question about live mealworms

tumchy · #1 (**permalink**) 13-12-2010, 06:06 PM

Hi folks, I bought some live mealworms as a treat for Wee Rab the robin. (YUK) I hate all things wriggly. Anyway, does anyone know how long they will live? I've had them for two weeks, a small container and I feed them on slices of apple and weetabix....(pet shop man told me to do this)

My hubby thinks I'm a sadist, fattening up wee worms to feed alive to a robin.
I'm beginning to feel guilty keeping them in the wee box....what a horrible life.
Hope Wee Rab doesn't mind going back to dried wrigglys soon.

RoyW · #2 (**permalink**) 13-12-2010, 06:17 PM

Mealworms are beetle larvae, and will pupate after a period of time (c3 weeks or longer, depending on the temperature at which they are kept) before emerging as adult beetles. Generally the recommendation is to keep them at a temperature of 8-10 degrees, in which case they should last for several months, waiting for warmer temperatures before they pupate.

tumchy · #3 (**permalink**) 13-12-2010, 06:24 PM

Thanks for your reply, I've got them at room temperature in the kitchen, so I suppose I might have them for another week. I usually just feed them just to the robin, but I might give the starlings a feast for Xmas, so I can get rid of them.

Lindsay-c · #4 (**permalink**) 13-12-2010, 06:28 PM

It will depend how long the supplier you got them from had them for and a few other factors which ill get to...

Mealworms will say in the larval stage and constantly eat until they are big enough to pupate. The time this takes depends and can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months... depends on how much food they have available to them, temperature, moisture etc.

They will then pupate and after about 2-3 weeks (or longer- if temperatures are low it will overwinter) and then it metamorphosises into a beetle...

So no way to properly tell really I remember when I had Leopard Geckos and When I came around to clean them out some of the pupas that were amongst the mealworms which weren't ready to pupate must have got buried under the sawdust and sand and there were the beetles crawling about which lead me to ask the same question that you have