New Silk Worm Moths! Do they need to eat?

[pigglett79]

Hello,

We have our first round of silk worm moths. I have read many posts about mating them; however none have mentioned whether they need to be fed anything. Does anyone have experience with these? Also if I am lucky enough to end up with eggs, how long can they be refrigerated for?

Thanks
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[sandrachameleon]

hi
they dont eat.
they're mating, so you'll definately get eggs. you can refridgerate eggs for at least 6 months without significant loss.

you may find these links interesting:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/silkworms-101-a-7906/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/05FebCaruthers.html
http://www.wormspit.com/bombyxsilkworms.htm

 

[camimom]

Like sandra . said, they dont eat.. they dont have mouths

 

[pigglett79]

Thank you for the responses.

 

[pigglett79]

Yes! We have Eggs! I am very excited right now! You know the sad thing is that there aren't many people who will share my excitement!

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[Trillian]

I got a moff!!! Thinking it's male, it has feather antennae. If a female doesn't hatch imminently, and I end up feeding him straight off, how long do they usually live?

 

[Ulrich]

They have reduced mouth parts. I think they can feed. But usually they live very short. Around a week. They are domesticated for many thousands of years and more or less fully rely on humans. And we only need them for the silk (and chams). So we don't need them to feed as an adult.

 

[AngieL]

I think silk moths live for about a week they're so cute, I felt bad feeding my one to tealc but I only had one so there wasn't much else for it!

 

[Psychobunny]

I had 4 of these and they mated and laid a bunch of little yellow eggs.
Now the eggs have disapeared!!
One moth died and I fed the others to my chams

 

[pigglett79]

My moths live for a week or so. Got a ton of eggs in this last round.

 

[carol5208]

how do you hatch the eggs then? And how long do they take to hatch out? I have had mine lay eggs and I just throw them away cause I didn't want to deal with it but I am thinking about getting a little more frugal!

 

[pigglett79]

The eggs will be yellow, then over a couple of days they will turn tan and then grey. Once they are grey you put them in the refrigerator. From what I have read they have to be in the refrigerator for at least 1 month before taking them out to hatch. They can however stay in the refrigerator for up to 6 months or more. If they don't turn tan or grey then they are not fertile.

 

[Miss Lily]

Don't store them int he fridge door though - I made that mistake and they started hatching int he fridge as the door was opened often. I fear I hav enow killed them by moving them to a cooler part of the fridge. Time will tell though. The last ot I took out of the fridge took at least 2 months to hatch, in fact, I nearly gave up on them!

The first moth I ever had was so cute! I kept him in a tub and he lived for 9 days. he last lot I had (over 20 of them), lived a lot longer than that with the mating frenzies they embark on keeping them going I reckon, lol! I currently have two cocoons - a male and a female and the male pupated first so I hope I can keep him alive until the female emerges!

 

[pigglett79]

How long had you kept them in the frig when it took them so long to hatch? I was hoping to plan to bring some out a couple weeks before I go on vacation so my mom has done to feed to Rex while we are gone. There is no way she will feed him roaches.

 

[Miss Lily]

At least a month. I haven't tried hatching any more since I bought a new batch of eggs and started over again!

 

[Trillian]

Now I have 3 female moffs hanging about looking pretty and bored... c'mon boys!!!

 

[Ulrich]

Now I have 3 female moffs hanging about looking pretty and bored... c'mon boys!!!

If you don't get them soon, the girls have a problem....

 

[Trillian]

Yep... now have one female silkmoth... Hmmm. I think my first breeding attempt has not gone well. Still a few more cocoons to hatch, so hopefully I'll get at least one pair out at the same time!

 

[pigglett79]

I got really lucky with my first batch of moths. We ended up with a male female pair right away and in total we had 6 males and 5 females. Now to see if we can get some of these eggs to hatch. They went in the refrigerator July 3-5th.

 

[Trillian]

4th female has just hatched... what the hell, boys!!! Checking the cocoons for brown patches or noise to show someone else is struggling to get out, but nothing so far...