The de-feathered hens are receiving a handful of mature mealworms a couple times per week. But they are not eating ALL the mealworms. Some of the worms are turning to pupaes then beetles, so the circle/cycle moves around with time. I keep each group separate. The pupaes, as they form, I pull out of the main tub and put them into a little container inside of the tub. I do this to keep the air the same moisture for the pupae, but the container gets checked once a day for newly hatched beetles. Beetles are placed into a fresh tub for breeding for about a month, then they all are pulled out and fed to the chickens as a tasty treat. This way, no beetles eat up the newly forming larvae (mealworms). :) When the mealworms get to their mature size, they sound INTENSEly like a bowl of rice crispies with a cup of milk.... They are eating/pooping machines that produce a lot of castings which end up on my garden.
Speaking of garden, the tomatoes are ripening to the point of needing to share the bounty. This was a great year for them. We have three types growing in five gallon buckets on our back deck. Having them close to the house keeps the deer away. In one of the photos is a shot of my little garden plot with a kind of futureistic cover surround to keep bunnies, deer and goats out. Too bad it doesn't keep out the slugs... ugh! But, the slugs don't get into my tomato plants!
Full Grown Mealworms | 
Pupae ready to hatch into beetles
|
 |
| Beetles ready to mate |
The Giant Apple Tomato | 
Giant Belgiums Ripening |
Green Giant Belgium | 
Bonnies - look like large Strawberries |
Lots of Sweet Mojos | 
Heavy Branches hang down to the deck |
Fresh Picked Tomatoes | 
Fresh Sweet Mojos |
And those are just some of the other events happening on our itty bitty farm.
