Many birders enjoy feeding mealworms to soft-billed birds like blackbirds and robins that cannot crack seeds easily, as mealworms provide high levels of protein, fat, and natural amino acids that they need. This makes mealworms particularly important.
Recently a social media post spread warning that baby birds would die of dehydration by feeding dry mealworms that have not been soaked beforehand to baby birds. This statement is completely false!
Contents
Protein
Dried mealworms (the larvae of Tenebrio molitor’s Mealworm Beetle, Tenebrio molitor) are an important food source for many bird species throughout the year, providing essential protein-rich nutrition necessary for cell growth, muscle development and digestion as well as energy provision.
Dried mealworms offer an excellent winter bird feeding option. By providing essential protein-rich nutrition during periods of scarce food supply and colder temperatures, they help wild birds maintain energy levels. Add them to your usual seed mix or put out a feeder dedicated to insect eaters such as chickadees, wrens, bluebirds and nuthatches.
Although live mealworms provide slightly greater nutritional benefits than their dried counterparts, freeze drying helps preserve their essential nutrients and increase shelf life. Although some have asserted that eating dried mealworms could cause dehydration in birds due to indigestible exoskeletons clogging their lower digestive tract, such claims cannot be supported since chickadees drink water during winter by drinking from icicles and eating snow regularly.
Fat
Freeze-dried mealworms differ from live mealworms in that they don’t require regular watering and can be offered via hopper or tray feeders, mixed into seed mixes or stored in suet blocks and cylinders for later consumption.
Mealworms satisfy birds’ natural craving for insects, making them an integral component of many wild bird diets. Songbird species that require protein-rich snacks rely heavily on mealworms as snacks for young chicks that require their protein needs met quickly and reliably.
Bird watchers and wild bird rehabilitators were alarmed to read on Facebook that feeding large numbers of mealworms during breeding season would lead to their babies dying due to not receiving nutrients from their parents’ bodies. This claim contradicted basic avian biology; chickadees for instance drink water regularly during winter and even consume snow for their fluid needs.
Fiber
Dried mealworms provide birds with essential protein, fats and fiber as a nutritious food source, providing much-needed hydration during hotter weather months. Chicks in nests or fledglings require adequate hydration during this critical stage in development.
Feeding dried mealworms is much simpler and requires much less upkeep than live ones, and can attract many different bird species than just seed alone. Mealworms also appeal to insectivorous birds such as chickadees, woodpeckers and cardinals that naturally seek food such as chickadees, woodpeckers and cardinals.
Soak dried mealworms in water for better chances of birds digesting them as many cannot easily break down dry matter. Doing this will hydrate the worms, providing vital energy during breeding season when more energy is required to feed young. Plus it gives worms a tastier texture which will attract backyard bird species!
Calcium
Mealworms provide both protein and calcium that wild birds need during breeding season to build strong nests, chicks, and eggs. Mealworms provide an easy and quick solution to provide these essential elements to local wildbirds in your yard or garden.
Wild birds that rely on insectivory to survive like robins, tits, blackbirds and wrens love snacking on dried and live mealworms for sustenance! Mealworms play an integral part of many birds’ diets as a source of protein, fiber and essential fats.
Many people wonder whether dried mealworms are as nutritious as live ones, and the answer is yes. However, it should be remembered that dry worms must first be rehydrated prior to being fed to birds, which may cause some nutrients to be lost during this process. Supplementing dehydrated worms with powdered calcium supplements (like ZooMed Repticalcium) could help make them more nutritious during breeding season and soaking for 10 minutes in water can quickly rehydrate them.
