Welcome to Bugmas 2018! It's my little five-day countdown to Christmas and tasting different little bugs. Last year I actually skipped Bugmas and did Gutmas instead, where I did a 5-day countdown tasting different types of offal. So Bugmas returns, but this time, instead of eating a different type of bug each day, I'm gonna show you how to grow mealworms, and how to cook recipes with them. The practice of eating insects or bugs is called entomophagy, and it's practiced all over the world. It's mostly in the West where it's looked at as kind of something strange or odd.

So I have tasted mealworms before, but I've never harvested them; I've never grown them; I've never cooked them myself, although I have cooked cricket cookies before – I'll put a link to that recipe down below – but like I said, I've never actually cooked them or grown them myself, and I'm absolutely fascinated by the process because it actually is very, very easy. A lot of people grow mealworms at home for their pets if they've got reptiles or chickens.

So the plan today is to show you how to build yourself your own breeder box that has separate sections. Now the benefits of having the separate sections is basically you're separating the different life cycles of the meal worm. The meal worm is the part that we eat, or the chickens will eat. It is the larval stage, the one that kind of crawls around. And then there are other stages as well, including the egg and the adult beetle stage. Now we want to separate them because the beetles will eat the larvae and there can be some cannibalism.

So this is just a Steralite three-drawer plastic container that I purchased at Target – I believe it was about 10 or 11 dollars. And this is how I set up my breeder box, with all the mealworms in one tray, the oatmeal and the mealworms. I started this on October 13th and they were in their larval stage and after about five days I started noticing these tiny pupae forms.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enGreetings my beautiful lovelies!Welcome back to another countdown toChristmas -- it's Bugmas 2018! If you'vemissed my two previous years of Bugmas,I shall direct you to the playlist.And it's my little five-day countdown toChristmas and tasting different littlebugs. Last year I actually skipped Bugmasand did Gutmas instead, where Idid a 5-day countdown tasting differenttypes of offal. So I'll put that playlistup above as well. So Bugmas returns, butthis time, instead of eating a differenttype of bug each day, I'm gonna show youhow to grow mealworms,and how to cook recipes with them. So thepractice of eating insects or bugs iscalled entomophagy, and it's practiced allover the world. It's mostly in the Westwhere it's looked at as kind ofsomething strange or odd. So I havetasted mealworms before, but I've neverharvested them; I've never grown them; I'venever cooked them myself, although I havecooked cricket cookies before -- I'll put alink to that recipe down below -- but likeI said, I've never actually cooked themor grown them myself, and I'm absolutelyfascinated by the process because itactually is very, very easy. A lot ofpeople grow mealworms at home for theirpets if they've got reptiles or chickens.So the plan today is to show you how tobuild yourself your own breeder box thathas separate sections. Now the benefitsof having the separate sections isbasically you're separating thedifferent life cycles of the meal worm.The meal worm is the part that we eat, orthe chickens will eat. It is the larvalstage, the one that kind of crawls around.And then there are other stages as well,including the egg and the adult beetlestage. Now we want to separate thembecause the beetles will eat the larvaeand there can be some cannibalism. So weseparate them to have a more efficientsystem. So this is just a Steralitethree-drawer plastic container that Ipurchased at Target -- I believe it wasabout 10 or 11 dollars. And this systemworks for the scale that I'm doing. Somepeople have really large operations -- havelots of stacks, big drawers -- but for methis is what I'm doing. I'm just startingout, so the first thing we're gonna needto do is get yourself some mealworms tostart the whole cycle. Now I went to mylocal pet shop and I picked up twocontainers of mealworms that you use tofeed your reptiles.And I started this process, but theynever pupated, and so afterwards, when Idid some research, I learned that somegrowers apply chemicals to the mealwormsto prevent them from pupating, andwhat happens is the mealworms just getreally really big -- and that's what theycall superworms -- and those are fed tolarger reptiles.So my box of mealworms were not labeledsuperworms, they were just labeledmealworms, and they were mealworm-sized,but chemicals had been applied to them,unbeknownst to me, so they never pupated; so I never got to do the cycle; and ifthey do it pupate, apparently, they aresterile. So I just fed them to mychickens -- my chickens love them! So inorder to have any success with thisgrowing process you need to get wormsthat have not been treated. So I will putthe link down below to where I purchasedmy mealworms. I didn't go to the petstore -- I ordered them online. So I ordered2,000 mealworms and it was about 18 or19 dollars, and as soon as you get yourmealworms you want to put them in somekind of container and give them somefood. So meal worms will eat pretty muchany kind of cereal grain -- anything thathas meal in it -- you know, MEAL-wormcornMEAL; oatMEAL. I think a lot ofgrowers like to use wheat bran or oatbran, but oatmeal was very easy for me toget -- I could just get a container fromthe grocery store, so that's what I'vebeen using. It's a nice big substrate too.so you can see when it's time to cleanout the mealworm drawer.Also to that drawer you're going to add either acarrot slice, a potato slice, or an appleslice. And they'll nibble on that, andthat's what will give them their water.You're going to change that every fewdays because that tends to get moldy.Same thing with the bedding-foodsubstrate: after a few days you'll seethat it'll go down and you want toreplenish that as it goes along.So this drawer has all the mealworms init: this is the larval stage, and this hasthe oatmeal and the mealworms.I started this on October 13th and theywere in their larval stage and afterabout five days I started noticing these....And this is the pupal stage.And this is the stage where they're kindof hibernating and transforming into abeetle. So I've separated them into thistray, and this will become the beetletray. Now the next thing I need to do iscut out a portion of the floor of this,and replace it with some screening.And use some hot glue, and affix that to thebottom. So after one to three weeks theywill emerge as a beetle; they will find amate mate; and create eggs and this will allowthe eggs to fall down to this bottomtray; and this will have some cleanoatmeal down below. Now the eggs will sitin there and they will hatch and they'll bevery, very very tiny, tiny -- microscopicpractically -- little mealworms in there;and they'll start to eat and grow. Nowsome people like to have multi-tieredsystems where every week they rotate theeggs and larvae into different trays, sothey know how old the mealworms are andtherefore they can kind of size themthat way. But since I'm just doing thisfor my chickens and for... as a littleexperiment, I'm just gonna stick withthree trays. So mealworms do have a bitof a smell -- I wouldn't call it unpleasant --it's a bit of kind of a musky smell,and you do have to clean out the frass. So Igot myself a large sifter -- I justpurchased that IKEA for three dollars --and you pour the oatmeal in there andshake out the frass. It's apparently areally great fertilizer, so just pourthat onto your plants, or into yourgarden. Put the mealworms back into theirdrawer with some new oatmeal and theoatmeal that they haven't chewed up, andjust continue the whole process. So thereis a little bit of maintenance: you haveto make sure they have food; you have tomake sure that they have a little bit ofwater; and you have to kind of keeprotating things; but pretty simpleprocedure for food for not only yourselfbut for your chickens or for your pets.So I hope you guys enjoy Bugmas 2018.Please share this video with yourfriends; follow me on social media; like;subscribe; and I shall see you in the next one.Toodaloo! Take care! Byeeee!Worms.....\n"