Mealworm Breeding

[Craig52]

I agree starman, but the general idea of freeze dried mealworm powder is to add it to softfood in particular sprouted seed where the birds eat it unknowing it's there.

[starman]

Aha, Craig ... I was thinking of those plastic (cellophane?) bag packaged dried worms, that are fed to pampered pets and (believe it or not), humans.

[Shane Gowland]

On the topic of live mealworm substitutes—

I was given a damaged packet of those Peckish-brand dried mealworms. None of the finches would so much as touch them. The quails ate a few, but only when I mixed them into prepared finch soft food which must have re-hydrated them just enough to be palatable.

[N017]

Plenty in the literature about storing M's in the fridge (not freezer) for long periods, where they become dormant, and later on warming resume normal activity . .

If you have an abundance, you might as well experiment . .

And let us know your results . .

I have frozen some mealworms and left it in the freezer for about 3 weeks and have found that:

* no significant color change was noticed
* the worms kept their shape
* no sogginess
* relatively easy to defrost. Just leave then in the sun for 5 - 10 minutes
* the quails ate it so quickly, they didn't have time to notice that it was dead.
* Grass finches and Red headed parrot finches also had no problem with it.

I have now frozen the majority of the remaining worms for the lean years