Mealworms are also called mealworms. They are suitable for breeding in many places. Not only can they be used as feed for some livestock, they can also be eaten by people, and their nutritional value is also high. Next, the editor will tell you about the steps of raising mealworms.

Mealworm cultivation steps

1. Facility construction

Cultivation of mealworms is generally carried out indoors, and different houses are selected or built according to the scale of breeding. If factory farming is used, the factory building can be divided into several rooms, with wooden racks arranged in each room. Each rack is divided into 3-4 layers, with an interval of about 50 cm between each layer, and several larvae breeding trays are placed on each layer. The size of the breeding plate depends on the breeding scale and management level. The small plate is 50 cm long, 40 cm wide and 8 cm high; the large plate is 200 cm long, 100 cm wide and 20 cm high. The breeding tray can be made of wooden boards or iron sheets. The surroundings should be smooth to prevent larvae from crawling out. Cultivating mealworms also requires 40-mesh, 30-mesh and 10-mesh screens. The screens are mainly used to screen out and separate insects of different ages and insect feces.

2. Introduction of adult worms and collection of eggs

Choose larvae that are larger in size, strong in physique, and have strong vitality to be raised individually and allowed to pupate. When the pupae emerge, the adults can be moved to the breeding tray one by one, and a layer of white paper is laid on the bottom of the breeding tray, and then fed with compound feed. The formula of compound feed is: bran 45%, wheat flour 20%, corn flour 6%, fish meal 3%, soybean flour 26%, with appropriate amounts of vitamins and trace elements. For the first time, the amount of feed should be spread on the plate 1 to 2 cm thick, and then added every 3-5 days. According to the eating situation of the adults, some vegetable leaves should be fed in an appropriate amount. The dosage of adult insects is 4,000 to 5,000 per square meter. Under suitable temperature and humidity conditions, adults begin to mate and lay eggs, and lay eggs again every 6 to 10 days after the initial egg laying. Under normal circumstances, eggs should be collected once a day, and eggs can be collected 2 to 3 times every day during the peak spawning period. The method of collection is to take out the white paper on which the eggs are laid and replace it with a new white paper. The collected eggs are immediately put into the breeding tray, and 80,000 to 100,000 eggs are placed per square meter of the breeding tray. The eggs collected at the same time are placed in one breeding tray as much as possible. Under conditions of temperature around 25°C and relative humidity of 65% to 70%, larvae can hatch from eggs in 6 to 7 days.

3. Raising larvae

The larvae can eat immediately after hatching. Feed should be added in time. As the larvae continue to shed their skin and grow up, the amount of compound feed should be gradually increased. , and add some green cabbage leaves and melon rinds at the same time. For 1 to 3 week old larvae, the density is controlled at 80,000 to 100,000 larvae per square meter; for 4 to 6 week old larvae, the density is controlled at 50,000 to 60,000 larvae per square meter; for 7 to 9 weeks old larvae, the density is controlled at 50,000 to 60,000 larvae per square meter. The density of larvae per square meter is 30,000 to 40,000; for larvae aged 10 to 13 weeks, the density is controlled at 20,000 to 25,000 per square meter. When the larvae grow to 25-30 mm, the density is controlled at about 10,000 per square meter. The classification method is to use 134 sieves of different specifications to screen, and the larvae of the same specifications are graded and raised according to a certain density. The worms and feces in the breeding tray should be separated regularly. The worms and feces should be poured into the sieve together, and the feces should be sieved to retain the worms. The sieve is made of nylon gauze and silk. The sieve openings are 11-23 mesh in the early stage of breeding, and 4-6 mesh sieves are used in the middle and later stages.

4. Temperature and humidity management

Mealworms can survive the winter safely above 0 degrees and start to be active above 10 degrees Celsius. They can reproduce and grow all year round in the southern areas. The optimal temperature for egg incubation is 25°C to 30°C, and it takes 20 to 25 days to complete hatching at 10°C to 20°C. The suitable temperature for larval activity is 13% to 32°C. C, the optimal temperature is 25. C~29. C, there is little activity below 10%, and it is difficult to survive below 0℃ or above 35%. The pupae are at 10℃～20℃. C, it takes 15 to 20 days to emerge, and at 25°C to 30°C, it takes 6 to 8 days to emerge. Mealworm larvae are resistant to drying, but have the habit of cannibalizing each other under excessively dry environmental conditions. The optimum humidity for larvae growth and development is 80% to 85%. When raising mealworms, you should also pay attention to disease prevention and control to prevent the invasion of cockroaches, ants, mice and other natural enemies.