Hornworm pupating

Very educational thank you!

Hi there I love your blog about hornworm breeding and rearing as I have been breeding them for a couple years now. I just wanted to add something maybe u could change or just ignore me. But after I dig up my pupea I don't put them back into dirt I just lay them on like 3 or 4 paper towels in a shallow bin or just ontop of the paper towels at the bottom of there cage I found I have had noticeable improvements on die offs and just not healthy worms in general I haven't had on die off or come out with stunted wings since I have been using this method with my pupea.

Again thank you so much for the blog

Thank you for the additional info. I will add it to the blog and also give it a try. Do you still mist daily on the paper towels?

I actually dont have to do it as often I mist them lightly every other day and the paper towels stay moist for most of the time in between mistings. There is also less chance of mold building up or pupae rotting from over watering. Give it a try and see if it doesn't make a noticeable difference in how strong your moths are and how strong there eggs and worms will be. Thank you again for the blog though

I am going to try it this next round. I have about 35 that just went in to the dirt the other day.

Yeah I usually only do 50 moths at a time because I only have one cage that's big enough for all of them.

I have many questions

im sorry for all the questions im about to ask, brace your self... haha. I just want to know what I am getting myself into when I try your method...answers will be greatly appreciated. thank you

1) How long do eggs take to hatch from the day their laid?
2) do you mist the eggs daily to keep moist?
3) can you fridge the eggs and save for another time like silkworms?
4) whent the hornworms pupae, do you mist the soil that they are in along with the soil/paper towles. or just the substrate? I dont want to drown them lol
5) how long does it take from them to become a moth?
6) you said they eat the bird food from the feeder when they are moths, do they need a water source for hydration?
7) do you spray down the enclosure with them in it? or keep enclosure dry?
8) You say to collect the eggs daily... how do you do that without letting the moths fly out of the cage?
9) how long are they moths before they die?
10) if you see dead moths, do you just leave them in the enclosure and wait for all of them to die, or do you remove them for bacterial issues; if so how do you remove the dead ones without letting the live ones get loose.
11) can you keep them outside? i heard they are loud... live in florida
12) can you feed off the pupaes and moths to chameleons?
13) how long would you say it takes from hatch to pupae?
14) how hard is the maintanance? Crickets are a bit*h. lol and smell so bad.
15) when they are about to pupae, do you just put the container of pupaes in the enclosure and leave it in there until they are done with their business and die off? how do you transfer them...
16) hornworm food? where do you get it... i know its very expensive, just looking for a good cheap place and is it just better to just buy the worms daily when you want to feed them, then to go through all this.
17) on youtube, i see people hand feeding them with boiled water and sugar.. they pull their "straw tongues" out and have them drink, then bring them back to the enclosure....

BTW thank you for the breakdown on what you do.... best one ive seen and will recommend to friends. Sorry for so many questions, its just that id be totally lost on some aspects as you can see

Thank you for the info. I have some worms getting ready to pupate right now!

See answers in red below

1) How long do eggs take to hatch from the day their laid? 3-5 days
2) do you mist the eggs daily to keep moist? Do not mist the eggs
3) can you fridge the eggs and save for another time like silkworms? No you cannot
4) whent the hornworms pupae, do you mist the soil that they are in along with the soil/paper towles. or just the substrate? I dont want to drown them lolmist the soil until damp all over
5) how long does it take from them to become a moth?4-6 weeks
6) you said they eat the bird food from the feeder when they are moths, do they need a water source for hydration? Nope just humming bird necter
7) do you spray down the enclosure with them in it? or keep enclosure dry? Keep dry
8) You say to collect the eggs daily... how do you do that without letting the moths fly out of the cage? They are nocturnal so collect during the day
9) how long are they moths before they die? About a week or two
10) if you see dead moths, do you just leave them in the enclosure and wait for all of them to die, or do you remove them for bacterial issues; if so how do you remove the dead ones without letting the live ones get loose. Pull out dead ones during the day
11) can you keep them outside? i heard they are loud... live in florida I don't see why not
12) can you feed off the pupaes and moths to chameleons? Some people feed off the moths
13) how long would you say it takes from hatch to pupae?if you don't slow worm growth down they can be full grown and pupate in 1-2 weeks from hatching.
14) how hard is the maintanance? Crickets are a bit*h. lol and smell so bad. It can be time consuming and messy
15) when they are about to pupae, do you just put the container of pupaes in the enclosure and leave it in there until they are done with their business and die off? how do you transfer them... When worms are ready to pupate I put them in a container w dirt inside a big plastic bin.
16) hornworm food? where do you get it... i know its very expensive, just looking for a good cheap place and is it just better to just buy the worms daily when you want to feed them, then to go through all this. I buy food from great lakes horn worms, if you get breeding down it saves tons of money but can be time consuming and frustrating.
17) on youtube, i see people hand feeding them with boiled water and sugar.. they pull their "straw tongues" out and have them drink, then bring them back to the enclosure....if you don't get the sugar ratio right it could kill the moths, better to just use commercially available unless you know the mix.

I have incorporated new information I have discovered regarding lighting. A longer day cycle is required to avoid pupae going in to diapause.

PIGGLETT = HORNWORM QUEEN!

You know your stuff. I will give you that! Thank you for being the most informative horn-worm resource out there lol and for being so nice about answering everyone's question! Your the best!

I would like to thank you as well! You have inspired me to start this fun project and not only is it great food for my chams it's very educational and my daughter really enjoys it. Two of my worms pupated today ;0)

just wanted to thank you (again) for this awesome info! I have 7 worms pupating, and the last time i checked there were two complete cocoons.

tdismang;bt1868 said:

just wanted to thank you (again) for this awesome info! I have 7 worms pupating, and the last time i checked there were two complete cocoons.

Click to expand...

Congrats! I hope you successfully get some moths and eggs.

I lost one pupa last week, but the other six are doing great. Are there any signs to look out for that indicate they are close too emergence?

tdismang;bt1881 said:

I lost one pupa last week, but the other six are doing great. Are there any signs to look out for that indicate they are close too emergence?

Click to expand...

I have some that look the same up until they emerge. But I have noticed others that get much darker in color days before they come out.

Thanks for sharing all of this great information! We have successfully gotten through the pupating stage, now the moths are laying eggs! Fun stuff. :O)

Such great information! Can you put the hornworms on an alternative diet? Say... Strictly gut load foods like carrots, bell pepper, spinach, etc?

Yep. looks like I'm going to follow your guides on both hornworms and silkworms! Thanks for all of the wonderful information!

Kiwiflage;bt1945 said:

Such great information! Can you put the hornworms on an alternative diet? Say... Strictly gut load foods like carrots, bell pepper, spinach, etc?

Click to expand...

I haven't tried with newly hatched worms, but I have raised them from about an inch on with just veggies.