The Invertebrate Menagerie

Our plastic eating mealworms got an upgraded bin too! I'm still fascinated by how they eat tunnels through blocks of styrofoam.

Vermiculture; amend the soil & your soul. 🪱♻️🌎

I remember collecting bugs as a kid, bringing home the first praying mantis I ever saw (anxious to show my mom & learn what it was,) and trying to keep pet slugs. 🪲🐞🐛 🙄🤢🤷🏻‍♀️ I was fascinated and wanted to learn everything I could about all of them.

I love my house plants and garden. 🪴🌿🌾 I love being barefoot in the grass and sleeping outside. 🏕 There's something therapeutic about having your hands in the soil. I've always felt connected to nature (we got married in the woods) and I have a passion for preserving the environment and reducing our carbon footprint. 🌎♻️👣

For years I've been replacing disposable household items with reusable or more sustainable alternatives. Cloth diapers, wipes, tissues, napkins, and paper towels, wool dryer balls, glass storage dishes, reusable silicone lids, LED lights, HE appliances, etc. But it isn't enough. I want to reduce the amount of trash 🗑 & recycling ♻️ we put out each week too.

So, for the last year, I've been learning about vermiculture (composting with worms 🪱 ) and how to successfully manage a small indoor worm farm. I've learned a lot and grown my population quite a bit since getting my first 80 worms in Feb. 2021, but it still isn't enough. So, I've upgraded my 3 cubic foot worm tote to a 13 cubic foot vermicomposting bin!!! & I'm totally stoked 🙌🏻 🤓🎉🪱♻️🌎

I can't wait to see how much this reduces the amount of trash and recycling we put at the curb. & I'm excited about having a continuous supply of worm castings and being able to return all of that carbon and nutrients to the earth 🌎 instead of landfills.

Save the earth, 🌎 feed the worms! 🪱♻️✌️🤟🏻

Did you know, mealworms can live on an ALL PLASTIC DIET?!

I started keeping a plastic & styrofoam fed mealworm bin in May. Since starting I've been experimenting with different plastic & foam items to see what they eat and maybe what they have a preference for, so they can have the greatest impact. So far its been pretty basic; bread bag ties, to-go containers, gallon jug pull seals, dryer lint, etc. But I am really excited to share, mealworms eat contact lenses too! So cool. 🤯🤓😎

ALIENS! Just kidding. Pupa!

After months and months of care, mealworms turn into pupa, before turning into darkling beetles.

Miss Minnow loves searching for, collecting, and counting her pupa!

DID YOU KNOW?! Mealworms are the larva of Darkling beetles? We started our little bug farm with mealworms and Minnow loved holding them and counting the pupa each day, but the beetles are her favorite. ☺🤗 She gave them all fresh carrots this morning and told everyone how cute they are. 😁 💕

Hi 👋🏻 I'm Nicole and Minnow is my daughter. 💕 She's 2y and loves digging in the dirt and flipping rocks looking for bugs of all kinds! We started our mealworm farm in the summer of 2020 and she loves caring for her mealworms & beetles and collecting the pupa!

Mealworms are great for reptiles, birds, fishing, and more.

Contact- less porch pickup in Quakertown.

25 mealworms- $ 2.00
50 mealworms- $ 3.00
100 mealworms- $ 5.00
200 mealworms- $ 8.00
250 mealworms- $10.00

25 mealworms- $ 2.00
50 mealworms- $ 3.00
100 mealworms- $ 5.00
200 mealworms- $ 8.00
250 mealworms- $10.00

Quakertown pickup only.