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Barnyard Buddies:  Darkling Beetles  |
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MaryJanesNiece
True Blue Farmgirl
8415 Posts
Krista
Utah
USA
8415 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 05 2026 : 4:11:39 PM
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My daughter found some beetles in the yard the other day, which led us to a lot of research. We found out that the beetles are darkling beetles. With more research we discovered that mealworms turn into these darkling beetles. We have now begun our own experiments on raising these darkling beetles and seeing if we can grow our own mealworms for the chickens. I never would have thought that some day I would have beetles as "pets" and living in my house, but I really love seeing how excited the kids are about raising them, learning what they eat, and learning about their life cycle. At the moment we currently have 7 beetles.
From my online research, I found out that many people keep hundreds of them as pets to feed their own chickens and reptiles. I had no idea!
Krista
Farmgirl Sister #528
Farmgirl Of The Year 2025 |
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nndairy
True Blue Farmgirl
3756 Posts
Heather
Wapakoneta
Ohio
USA
3756 Posts |
Posted - Jun 07 2026 : 06:58:45 AM
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I had no idea either! What a great discovery and fun project. Keep us posted how it goes.
~Heather
Farmgirl Sister #4701
2026 Farmgirl Sister of the Year
“I would rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world.” — George Washington
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Nancy Joplin
True Blue Farmgirl
592 Posts
Nancy
Ontario
California
USA
592 Posts |
Posted - Jun 07 2026 : 12:08:48 PM
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You go, Krista! My sister's chickens loved worms and grubs! I am so glad that your children are excited about it, too! Enjoy your littles, they grow way too fast!
Nancy 8352
FGOTM Oct 2024 |
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MaryJanesNiece
True Blue Farmgirl
8415 Posts
Krista
Utah
USA
8415 Posts |
Posted - Jun 08 2026 : 1:20:16 PM
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She has found a couple more and we are up to 11 lol! Hopefully we have a good ratio of male and females. It says once they lay eggs it can take anywhere between a week and 4 weeks before the eggs hatch and the eggs are very tiny and hard to see with the naked eye. Sometimes the sticky eggs will fall on the bottom of the container and become covered in the grain, dust, etc and will become more visible. It will be awhile until we know anything new.
Krista
Farmgirl Sister #528
Farmgirl Of The Year 2025 |
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Killarney
True Blue Farmgirl
6433 Posts
Connie
Arlington
TN
USA
6433 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2026 : 1:08:01 PM
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So exciting! Soo interesting!!
Connie Sue |
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MaryJanesNiece
True Blue Farmgirl
8415 Posts
Krista
Utah
USA
8415 Posts |
Posted - Jun 12 2026 : 2:30:52 PM
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We also found out that they will eat their eggs and the larva, so it's best to move the beetles from their bedding and put them in a new one once a week. This gives the eggs a chance at survival. We will be moving them to new bedding this weekend!
Krista
Farmgirl Sister #528
Farmgirl Of The Year 2025 |
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MaryJanesNiece
True Blue Farmgirl
8415 Posts
Krista
Utah
USA
8415 Posts |
Posted - Jun 15 2026 : 3:26:16 PM
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We moved the beetles to a new container. Now to wait and see if we ended up with any eggs.
Krista
Farmgirl Sister #528
Farmgirl Of The Year 2025 |
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Barnyard Buddies: Darkling Beetles |
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Darkling Beetles
