Silkworm Breeding Help !!!!!

[Chameleonboy]

Mr Vegas sorry i could not find the Silkworm 101 page so i just want to ask a couple questions

i just had about 200 eggs hatch and was wondering if i put a couple little cubes of chow on different sides will they find it my moths laid eggs on cardboard will they climb down and find the chow or no hoe else should i feed them the chow i can even touch them they are like microscopic

Another question
when the moths are laying eggs what can i make them lay on so i can scrape the eggs off and put them in a dish ?

 

[sharkey]

you need to immediately grate (like w/a cheese grater or a garlic grater) the chow OVER the larvae to cover them w/a light layer. cubes dry out too quickly and w/that many larvae they won't all be able to get to the chow.

 

[Chameleonboy]

wont they get smooshed if i grate food on them

 

[Cainschams]

mulberryfarms.com has care for silkworms. I dont know about moths. They do sell butterfly kits so you might be able to email and ask.

 

[Brad]

You may find some information at ChameleonNews, they have a silkworm article written by lele.

http://www.chameleonnews.com/silkworms.html

 

[lonomac]

I actually put the moths in a petri dish so they can lay eggs right in it. Once theres about 500, ill put them in a new dish.

The baby worms aren't the greatest food finders in the world so you need very small chunks of chow spread evenly in their dish. Feed them everyday at least the first week as the starve faster.

 

[sharkey]

you won't smush the larvae if you grate a lite layer of finely grated chow. when the chow lands on them they immediately start to move to the top.

i don't know what kind of container you have them in but i use tupperware w/fabric or plastic mesh suspended in it - then most of the poop drops to the bottom and the larvae stay on the food in the mesh (some larvae drop to the bottom of the container too but it is not a problem.

 

[Chameleonboy]

im affraid of the chow smooshing them if i grate it on top of them

 

[Chameleonboy]

if i grate the chow on top of them i wont smoosh them or will i smoosh them they are so small and i think chow can really mess them up if i put it on them

 

[Brad Ramsey]

grating the chow is THE way to do it!
I have given up on raising baby silkworms.
I just keep buying them.

-Brad

 

[Chameleonboy]

ok thanks evryone still open to anyone elces sugg

 

[Chameleonboy]

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh167/clemonde/DSC03297.jpg

there is a link to what my silkies look like right now if you realy look at the pick you can see a bunch of them on the big nuggets of chow to the right and left

any sugg anyone im open to anything

 

[COASTALSILKWORMS]

The best way to do it is to grate the food over the newly hatched worms with a fine grate size. This is how we have been doing it for years. If you buy eggs from us all these instructions are on the sticker the eggs come with. Everyone has their own way, no way is the wrong way just some will have better results then others. The only way to know for sure what works best for you is trial and error.