects, but it is best to choose mature larvae as breeder insects. When choosing mature larvae as breeder insects, choose mature larvae with a deep yellow color, thick and strong bodies, and uniform size.

2. Feed. The main feed for yellow mealworms is wheat bran, which can also be supplemented with other bran and chaff, etc. The main vegetables are Chinese cabbage, cabbage, radish, potato, etc., and other green vegetables, melons and fruits can also be used. These feeds can satisfy the insects' needs for protein, vitamins, trace elements, and moisture. Each kilogram of yellow mealworms can eat 3 kg of wheat bran and 6 kg of vegetables in one generation cycle.

3. Equipment:

① Rearing room. The rearing room must be light-transmitting and ventilated, and in winter it must be able to provide heating and retain moisture. Under normal circumstances, one room can raise more than 300 trays of insects.

② Rearing trays. A. Wooden trays, specifications 50 cm × 40 cm × 8 cm, board thickness 1.2 to 1.5 cm, with the bottom tightly nailed with fiberboard or plywood; B. Sieve trays, specifications 45 cm × 35 cm × 7 cm, board thickness the same as above, with the bottom nailed with 20-mesh screen. The material for rearing trays is best soft miscellaneous wood. To prevent the insects from crawling out, plastic tape should be pasted along the upper edges of the four frames inside the rearing box.

② Sieves; use two types of screen, 30-mesh and 60-mesh, to make sieves for sifting insect feces. The 60-mesh sieve is for 1st to 2nd instar insects.

④ Requirements inside the rearing room. The temperature must be kept between 15 and 25°C in both winter and summer. Below 10°C the insects do not eat or grow, and above 30°C the insect bodies heat up and can be burned to death. Humidity must be kept between 60% and 70%, and the floor should not be too wet. In winter heating is needed, and in summer ventilation is needed. There should be a hygrometer and thermometer indoors.

2. Farming techniques

The description begins with farming mature larvae. First put the mature larvae into wooden rearing trays, about 1.6 kg per tray, then sprinkle on wheat bran and vegetables. Wheat bran can be fed once a day or once every few days, depending on how much feed is in the tray, but vegetables should be fed once every day, and the amount should be such that they are eaten up.

If a lot of feces is found at the bottom of the tray, the insect feces can be sifted out before feeding; generally sifting once about every 10 days is enough. When mature larvae shed their last skin, they turn into pupae. Pupation can be completed within a few seconds, and pupation takes place on the surface of the feed.

During the pupation period, pupae should be picked out once a day to prevent them from being bitten and dying. To facilitate management, centralized emergence, and synchronized reproduction, during the peak pupation period the pupae picked out within two days should be placed in the same rearing tray, and the thickness of pupae in each tray should not exceed 1 cm. No feed is placed in the tray.

The pupal stage generally lasts about 10 days. During this period, do not turn them over at will, and promptly pick out dead pupae. It takes 3 to 5 days for all pupae to emerge as adults. Newly emerged adults are white and very tender, and are not very active. At this time, a small amount of feed and vegetables can be given. After about 6 days the color darkens, and they begin to gather and mate. At this time the adults should be put into sieve trays, then a sheet of newspaper should be placed in the wooden tray, and the sieve tray containing the adults should be placed in the wooden tray to lay eggs. Every three days, take out the sieve tray, take out the newspaper with eggs, feed, and insect feces attached, and put it into another rearing box for hatching. Each box can hold 5 to 6 sheets of newspaper. Put newspaper back into the rearing box from which the newspaper was taken, and then put the sieve box back in to lay eggs.

Egg-laying adults should have enough feed every day, and generally can live about 60 days. During this period, dead insects should be picked out promptly. To extend the egg-laying period and increase egg output, in addition to feeding bran and vegetables, apples, carrots, soybean powder, etc. can be supplemented if conditions permit. The egg stage generally lasts 6 to 10 days. During this period it is not easy to turn them over. After the eggs hatch and the larvae shed their skin once, the newspaper in the box can be removed, and at this time a little vegetable can be given appropriately, once a day. After the feed in the box is eaten up, it can be sifted to remove insect feces, and feed should be added. After that, the feeding and management methods are the same as for mature larvae. As the insects gradually grow, they should be divided into boxes in time, and it is best for each box not to exceed 1.5 kg, so as to avoid excessive density, biting and killing each other, and heat damage.

3. Management measures

(1) Personnel other than farmers are prohibited from entering the rearing room.

(2) The feed must be fresh, the bran must not become moldy, and the vegetables must not rot. Fresh vegetables must be fed every day.

(3) Insect feces must be sifted out in time to prevent mold.

(4) The conditions of each insect stage must be checked frequently. If diseased or dead insects are found, they must be removed in time.

Yellow mealworms have very high nutritional value and are an important source for deep food processing, feed, and medicine. Therefore, farming yellow mealworms is a good way to become wealthy, and also a good path out of poverty toward prosperity.