Hawkmoths breeding!

[reptoman]

Got some video of one of the females laying eggs. The eggs are bright green which I have heard means they are fertile!!! Oh, the things that get me excited these days........

http://youtu.be/VF0z8Sc3Rco

 

[coldbloodedAL]

That's awesome man! Free hornworms!!!

 

[Texas Ranger]

Dude that's awesome video.

 

[reptoman]

That's awesome man! Free hornworms!!!

Oh yeah! Getting these to breed was easier for me than silks. Now if i can raise them big enough to cycle again I should be set for a while.

 

[reptoman]

Dude that's awesome video.

Thanks for your advice on this Lee. I harvested a bunch of eggs this morning and they do bounce if you drop them! The are easier to pull off than I thought. The majority of the eggs are laid on the branches and very few on the leaves of the tomato plant.

 

[coldbloodedAL]

How exactly does this work? Just keep feeding the hornworms til they cocoon, then the moths will eventually mate? I think I seen a thread on this but couldn't find it

 

[moviemanmania]

That's awesome Brian! Were the larva reared on silkworm or hornworm chow? What was your ratio of male to female moths?

 

[suzi]

That's awesome! Congratulations!

 

[reptoman]

That's awesome! Congratulations!

Thanks Suzi!

Jon, I got these from mulberry farms and I have no idea what the ratio male to female is. They were raised on hornworn chow in the cups that mulberry provides. I just let them get too big and put them in a planter with dirt in an empty cage. The eggs started hatching today which really surprised me!

 

[reptoman]

How exactly does this work? Just keep feeding the hornworms til they cocoon, then the moths will eventually mate? I think I seen a thread on this but couldn't find it

Thats pretty much the idea but they dont cocoon like slikworms. They need dirt to dig into and then they pupate. Once they emerge as moths, keep them in a screen cage with a humbingbird feeder so they can drink nectar and stick a tomato plant in with them to stimulate breeding. Make sure you dont feed off any worms that ate the tomato. Try to get the eggs off of the plant before they hatch.

 

[coldbloodedAL]

Interesting, Thanks man!

 

[suzi]

Thanks Suzi!

Jon, I got these from mulberry farms and I have no idea what the ratio male to female is. They were raised on hornworn chow in the cups that mulberry provides. I just let them get too big and put them in a planter with dirt in an empty cage. The eggs started hatching today which really surprised me!

So that's what they look like up close! Nice shot

 

[laurie]

How big are they when they hatch? That is one cool video, but the moth didn't seem to like the flashlight- sorry to bad moth.

 

[reptoman]

How big are they when they hatch? That is one cool video, but the moth didn't seem to like the flashlight- sorry to bad moth.

They are about twice the size of a silkworm hatchling. Those moths get active around 5 minutes after lights out. Pretty interesting to watch.

 

[moviemanmania]

How many eggs have you hatched out so far from your breeding moths?

 

[reptoman]

How many eggs have you hatched out so far from your breeding moths?

I probably have 12 baby worms so far but only about 50 eggs. I will be happy if I can get half of those to adult and let some pupate again. I think one of the newest moths is a female so she may still lay a bunch in the next day or 2. One can only hope

 

[ZackTayl]

I probably have 12 baby worms so far but only about 50 eggs. I will be happy if I can get half of those to adult and let some pupate again. I think one of the newest moths is a female so she may still lay a bunch in the next day or 2. One can only hope

Do you need a tomato plant in order for them to breed? I was hoping i could throw a few moths in with my 4 month old chameleon so they would hopefully breed in the cage. Doubt he would eat them though as they are probably too big for him. He's not even eating the hornworms

 

[Ilike4hornedchams]

Do you need a tomato plant in order for them to breed? I was hoping i could throw a few moths in with my 4 month old chameleon so they would hopefully breed in the cage. Doubt he would eat them though as they are probably too big for him. He's not even eating the hornworms

Ya your chameleon is simple intimidated by how big the horn worms are. I have 9 chams of varying sized and it just seems that the bigger they are the more daring with their food they are. They gotta build up their confidence to even attack a Dubia in my opinion. Even some of my larger chams tho did not like the horn worms for some reason just fyi. The ones that liked them the most were surprisingly some of the smaller chams I got but they were quads and the Nosy Be's did seems to like them as much while the Tamatave i have went for them immediately.