Help for “friends” surviving

 dangerously cold temps!

     

                                                             (Photo by Kari Moline)

Although she had loved blue birds since her first day in kindergarten when her teacher put pictures of birds on each locker… Kari Moline had never seen a real live one until she moved to Cannon Falls, Minnesota in 1986 as an adult! 

The house she and her husband bought came with an old birdhouse tacked onto the big oak tree in their front yard, Kari explained.  And it was quite a surprise the next spring when she spotted her first pair of bluebirds building a nest in it.  They’ve been there ever since.

Surprise!

But it was another surprise when her husband spotted a bluebird in their yard one cold January day.  Kari had thought they were supposed to migrate south in the fall.

The next year she noticed a few staying over winter again.

So Kari researched on the internet and found that “bluebirds will winter over in cold climates if there is enough food available. Also, approximately 12% of bluebirds do not have the genetic code to migrate south.”

Worms, worms and more worms! 

Finding that bluebirds like meal worms, Kari began feeding them that.  But after a few years - and many dollars - she began to raise her own.

Instructions

“After watching a few on-line videos”, Kari learned that “the worms eat wheat bran, which is relatively inexpensive to buy in bulk. I purchased some plastic bins about 5" tall and followed the instructions to fill the drawers with 2-3" inches of wheat bran, then add a few peeled carrots for a moisture source for the worms.  

“I found an on-line source and ordered 5,000  live meal worms, placed them in the bins and checked them about once weekly.  Then added more carrots or wheat bran if necessary and checked on their progress. I was now a meal worm farmer!” 

Meal Worm Farmer Extraordinaire!

“Meal worms start their life cycle as little beetles,” Kari explained. “The beetles mate and lay eggs which then grow into adult meal worms. From there, the adult worms changed into pupae, then into beetles.  

“Occasionally  a few beetles escape the plastic bins. I just gather them up and return them to the worm farm. The beetles are harmless and don't bite.”

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