Silk Worms Breeding

[bistrobob85]

Do anyone of you guys breed silk worms? Ive bought 6 of them and fed them until they were all cocoon, what should i do with the moths that will come out of it? What should i do with the egg? How should i feed the smaller worms? etc.

[ChristinaM]

Hi. Once the moths emmerge from the cocoons they seek out a partner to mate with. They cannot fly, eat, or anything other than mate. Providing you have both sexes, they will mate and the female will deposit a bunch of bright yellow eggs. These eggs turn black(which is GOOD). The ones that stay yellow, or white are unfertalized and will not hatch. The moths only live for about 5days, so you are much better off starting with alot more than just 6 to increase your chances.

The eggs hatch at room temp in bout 2-3wks.

The baby worms are very very small and delicate.
You need to wash your hands, anything that will come in contact with them. Cleanliness is a MUST or they will die.

You feed the same as fullgrown. Silkworm food or mulberry leaves. It's best not to handle the food with your hands, as the oils from our skin can be detremental to the worms. Using tweezers, put the food in the dish, and the baby worms ontop of the food. For the first week, they have a hard time moving, so you do have to put them on the food.

Keep em clean and wellfed, and they will thrive.

Any questions?

[bistrobob85]

Sure, i have a couple of questions! Would i do best separating the smaller one from the bigger worms? Do you know how much time it takes to the moths to emerge? What are the chances that moths emerge in room humidity and temperature? I've been told by someone at the Montreal's Insectarium that if i fed the newborn worms lettuce, they would accept it as long as i didnt show them mulberry leaves...

anyways, for the moment, I still have my cocoons waiting. Its been about 2 weeks now that the first worm made his little nest. Are there any special conditions i have to maintain for my little silk balls? I just dont want to lose them and keep waiting for them to hatch...

ho, i also wanted to ask: where can you get mulberry leaves or silkworms food? I work in the reptile department of a petstore and i dont know where i could order some...

thanks in advance for your help, maybe you'll save many generations of comming silk worms!!!

[Linds]

silkworms.ca sells mulberry leaf paste...

[chamitch]

cleanleness is key i had like 200 worms die. i belive u have to brumate teh eggs for a few months before they will hatch.

[ChristinaM]

Originally posted by bistrobob85
Sure, i have a couple of questions! Would i do best separating the smaller one from the bigger worms? "

Nope, just make sure there's enough food for all and you'll be fine.

"Do you know how much time it takes to the moths to emerge? "

2-3 weeks.

"What are the chances that moths emerge in room humidity and temperature? "

That's the only way I've kept my eggs....room temp no special care and they hatch.

"I've been told by someone at the Montreal's Insectarium that if i fed the newborn worms lettuce, they would accept it as long as i didnt show them mulberry leaves... "

Dunno on that one, BUT....lettuce is just basically water. So I can't see how they would live and grow on that.


"ho, i also wanted to ask: where can you get mulberry leaves or silkworms food? "

www.silkworms.ca or www.canadianfeeders.com The first one definately has the food, the second one I think does but not 100% sure.

Good luck....tis tricky to master but once you do, then you've got it made.

[chamitch]

yea they eat lettuce. but make sure its clean. and they also eat ficus and habiscus or at least a little bit. mulberry is a must id say though

[bistrobob85]

Thanks a lot for the help. I feel much safer now about the cocoons... i guess ill just wait and see! You said it, when ill have it made, ill have a little business going!

[bistrobob85]

My first moth emerged! I saw the cocoon shaking like crazy, and i was scared of having a weak moth that would not get out of it and die, so i opened it a little and the moth got out! Im just so happy to see this ( thought the moth didnt really emerge naturally... )!!! Now i just wish to have some more emerging soon so that this one doesnt die without reproducing at all, which would be sad, being all alone for its whole adult life!

[ChristinaM]

Congrats :) They usually do fine emmerging on their own.....they "spit" a substance out that dissolves some of the silk to allow them to come out.

I hope the rest hatch soon for you, if this attempt doesn't work, try getting at least a dozen next time to give you better odds :)

Good luck.