Since 2006, we’ve been keeping and supplying live mealworms right here at Wiggly Wigglers, bringing a sustainable and natural feeding solution to garden birds, hens, and wildlife enthusiasts. We’ve ditched single-use plastic tubs in favour of plain paper bags, which are fully compostable and create far less waste—better for the planet and perfect for eco-conscious customers. Our mealworms are cared for with fresh bran added regularly and enjoy snacking on favourites like carrots and similar fresh veg. Every order is weighed and bagged by hand on our farm in Lower Blakemere, ensuring peak freshness before being dispatched First Class or Next Day to your door.
Key Benefits
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Sustainability First: Compostable paper bags minimise waste and reduce environmental impact.
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Freshness Guaranteed: Hand-weighed and bagged to order, with quick dispatch from the farm.
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Top-Quality Care: Mealworms are fed fresh bran and healthy snacks, ensuring their quality for your use.
Why LIVE Mealworms?
Excellent Nutrition: Ideal during the breeding and fledgling seasons, our mealworms provide the much-needed protein and moisture that young birds in the nest desperately require. They're also a godsend during moulting and dry spells, providing hydration and supporting feather regrowth.
Hygienic and Safe: Cultivated to be clean and odourless, our mealworms are easy to store, easy to handle, and ensure a fresh, hassle-free experience.
Enhances Bird Watching: LIVE mealworms encourage a variety of garden birds to visit your space. From Robins and Blackbirds to Great Tits and Wrens, watch as your garden becomes a hub of avian activity and song.
Birds That Love Mealworms: Our mealworms are especially popular among ground-feeding birds such as Blackbirds, Robins, Song Thrushes, and Starlings, but are also eagerly consumed by a wide range of UK bird species including Tits, Wrens, Finches, and even the occasional Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Our LIVE Mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) are native to the UK, have several notable characteristics:
1. Lifecycle: These insects are the larvae of the darkling beetle and go through four distinct stages: egg, larva (mealworm), pupae, and adult beetle.
2. Appearance: Mealworms have a golden-brown, segmented body that grows up to about 2.5 cm in length, with small legs near the head.
3. Diet: They feed on grains, and vegetable decaying material, and this makes they an excellent food for a variety of animals.
4. Cold-blooded: As ectothermic creatures, their body temperature is regulated by their surroundings, allowing them to thrive in a variety of conditions.
5. Nutritional Value: Mealworms are packed with protein and fat, making them an excellent food source for birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish.
Live vs. Dried Mealworms: Why Live is Best
While keeping a stash of dried mealworms can be handy for emergencies, nothing beats the benefits of live mealworms for your garden birds. Live mealworms contain vital moisture, crucial for chicks in the nest, as they represent the only way these young birds can hydrate. Live bird food like our LIVE Mealworms from Wiggly Wigglers not only offer this essential hydration but also deliver a more natural feeding experience that can help young birds thrive. Always remember, live bird food is best for the health and development of your garden birds.
Serving Suggestions: Use a steep sided shallow container and the best time to put mealworms out is in the morning as this is the meal your birds rely on most (as they have had all night without food and can lose a huge amount of their bodywight overnight). To keep larger birds from monopolising the supply, consider using a specialist feeder where the roof of the feeder is low enough to discourage larger birds (or even a caged feeder that allows smaller birds safe access). Mealworms can be served alone or mixed with other seed mixes to create a more enticing offering.
Environmentally Responsible: Committed to sustainability, we ensure our mealworms are produced with minimal environmental impact, providing you with a product that’s not only good for the birds but also kind to the planet.
Invite nature to your doorstep with LIVE Mealworms and enjoy the vibrant ecosystem they help support right in your garden!
