Mealworms are our best-selling live food.! Many birds are very attracted to live mealworms including Robins, Blackbirds, sparrows, and tits. Live mealworms are ideal for feeding in gardens, and are made up of 40% protein and 40% fat, and have a high percentage of moisture which is vital for nestlings. These live mealworms come with their own food, but you can add bran or old newspaper as an extra food source.
Feeding mealworms - there's nothing to it
There's no doubt that more bird lovers would feed live mealworms to their garden birds if only they could get over the sight of all those wriggling little creatures. Well the fact is that 'getting over it' is actually easier than most people think, and once you've given it a go there's really nothing to it!
But anyway, the rewards of feeding live mealworms far outweigh any misgivings you may have about their wiggle, and the benefits to birds - in particular during the nesting and fledgling season - can be spectacular and indeed make the difference between survival or otherwise.
What are mealworms?
Mealworms are the larvae of the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, which is a species of darkling beetle. So if left to form into a chrysalis, the mealworm would eventually become a beetle. But that won't happen if you put mealworms out for birds, because they won't be there for five minutes let alone five weeks!
How to feed mealworms
For this you need a live food dish, which is essential to stop the meal worms wriggling away. Some live food dishes have a cover, and this is preferable if the weather is wet. A further option is use a Caged Live Food Feeder, with the advantage of this type of mealworm feeder being that it allows small birds like Robins in, but keeps out slightly larger birds such as Starlings. However, please don't leave Starlings out altogether when feeding meal worms, as this declining species also needs your help.