Breeding hornworms

nstd

Established Member
I have a hand full of #hornworms that are large and has eaten all its food.

I decided to breed them. Right now i put them in a small Tupperware with soil.

What should i do next? Should i add greens for them to eat? Keep the soil moist?
 
They need to be FULL grown with at LEAST 5 inches of dirt to burrow into (They prefer 1 foot of soil though!) If your lucky they will cocoon and then resurface as moths but the sol needs to stay moist too. They will not eat carrots I think only greens like leaves and such. But I hear they eat peppers and basically all collared greens. Good luck!
 
They really need to be fed hornworm chow, they will eat greens in a pinch but they can't be fed long term. Once you can see a pulsing vein, they're ready to bury themselves and pupate. I use a mix of soil and coco fiber. After about a week, I dig the pupae and put them in between damp paper towels. They have to stay consistently damp or your moths will be deformed, I usually notice problems with the wings.
 
They will eat fresh kelp and grow fast make sure you have alot of soil and if the kelp turns brown even a little spot take it out immediatelyand replace with fresh kelp they love it and will grow and can survive but if it turns brown and they try to eat it they will dye
 
Yes i did and i watched the kale everyday for discoloration if it changes to brown and they eat it they will die
 
I also separated them at first until i saw them eating the kale because if your not careful they will eat each other
 
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