The mealworm life-cycle can be anything from 3 months to 6 months. However, I think that I may have too many in too small a place - they swarm any fruit/veg that I put in but I'm worried that they don't have enough space. I am breaking some smaller groups out to try and encourage growth.
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| Hundreds/thousands of mealworms swarm any fruit put in with them |
Gallingly, I have seen some in my recycling bin (transferred there in vessels of old fruit that needed to be removed I think) that are even more mature than the ones that I am rearing directly and it goes to show that the environment and space might be key.
Lots of people ask me regularly about them - there is definitely public interest; more than I thought there might be. I think it is indicative of the fact that Bristol is especially fertile ground for new ideas and more sustainable ways of doing things.
As soon as I get some large worms I plan to develop some great-tasting food to share with everyone that has asked me about them and help turn people onto the idea of insects as a viable alternative to other protein sources.
Another great insect-focused caught my eye recently too - check it out. Entomophagy is the future: Insects Are Food.
