Mini mealies

[matcho]

Usually purchase meal worms from the pet shop across the road, 50 grams for $4-$5 per container. Went to a bird shop in the southern suburbs and saw a container of mini mealies from the same company (which I had never seen before PISCES brand) and he wanted $14.50 WHAT THE???? I haven't seen the mini mealies before but have heard of them but can anybody give me a fair idea of what they normally sell for. I don't think $14.50 seems right.

[jusdeb]

$11.00 at a pet shop in Orange , they dont sell them here in Dubbo .

[Diane]

I think the last lot I bought was about $8.50 shallow tub

[E Orix]

Be very careful about the Mini Mealworms
Try not and let them loose as they can become a huge pest.
Unlike the normal worm they are carnivorous and can cause damage in particular your normal meal worm breeding culture as they eat eggs.
They are the little ones that move very quickly.
They do have some upsides though. They breed quicker than the normal M/Worms and the birds seem to like them.
A couple of people are experimenting with them at the moment but also keeping them well away from their normal M/Worm facility and also feeding them in containers that limit their escape
The cost I do not know but normal M/Worms should cost you around $50 per KG plus freight of around $10, the same if you buy 2KG.
There are alot of worms in a KG which is 20 x50grams. Most breeders put more than a Kg of worms in their containers then should add the bran after weighing.

[matcho]

E Orix

Gee, I just thought that they were baby mealworms that hadn't got to the larger size. Food for thought. I dont breed my mealworms and prefer to buy them but I find that the birds just tend to chew off the heads and this creates a bit of an ant problem. Thought I'd go to the minis in the hope that there would be less waste as the birds would eat the lot. The mealies are placed in a bowl in the bath water to alleviate the ant issues somewhat though. Thanks for the info.

[VR1Ton]

Pisces mini mealies are just baby meal worms, some other breeders use & sell the other carnivorous type wich can chew out of a calico bag overnight. They will destroy any other culture they get into, & have heard uncofirmed reports of people useing them like hide beetles.

[Trilobite]

Hi all, Mini mealies are for sale in Brisbane for about $11 a tub. Dont kid yourself mini mealworms are just immature mealworms (the Pisces brand anyway). They belong ot the genus Tenebrio. They cost more because they take more to handle and smaller insects also means that there are more in a tub then larger ones, also marketing sucks us in. Yes finches actually pull their head off but watch what else they do - that is they work the casing like a sasuage skin and work out the contents. They are ok as a treat but becareful as the Ca:P ratio is around 1:17 and their fat content is very high. Birds do better with a 2:1 ratio. Go to bush fly larva and pupa and you and your finches will be better off. Ok the other "mini mealworm" are in the same family but belong to the genus Alphitobius or darlking beetle and is a common pest in poultry farms beacuse of the damage the the larva do when they are finding a place to pupate in the infrastructure, not to mention vectors of disease. If ever you could scratch in a pile of pultry farm waste you could harvest thousands - BUT DONT as they also carry many parasites and disseases. They are also a little on the difficult side to breed as they need a more humid setup and are often found feeding in old cultures of mealies/woodies/crickets as they consume feacal matter and exoskeletons. As Eorix says they are generally much faster and a little bit hairier. Hope this helps

[Tintola]

Mini Mealworms are just immature mealworms, I buy them by the kilo and grow them on and they grow into normal mealworms in about three to four weeks. The other ones are usually referred to as "Lesser Mealworms" are smaller quite fast and the beatles are only about the size of a passionfruit seed if that.

[lyn2233]

Did you go to The Living Jungle? I went there a couple of weeks ago and could not believe he charged me $14.50 there were hardly any in there. I have gone back to the normal ones with the pink lid, i go to Pet wherehouse 2000 on taren Point rd Taren Point they are $9.50 a tub. A friend of mine breeds mealy worms I have never seen so many he has 4 draws full. He said he gives them a spray of water every day uses only bran, they lay on hession (can't spell it) occasionally puts a carrot with them. I found it was not worth buying the mini mealy worms I get alot more with the bigger ones.

[Finchman1]

Mini Mealworms do exist they are tiny(smaller than a maggot),when they change into beetles they are a little larger than a lady beetle.I feed mine carrots.They are in a mixture of wheat bran and oat bran .I have a bit of hessian on top of them and I seive the beat out from time to time and put them other containers to start breeding again.