I GOT WORMS...

/diy/ protein farm?

>>1147028
You should try feeding them styrofoam.

http://news.stanford.edu/pr/2015/pr-worms-digest-plastics-092915.html

>>1147156
And it works?

I can't imagine feeding anything styrofoam, where does that petroleum go?

>>1147028
uhh those are soldier fly larva not worms. worms eat bacteria. soldier flies eat fresh food.
you're killing them in that media. they breath through their skin. if they crawl into something dry they suffocate. reduce the amount of substrate and just give them some moist food like water melon. feed them what they can eat in a day.

File: 2133026.jpg (128KB, 384x250px) Image search: [Google]

128KB, 384x250px

>>1147028
sorry, not BSF. they're wire "worms". they are beetle larva, not true worms.
http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/pests-diseases-and-weeds/pest-insects-and-mites/wireworms-and-false-wireworms

same rules apply though.

>>1147318
>>1147315
"Worm" is a layman's term for any creature that is thin and long like that. Which includes beetle larva. "Earthworms" are just one.

>>1147171
>>1147156
Microbes in their gut digest the foam. However, it retards their life cycle, slowing them down.

>>1147340
are those worms safe to feed to chickens or fish after?

Either this is a great way to make use of styrofoam, or it creates generations of toxic flesh

>>1147358
Styrofoam is just long chains of hydrogen and carbon, its only danger is that it's difficult to break down and can build up in places. If it can be digested then there shouldn't be any byproducts any more dangerous than what comes from digestion usually.

>>1147358
I would keep the worms you are going to feed the animals in a holding area to allow them to finish digesting the foam. Otherwise, there may be partially digested foam still left in them.

>>1147315
Mealworms.

Darkling beetle larva.

They still alive and seem happy?

YouTube fags seem to all agree wheat bran is master race bedding.

>>1147601
Good call. Probably wont feed them much foam tho. Soon as i find a good source of wheat bran im buying a fee truck loads. My buddy has 6 ponds. Going to start a fish farm and hopefully not release a darkling beetle plague as they would probably love it here and ive never even seen one until i bought these.

>>1147340
i wonder if we could make those microbes live outside of their guts

>>1147892
Dunno but its a hell of an idea.

>>1147340
no a worm is generally meant to mean an annelid.

>>1147886
yeha they will eat that. but you still need a source of moisture for them to retreat to. like moist coir below the wheat bran. also, they're not redworms. wheat bran is mostly fibre. ie something they cant eat. you want whole grain for them to eat. the difference is that redworms eat the bacteria that grows on composting fibrous material. larva eat the actual material. like, worms dont eat grass or hay or straw. they eat the bacteria that eats the straw. and that mass is not big enough to form a suitable heat pile to generate enough bacteria for worms or be nutritious enough for beetle larva.

bran is the bedding material, AKA not enough nutrition for them to survive on. you can add some perlite to help manage moisture. its like a mineral wick that helps to keep it evenly moist.

>>1147974
Cool. Thanks. And i didnt think my first threas here posted bit it did. Is an image of some anon with a fuckton of black buckets.

Abandoning thread to reduce samefagging.

Sage

>>1147974
I breed them as food source for my pet geckos. Usual setup is wheat bran and wheat germ mixture for bedding, leafy greens and veg (carrots, celery) as moisture source and gutload for the worms. Same thing for the beetles only I put some egg crates in for them to climb on/hide under. Worms are healthy and live full lifespan. I rarely get deaths from the ones that were raised entirely under my care. The ones you get from pet store will often have a 10% or higher die-off in the week after you bring them home for whatever reason. I assume dehydration sitting in the plastic tubs on the pet store shelf.

>>1147974
*gutload for the geckos

I also put in heels of dried out whole grain bread.