“My question, can the waste products from mealworm farming, (mealworm castings – frass -, molted exoskeletons, dead larvae, pupae and adult beetles, wheat bran, oats, apple slices and potato slices) be used as food for red wigglers? I like the newsletter. Thanks” ~ Rich Coleman
Hi Rich,
Good news is that all of the things mentioned in the above list can be thrown into a wormery, especially the wheat bran, oats, apple slices and potato slices. These are all very nutritious and when blended, it provides a great mixture of nitrogen and carbon.
The beetles, pupae, dead larvae and molted exoskeletons can also be dumped. A wormery is made up of a complex ecosystem with many different insects co-existing. No doubt there will also be many dead insects in there which are broken down into the final wormcast product.
These added materials of exoskeletons and dead larvae will break down in the same way.
Mealworm casting is usually sandier and drier in texture. Although it can be used directly in planting, the nutritional aspect is not as high as worm casts. The mealworm casting can of course be fed to the red wigglers turning it into the highly nutritional worm cast.
You will be truly turning your waste source into black gold!
