Live Mealworms vs. Dried Mealworms for Birds: Which is Best

Live mealworms are the best choice for birds during hot weather and during the nesting season since they are also a source of hydration for nestlings. Dried mealworms are a good choice for general feeding since they have higher protein content. But there are pros and cons to both.

Some of the concerns when it comes to choosing whether to offer your songbirds dried mealworms or live mealworms comes down to cost, bird preference, nutrition, seasonality, and even convenience.

In this article, we’ll explore the pros and cons, and important considerations when it comes to feeding your birds live mealworms or dried mealworms. By the end of this article, you should have a good plan as to which to buy and when.

Live mealworms vs. dried mealworms: Budget

Dried mealworms are definitely more affordable than live mealworms for bird feeding. One pound of dried mealworms will run somewhere between $15-$25 depending on the retailer, and it will contain several thousand mealworms.

On the other hand, 1,000 live mealworms in bran substrate will cost about $20. For the same price, you will get significantly less mealworms, and this is a reason many people choose to regularly feed their songbirds and bluebirds dried mealworms.

Live mealworms vs. dried mealworms: Nutrition

When it comes to nutrition, here is where dried mealworms also perform well. Surprisingly, one cup of dried mealworms contains more proteins and fats that birds need. This is because the drying process concentrates the product better.

From a good mealworm supplier like Rainbow Mealworms, you can expect the nutritional breakdown to look a little like this:

Table 1. General nutritional breakdown of dried mealworms.

Amazon* is another place to find mealworms. Just make sure, when evaluating an option, that it shows that it can be used for animals like birds and chickens, and that it lists out its nutritional information.

Live vs. dried mealworms: Storage

If you’re considering live mealworms, they must be stored in a refrigerator. This keeps them in a dormant stage (rather than progressing to the next phases of their lifecycle). It also keeps them fresh and helps them last longer.

But not everyone has room in their fridge or likes the idea of storing larva in their fridge.

While some mealworm producers will promote the fact that dried mealworms don’t need to be stored in the fridge, proper storage is necessary. Heat and moisture can make dried mealworms go rancid quick. So dried mealworms really do need to be stored in an air-tight container in a freezer or at least in the refrigerator and away from light.

As far as space- live mealworms don’t take up too much space in the fridge. A container for 1000 mealworms is usually put in a small 16-24 ounce breathable clear plastic container. Dried mealworms are usually stored in gallon-sized sealing plastic bags.

Live vs. dried mealworms: Handling

Bugs and creepy-crawlies can make people turn the other way. The idea of live bugs in your refrigerator, and having to serve them up to your birds regularly might be something you aren’t looking forward too.

And this is where dried mealworms also have an advantage. There isn’t much handling you have to do. Just get a little dish out – whatever you’re using to put out for your birds, and pour some dried mealworms into it. All done – nothing crawling around.

With live mealworms though, you pour them into a dish, maybe even separate them out from the bran (which we have a really helpful trick on that), and as you do so, you see the whole lot of them squirming around.

Handling live mealworms is something you get used to very very quickly. Having some gloves and a user-friendly approach makes it easier. But to any beginner, this can be overwhelming.

Do you need to separate live mealworms from the bran they come packed in?

Live mealworms usually come packed in bran or oatmeal or another type of grain. This serves as their food. You do not need to separate the live mealworms from the bran before giving it to your birds. A bird’s beak is like a pair of tweezers, and they can separate them very easily.

But there are advantages: birds seem to like it when you make it easier for them. The grain can invite bugs, the grain can mold or go rancid, and the grain may attract house sparrows.

These are reasons we encourage you to separate your mealworms from the grain substrate they come in.

And it is extremely easy to do that. Here is a little video that shows how quick that process takes, and how nearly hands-off it can be.

Live vs. dried mealworms: Bird preference

If you’re trying to attract bluebirds or chickadees to your yard with little success, and you have been using dried mealworms, this might be the issue.

Most wild bird species prefer live mealworms over dried mealworms. In fact, in our experiments, we found bluebirds and Carolina wrens going for live mealworms, then soaked mealworms and then finally dried mealworms when that was the last available option.

After browsing through most of this article and seeing the many advantages of dried mealworms, you’ve probably been waiting for the why – why would anyone ever bother feeding live mealworms, and preference is probably the number one reason.

As an experiment, we put out a pile of live mealworms (separated from the bran), soaked mealworms, and dried mealworms to see what birds chose first.

Bluebirds and Carolina wrens were the primary customers and immediately went after the live mealworms. Occasionally they would grab a soaked mealworm or even a dried one. But for the most part, they ate up the live mealworms until they were gone.

Once the live mealworms were all eaten or harder to find, they started to eat the soaked mealworms. At this stage, there was more bouncing between soaked and dried mealworms, but the preference was more toward the soaked mealworms.

Finally, once the soaked mealworms were nearly gone, the bluebirds and Carolina wrens began eating the dried mealworms.

Our surprise bird was a male northern cardinal. He was less selective and would also eat the dried and soaked ones, even while live mealworms were available.

Some studies found that cardinals will go after seed that requires less handling (easier to get out of the shell), and we hypothesize that this was the driver behind cardinals being less preferential. Whether it be a dried, live, or soaked mealworm, there was less handling required.

Video of live vs. soaked vs. dried mealworms experiment

This video shows the setup of the little experiment we did. We repeated this experiment several weeks later and found the same results.

One thing that is not clearly shown is that a chickadee arrived to the scene a little late. He or she pecked at the dried mealworms and decided it wasn’t for them.

While chickadees will eat dried mealworms, just like bluebirds and Carolina wrens, they like live mealworms more.

We also found robins visited during the second experiment, and went after the live mealworms as a first choice.

Please keep in mind, in order for this to be a well-conducted scientific experiment, the sample size would need to be much larger. As it stands, this is just a small observation.

Live vs. dried mealworms: Nestlings and Nesting Season

Another really important reason to choose live mealworms instead of dried mealworms is that live mealworms, live insects/arthropods and berries/fruits provide the only source of hydration for nestlings.

Never give a nestling water either. Because of how small birds are, providing water to nestlings can create a dangerous situation, and tip their biochemistry in the wrong direction.

With the exception of certain bird species like hummingbirds, many songbirds feed their young insects and other arthropods, and the water inside those living organisms is enough water to sustain baby birds.

Dried mealworms can actually dehydrate nestlings, and therefore, it’s not recommended to use dried mealworms during the nesting season.

Soaking dried mealworms is a budget-friendly alternative. But we only recommend doing this in more desperate situations – for instance, if you have a single parent bird taking care of nestlings, and dried mealworms is all you have on hand.

To soak dried mealworms, just boil water. Put the water in a cup that can handle the heat, like a mug, then pour in some of your dried mealworms. Let them soak for half an hour to one hour, and then strain and pat dry.

Using very hot water like this speeds up the soaking process, but it can make the mealworms break up more.

Alternatively, you can soak the mealworms for 4-8 hours, even over night in room temperature water.

Beware: only soak as many as will be used that day. Soaked mealworms have a very short shelf-life and will begin to stink quickly.

Live mealworms are great during extreme & desperate situations

Extreme heat requires birds to use up a tremendous amount of energy. And during the nesting season, they’re already using a huge amount of energy to feed their young.

Studies found that songbirds can lose an average of 10-20% of their body mass after eggs hatch due to the energy expense it costs to care for their young.

When it’s really hot, this energy expense becomes even more costly.

Therefore, when temperatures are reaching the 90s (F) or higher, consider putting out live mealworms. Live mealworms will help songbirds conserve energy since they don’t have to spend as much time foraging and hunting for bugs. And it will help keep them hydrated.

Other times when supplementing with live mealworms can really help your backyard birds:

• When you’ve lost one of the parents in a pair during the nesting season
• During peak migration times (late April – May, and October – November).
• When a cowbird nestling is present in one of your active nests – supplementing a lot of food may save the lives of the other nestlings
• Other extreme situations and emergencies that come up during your observations

Sometimes there are cold bursts of weather, and during that time, it’s also helpful to put out live mealworms. Just keep in mind that they may not live very long.

A good practice is to put out smaller amounts more frequently throughout the day to prevent them from freezing and make it harder on the birds.

The importance of calcium supplementation

While mealworms (both live and dried) are known to be very deficient in calcium, a study found this to be true of many arthropod species. And birdseed is not rich in calcium either.

Therefore, if you’re wanting to provide mealworms for your birds during the nesting season, it’s a good idea to do a very light dusting of calcium on live mealworms.

You can buy calcium powder for feed on Amazon*, or you can save your eggshells, bake them at 160-200F for about 45 minutes to sterilize them, and then pulverize the shells with a mortar and pestle.

Be sure to wear a mask when pulverizing eggshells, and when pouring out calcium dust because very very small fragments travel in the air and can get into your lungs which is not good.

Conservation guide when it comes to feeding birds

During the nesting season, most birds are feeding their nestlings live insects and other arthropods, and the warmer weather makes them plentiful.

Feeding birds during the wintertime is usually more important. But during the nesting season, they rarely need our help.

In fact, feeding birds can create more problems for nesting songbirds. According to one research study, it can lead to social stress and competition.

In our own experience, we’ve found that birdseed that has been left out can also attract nocturnal predators. Once they discover your yard, they may discover your nests.

And while you may not have an active bluebird nest or chickadee nest, there are probably several nests in your yard that you’re not aware of.

So it is very important to create a safe habitat for the birds you’re hosting.

Final takeaways

• While dried mealworms contain more protein, are budget friendly and are user friendly, they are not the best choice during the nesting season.
• Live mealworms provide a better source of hydration for nesting birds and nestlings.
• Providing live mealworms during the nesting season or during emergencies and extreme situations can help birds conserve energy.
• Live mealworms are preferred by most songbirds over dried mealworms.
• Dried mealworms can be soaked in order to soften them and provide more hydration.
• When feeding birds, always consider good conservation practices and prioritize the birds you host over your own pleasure.

Related articles and resources

References

Blem, C. R., & Blem, L. B. (2006). Variation in mass of female Prothonotary Warblers during nesting. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 118(1), 3-12.https://www.jstor.org/stable/20455821

Dubois, S., & Fraser, D. (2013). A framework to evaluate wildlife feeding in research, wildlife management, tourism and recreation. Animals, 3(4), 978-994.

Freed, L. A. (1981). Loss of mass in breeding wrens: stress or adaptation?. Ecology, 62(5), 1179-1186.

Graveland, J., & Van Gijzen, T. (1994). Arthropods and seeds are not sufficient as calcium sources for shell formation and skeletal growth in passerines. Ardea, 55(1–2), 299-314.

Johnson, L. S., & Barclay, R. M. (1996). Effects of supplemental calcium on the reproductive output of a small passerine bird, the House Wren (Troglodytes aedon). Canadian Journal of Zoology, 74(2), 278-282. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/…

Wahome, C. (2022, May 26). Eating mealworms: How it can benefit your body. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-mealworms#:~:text=Dried%20mealworms%20have%20more%20protein,overall%20have%20more%20nutritional%20value.