Okay, so in my first post I explain that I chose beetle farming because I believe it is the industry/food of the future, now let’s talk about how to build it. I started from scratch and I’m figuring out how I can create a beetle habitat and catch the larvae after they reach maturity. Beyond the mechanics of all this, I want my beetles to have a good, healthy life, eat nutritious food, and live comfortably. With that in mind, here’s a window into the journey I’ve been on as I build towards a dream that supports human health and environmental sustainability.

May 2019: I sourced 24 live Darkling Beetles (Zophobas morio) from a Biological supply company.

My vision: A container of Beetles in my room. I put in food, they put out edible larvae.

I researched habitat ideas and found that most people will modify a plastic tub to have a screen lining the bottom, because they want the beetles' eggs to fall through the screen and be separated into the tub below. They must be separated from their eggs for 2 reasons:

1.) The Beetles will eat their own eggs.

2.) I intend to separate the larvae from the beetles. I'll discuss why later...

I built a habitat like this:

The beetles live in the top tub, the eggs fall through the screen, and the larvae then hatch in the bottom tub. Great concept, but it doesn't work 100%. Not all of the eggs will fall through, so some of the larvae hatch in the top tub. Also, the beetles need shelter in order to feel secure, so I put egg crates in their home and they love hiding in them. However, they laid their eggs all over the egg crate. A great place for eggs! But of course, none of these eggs fell down through the screen, so the yolk is on me...

Here's a blurry photo of this ineffective setup:

I intend to separate the larvae from the beetles for 2 reasons:

1.) The larvae are collected for human consumption. They are delicious, the beetles are not. Beetle shells are not palatable, and under stress, beetles produce a foul smelling odor.

2.) The larvae will only begin their metamorphosis into beetles if they are alone, separated from the nest. Once they reach adulthood, they will climb out of the nest, seek solitude, and begin to pupate. They do this to prevent being eaten by other larvae/beetles while they are a pupa. Pupae have almost zero mobility and their only defense is a soft shell.

Pupa:

During this early stage of my farm, I'm not eating any larvae because I want more beetles. I want my larvae to pupate, so I put them into paper cups and store them in a safe, dark place. The closet:

The screen trick didn't work, so how did I capture all of these larvae? I thought of a MUCH better way to separate them from the beetles...

I took advantage of the fact that adult larvae wish to leave the nest. Once they are mature, they will climb upwards, so I built a ramp for them:

They make their way to the top level and then I capture them. The beauty of this strategy is that it only captures adult larvae. The smaller larvae aren't interested in leaving the nest yet. This ensures that every larvae I capture is fully grown and mature enough for metamorphosis. Still, there was a flaw in this setup: those clever beetles found their way to the top level. I tried to make the hole in the wood too small for beetles, but they fit through the holes and they also found other ways around to the top, so it looks like I need a new design...

In the meantime, the larvae in my closet were too cold. In a cozy, warm environment, their metamorphosis would be much quicker. They need an incubator! I will build it. Also, my closet is now completely full of cups and their numbers are growing...

This incubator is gonna have to be BIG...