1,500 mealworms..?

[david13]

if i start with that many..how many larvae do u figure i would have after the beetles die off? this isnt that important of a question..just wondering what u guys think..i was figuring around 170k, but thats just a guess..thanks

 

[stellascura420]

I'm kind of wondering this myself... How long do the beetles live? How many eggs does one beetle lay in its lifetime?

 

[ez2animate]

I heard that from egg, the whole mealworm/beatle lives for 18 months. From egg, to worm, to pupa, to beetle. so id say like 4 months? idk, i searched the web but cant find anything.


*off topic* 100th post

 

[Friedbread]

Lifespan I've found is closely related to the temperature they are kept at and their diet. Warmer environment speeds them up.

The baby mealies from my first generation were born late May. Most are still very small, but several are at feeder size. The only mealworms in that container are babies I produced myself so I know they are all roughly the same age. (about 2 months) The ones that grew faster most likely were the ones that discovered the potato more often.

 

[david13]

i dont really care for how long they live for..i was just wondering how many mealworms would be in the next generation..

 

[Friedbread]

I had at one point a maximum of 120 beetles. They produced more babies than I'd care to count in one generation.

 

[Beneath]

If even 600 live, its capable of producing 15k every 10 days or so depending on your conditions(mosture, heat etc). They seem to last up to a month and at times longer.

 

[david13]

ok thanks

 

[mainelygeckos]

I have been trying to breed mealies since March...have from 150 to 200 beetles and all but one still alive and breeding..I think they have approx 1 month left of their beetle cycle before they die..have TONS of mealie babies (far too many to count) and none feeder size as of yet t hough growing steadily. Prolly growing slower due to temps lower then normal here in Maine this summer. I started out with about 1000 mealies but also used them as feeders. Still I got plenty of beetles out of it and many babies with more to hatch and more breding being done so you should get plenty of breeding and tons of babies out of 1500. from what I have read before a female beetle can produce 40 eggs a day and beetles live approx 4 months. Hope this helps

 

[Norrad]

Something to consider here... How many males and how many females? Exactly

 

[Beneath]

Something to consider here... How many males and how many females? Exactly

Not possable. You cannot find the sex of the beetles easily. You do not need to worry about sexes. Each female can lay around 500 or so eggs. Lets say only 100/600 are females and the lay just 100 eggs, thats 25,000 mealworms.

 

[Norrad]

Not possable. You cannot find the sex of the beetles easily. You do not need to worry about sexes. Each female can lay around 500 or so eggs. Lets say only 100/600 are females and the lay just 100 eggs, thats 25,000 mealworms.

LoL exactly my point, you have no idea how many your going to end up with...

 

[OneFootedAce]

well i started with about 300-400 mealworms, and i got around 200 or so beetles, i started late february and probably more than 3/4 of my beetles are still alive and mating and laying and i probably have 1-2k mealies from the first generation. I read somewhere each female lays about 500 eggs. So im clsoe to being done yet lol.