Silkworm Frustrations....

[Nilsa]

Thank you!

 

[Nilsa]

View attachment 156723

You can get smaller batches for less

 

[KapitalJ]

Was super excited to come home from work yesterday to find that my Silks started hatching!!
Now to see if I can keep them going.

 

[Andie]

I have a mulberry tree...
I didnt know silkies lived over 2 months. Even after they get to "good eatin size" and having every third day feeding ,they only last half a summer. I start in the end of May and they are a good size in 3 weeks, and are all cocooned or dead (rare) by July.

How big is "good eatin' size?"

 

[Andie]

It's called PLASTIC CANVAS. It's used when people crochet with the different colors of yarn and make things like tissue boxes and whatnot. See here for what it's actually used for: https://www.google.com/search?q=pla...ved=0ahUKEwiTmqr4mZvMAhWF8j4KHRyWBrQQ_AUIBygC

I have some of the same stuff, only mine is colored black (personal preference). I picked it up at my local Wal-Mart for like $2 for 3 sheets and it was in the artsy section where you would find paint, crayons, colored pencils, yarn, glue, and things of the such. They had quite a few to pick from as far as shape and quantity.

Here is a quick search on Wal-Mart's website: http://www.walmart.com/search/?query=plastic canvas sheets&cat_id=2637&typeahead=plastic canvas sheet

You may have to filter through all the results to find exactly what you need, or just visit a Wal-Mart (or any crafts store should have it - but keep in mind that a crafts store is probably going to charge you more for it, as that is what they are, a CRAFTS store). I just bought a pack of 3 black plastic canvas sheets, and I cut them to fit what I needed them to fit. They come in white, clear, black (and maybe other colors, but that is what was at my Wal-Mart) and they also come in packs of 3, 5, 6, 7.... Here is a link to the EXACT product that I bought: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Black-Plastic-Canvas-Sheets-3pk/38587654

The dimensions are 13.5" x 10.5 which is good to suit what I needed it for (hornworm containers and silkworm containers). I just cut it to fit and folded it a bit and sha-bam. Good to go. They come in larger sheets; they come in smaller sheets. They can come as super stiff sheets (for when you are crocheting something that needs to be a little stiff such as a tissue box) or they can come as softer sheets for simpler things. Mine is just the right stiffness as it bends pretty good to go into my worm bins, but it also holds pretty solid for when worms climb all over it.

Works great. Easy to use, and the frass from worms falls right through it. When the worms get bigger, their frass too, will be bigger, and will not go through the holes on the plastic canvas. No worries though: The canvas is PLASTIC and in my experience, nothing ever sticks to it. The frass just rolls down off of when it gets too big to fall through the holes IF you don't have it set up all flat-like. I have my canvas setup in a large plastic bin and I have it shaped like a small upside-down "U" shape instead of elevating it on something so it's flat like most people do. The way I have it, all the food is nearer the top of the container and they have to crawl up the upside-down "U" to get to it. They are now elevated as they eat and the poo just rolls off down the sides as they defecate. You can shape it like this, or you can elevate just one side of it and let the other side rest on the bottom of your bin. I'm sure you can figure it out

I use them for smaller worms, and as the worms get bigger, I switch to gutter guard (http://www.lowes.com/pd_504913-1410-VX620_1z0uk6y__?productId=50031732&pl=1) as it has much larger holes to allow frass to fall through, as well as allowing the worms to easier access anywhere they want to go by crawling THROUGH the large holes in the mesh instead of crawling AROUND the mesh.

Hope this helps.

I found plastic canvas at Joanne Fabrics. Very cheap.

 

[Andie]

I haven't read through this thread but for the last few months i've had about a 95% hatch rate and have not had a single dead worm all the way up to feeding size.

I keep them on my kitchen counter (a regularly warm room in my house). I cut the middle out of a paper plate and put the eggs on that inside my keeper. As they hatch, I keep their food a little softer and squeeze a ring of food around the hatchlings, almost like piped icing. They all move to the ring.

In a day or two I squeeze another ring around that and they move on over again. Then I repeat. By the time I have the third ring they are all off the first and sometimes second, and the remainder is dry so I remove it.

At this point they are big enough to not fall through the mesh in my silk keeper so I put more solid food on the mesh and they migrate to the fresher food overnight typically, then I remove the paper plate.

I never handle with my hands. Once they are bigger I use delicate tongs and if i HAVE to touch them, I wear medical gloves just in case.

I find this way super low maintenance and I have not lost a single worm in months

JaniP,
Any chance you can post a pic of the paper plate idea? I'm trying to picture it but can't quite manage.
I put the petri dish the eggs were attached to into a small, glass aquarium, outfitted with egg crate-supported plastic canvas. I grated the food on top of them, but I like your idea better.

 

[Dro B]

I keep my silkworms at room temp and have awesome results compared to when I did the whole keep them at 80 degrees thing. I keep them covered when they're tiny otherwise the food dries out too fast. I would highly recommend leaves. I raise about 300 per month to cocoons and leaves can be a chore but it gives much better results than with chow, although chow is convenient I get larger but fewer eggs and the babies don't seem to do as well even though they're bigger. Making your chow in the microwave is best, I use 56 grams of chow, and a little less than 3/4 cup of water and wrap, 2 mins then stir then 30 to 60 seconds longer. Buying eggs from major distributors can be expensive, I have cocoons available for breeding and pre-diapause eggs right now.

 

[Andie]

I keep my silkworms at room temp and have awesome results compared to when I did the whole keep them at 80 degrees thing. I keep them covered when they're tiny otherwise the food dries out too fast. I would highly recommend leaves. I raise about 300 per month to cocoons and leaves can be a chore but it gives much better results than with chow, although chow is convenient I get larger but fewer eggs and the babies don't seem to do as well even though they're bigger. Making your chow in the microwave is best, I use 56 grams of chow, and a little less than 3/4 cup of water and wrap, 2 mins then stir then 30 to 60 seconds longer. Buying eggs from major distributors can be expensive, I have cocoons available for breeding and pre-diapause eggs right now.

OK. After this posting, I have a new question. I'm only feeding 2 chams at the moment; a Panther and a Carpet. I'm wondering if it would be worth it to order a couple of dwarf mulberry trees, keep them inside, and feed the leaves to the worms.
The question is: approximately how many leaves would 200 newly hatched worms eat? Would 2 plants be enough, if they were large enough?
I found a website selling 2 dwarf trees that can be planted and maintained indoors and they'll bear fruit year round. (my favorite berry!)

 

[Dro B]

The female trees have a lot less leaf and I the berries stain badly. It doesn't take much to get them to maybe 1.5 inches, but that's where your troubles begin, the eat like fiends and eat a ton. I once raised 600 on leaf alone and for the last 2\3rd of thier life I haf to gather roughly 2 paper grocery bags stuffed with leaves every day. It's a good option for feeders, but not if you want to grow them all the way. I use males, they're flowers are short lived and after that it's nothing but leaf. I may have some customized dwarf trees later this year, I learned how to make them so it just depends on how well it goes and what parameter people will want, but for now I'm using cuttings the way they do in asia/India because it works really good.

 

[JaniP]

JaniP,
Any chance you can post a pic of the paper plate idea? I'm trying to picture it but can't quite manage.
I put the petri dish the eggs were attached to into a small, glass aquarium, outfitted with egg crate-supported plastic canvas. I grated the food on top of them, but I like your idea better.

I certainly can! I will do that when I get home tonight.