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Re: Microworm culture



> Date: Thu, 05 Aug 1999 08:08:16 -0700
> From: Wright Huntley <huntley1 at home_com>
> 
> Culturing Microworms
> 
> My favorite store bread is Roman Meal "Honey Nut Oat Bran" so that's what I
> usually use. It seems to work with any bread tho. IDK what effect different
> kinds have on nutritional value.

I suspect that a whole-grain type of bread will work better than one
of the dead-white forms.

Check the ingredients and see if there are any preservatives.  This 
may be a help in keeping the culture clean.  I've heard of, but haven't
yet tried, growing fruit flies on a bread-based medium to take advantage
of the mold inhibitors added to industrial bread.

I grow my microworms on oat bran in pint jars.  I put a couple of table
spoons (one tablespoon = 15ml) of dry oatbran plus double the volume of
water in each jar, microwave for a couple of minutes, then immediately
cover.  The idea is that the boiled cereal is somewhat sterilized, and the
hot water vapor will kill some of the bacteria on the lid.  Once it is
cooled, I add some old culture and every few times, a bit of live yeast.
This usually works quite well, but I'm going to try your method which
looks interesting.  Btw, I get the best results by never screwing the
lids on very tight.