Silkworm egg question and stickbugs eggs

[happiness]

Silkworm question-
90% of my silkworm eggs turned gray and have yet to hatch. It's been over 3 weeks. Will they ever hatch?

Stick bug question-
My stick bug eggs keep developing mold. More and more egg tops keep popping off, and slimy goo is sticking out the top of the eggs. Does this mean the baby stick bug was trying to hatch and died in the process from mold or too much humidity maybe? I have about 80 stick bugs eggs from 2 adult stick bugs and have yet to see any live babies. My male panther loves stick bugs and I'd like to feed him some but I can't. Thinking of just buying more.

 

[laurie]

I toss my stick bug eggs in a container of soil dry/damp (almost dry but not rock hard) and very lightly mist them each day, they have been hatching that way for about a year.

Where did you get your silk eggs? Are they stuck down or loose? Those two types are hatched differently. Usually the gray eggs will turn black soon. Black is hatched.

 

[Lazy Boy]

Silkworm eggs will turn a light grey blue tent a couple days before the hatch. After the hatch they will look mostly clear and you can see a hold in them.

Here's a pic from my last batch. You can see the coloring they get. Fresh silkworm eggs come out yellow then go almost black and then light grey/blue a couple days before they hatch.

 

[happiness]

I toss my stick bug eggs in a container of soil dry/damp (almost dry but not rock hard) and very lightly mist them each day, they have been hatching that way for about a year.

Where did you get your silk eggs? Are they stuck down or loose? Those two types are hatched differently. Usually the gray eggs will turn black soon. Black is hatched.

Some of my eggs are stuck on pieces of paper towel and some are loose. The original eggs came from Coastal silkworms, these eggs are from the coastal silkworm eggs hatching and turning into moths. They are all a dark color gray and have been like this for a long time! (over 3 weeks!)
The loose ones are ones that I picked off of cocoons. A lot were laid on them and it was a hassle getting them all off. The last moths to that laid their eggs on the cocoons I left, and those are dark gray as well. I had a few hatch at first, about 20 and they died, then I had a whole lot of about 80 hatch that were laid on a cardboard toilet paper roll. I tried to keep the moth in a circle to lay on the paper towel and instead she climbed up the cardboard and laid all her eggs on there. I'm wondering if the cardboard made them warmer or something. The room I'm in has been pretty cold lately.

I really like the dirt idea! Thank you. I'm tired of the mold. First I'm going to try the dry paper towel with a cap full of water. (someone suggested) and put the new ones in dirt.

 

[JC Cham]

If eggs turned dark brown/purple it probably went to diapause. In cultivated silkworms, eggs are placed in refrigerator (at least 60 days) to simulate winter, and taken back out into a mildly warm room to simulate spring. Before storing eggs to refrigerator recommended wait is 2 weeks or one month. After you take the eggs out of cold storage, the diapause breaks. You can store eggs up to a year. Then, the developing embryo will start up again, and the eggs will shift color, becoming more pale or blue, and hatching usually within 10 to 14 days.

 

[happiness]

If eggs turned dark brown/purple it probably went to diapause. In cultivated silkworms, eggs are placed in refrigerator (at least 60 days) to simulate winter, and taken back out into a mildly warm room to simulate spring. Before storing eggs to refrigerator recommended wait is 2 weeks or one month. After you take the eggs out of cold storage, the diapause breaks. You can store eggs up to a year. Then, the developing embryo will start up again, and the eggs will shift color, becoming more pale or blue, and hatching usually within 10 to 14 days.

Would you suggest throwing them in the fridge for a few days then taking them out? Or maybe putting the eggs above a warm light or on a heating pad?

 

[SSimsswiSS]

Would you suggest throwing them in the fridge for a few days then taking them out? Or maybe putting the eggs above a warm light or on a heating pad?

14 days in fridge minimum. Couple days will not work. If you have a incubator you can place inside at 80 and add a cup of water inside to up humidity. Keep eggs dry.

 

[happiness]

Ok thanks for the advice. Hopefully they hatch. I have the 80 or so that keep dwindling. The silkworms keep burying eachother in their silk and trapping their fellow friends. Everyday I'm trying to pick trapped silkworms out from under the webbing. More and more keep dying. It was nice when
I had 500 silkworms going. Boy do they eat a lot of leaves when they get big though. Im going to dread the winter!