Silkworms! How to hatch eggs?

[MissSkittles]

Well, quite a surprise this morning. As I was tending to my moths and their eggs, I found some newly hatched bebes! It’s crazy! I had the eggs put aside while waiting for them to darken enough for the fridge, so they were probably laid just a couple of days ago. Little over achievers! There’s only a few of them, but oddly it’s eggs from 2 different cups. I had to go thru all of the newly darkened eggs to make sure they don’t look like they’ll be hatching. I’m leaving one cup out as a test to see what happens.

 

[Ghostbirb]

Well, quite a surprise this morning. As I was tending to my moths and their eggs, I found some newly hatched bebes! It’s crazy! I had the eggs put aside while waiting for them to darken enough for the fridge, so they were probably laid just a couple of days ago. Little over achievers! There’s only a few of them, but oddly it’s eggs from 2 different cups. I had to go thru all of the newly darkened eggs to make sure they don’t look like they’ll be hatching. I’m leaving one cup out as a test to see what happens.
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Woah that's a surprise!

 

[elizaann2]

Well, quite a surprise this morning. As I was tending to my moths and their eggs, I found some newly hatched bebes! It’s crazy! I had the eggs put aside while waiting for them to darken enough for the fridge, so they were probably laid just a couple of days ago. Little over achievers! There’s only a few of them, but oddly it’s eggs from 2 different cups. I had to go thru all of the newly darkened eggs to make sure they don’t look like they’ll be hatching. I’m leaving one cup out as a test to see what happens.
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Omg! I forget how tiny they are! Mine are still in the fridge I need to pull them out this month

 

[MissSkittles]

Interesting observation to share. I had some more freshly laid eggs hatch out and I think I might have found the reason. The area which I had placed the cups gets some nice indirect afternoon sunlight in spots. I noticed the sun hitting one that the eggs had that lighter grey color and sure enough, those hatched the next day.

 

[dinomom]

Interesting observation to share. I had some more freshly laid eggs hatch out and I think I might have found the reason. The area which I had placed the cups gets some nice indirect afternoon sunlight in spots. I noticed the sun hitting one that the eggs had that lighter grey color and sure enough, those hatched the next day.

So maybe the heat?

Also when my eggs are close to hatching time I lightly spray with water and it almost always gets them hatching right away.

 

[Ghostbirb]

Interesting observation to share. I had some more freshly laid eggs hatch out and I think I might have found the reason. The area which I had placed the cups gets some nice indirect afternoon sunlight in spots. I noticed the sun hitting one that the eggs had that lighter grey color and sure enough, those hatched the next day.

Maybe next time you can do a experiment to see if it works again next time

 

[MissSkittles]

So maybe the heat?

Also when my eggs are close to hatching time I lightly spray with water and it almost always gets them hatching right away.

Not sure if it’s just the heat or heat plus light. I think the combination triggered them. Yes, when I saw the eggs had that light grey about to hatch look, I placed a moistened paper towel loosely over the tops of the cups (left a small gap for ventilation).

 

[MissSkittles]

Well, well, well. Isn’t life just chock full of surprises. As my current silkmoth breeding is pretty much drawing to it’s end, I am putting stuff away & what not. I had a small stack of the Dixie cups that I had set aside as the eggs seemed infertile & I was just waiting to confirm it. As I was checking, more surprise hatchlings from 3 separate cups! What?! The cups were stacked so no light and no unusual heat. I now have no idea what the heck is going on and am starting to doubt what little I know about silkworms. Anyhow, just thought I’d share my confusion.

 

[Ghostbirb]

@MissSkittles ahh help! One of my silkworms doesn’t have a cocoon and it’s pupating or whatever the word is! What should I do? I have no extra cocoons to transport it into

 

[MissSkittles]

@MissSkittles ahh help! One of my silkworms doesn’t have a cocoon and it’s pupating or whatever the word is! What should I do? I have no extra cocoons to transport it into

If you have any extra silk from the silky craziness, you can gently and loosely wrap it. Or just keep it protected. I’ve had some that will hatch irregardless of having a cocoon.

 

[BE GROW]

I feel that keeping these will make every day full of interest. I wanna do this.

 

[Firewallx]

Hi, so I just felt like adding my two cents here. I've been raising silkworms since 2020. I've also read alot about the topic. Mating can be from several hours to about a day. I've seen both. I've read that a female can give between 300 - 500 eggs, although other sources have cited different numbers. I've found it to vary from female to female. Ones with bigger abdomens are usually carrying more eggs.

I've always heard that the eggs take between 7-21 days to hatch, and while mine usually fall within the latter part of this range, I've also had some exceptions such as ones as old as two months hatching. If your eggs turn black three days after being laid, they are in diapause and should be put in the fridge for about two months to simulate passing winter in their dormant stage. However if the eggs don't turn dark in three days and you see a bit of orange with a yellow spot in the middle, and then eventually darkens, well these do not go in the fridge and will hatch right away. Trust me, I learned that the hard way.

For difficulty, personally I would say that the first year is the most difficult because even if you have done your research, there's still more to learn from experience. It's especially hard if you end up with sick worms. I find it easier now to manage them, and it takes less time, but they take more work than other caterpillars because they depend on you entirely.

Here's a picture of a female silkmoth with her freshly laid eggs:

 

[Raymond1412]

Hi, so I just felt like adding my two cents here. I've been raising silkworms since 2020. I've also read alot about the topic. Mating can be from several hours to about a day. I've seen both. I've read that a female can give between 300 - 500 eggs, although other sources have cited different numbers. I've found it to vary from female to female. Ones with bigger abdomens are usually carrying more eggs.

I've always heard that the eggs take between 7-21 days to hatch, and while mine usually fall within the latter part of this range, I've also had some exceptions such as ones as old as two months hatching. If your eggs turn black three days after being laid, they are in diapause and should be put in the fridge for about two months to simulate passing winter in their dormant stage. However if the eggs don't turn dark in three days and you see a bit of orange with a yellow spot in the middle, and then eventually darkens, well these do not go in the fridge and will hatch right away. Trust me, I learned that the hard way.

For difficulty, personally I would say that the first year is the most difficult because even if you have done your research, there's still more to learn from experience. It's especially hard if you end up with sick worms. I find it easier now to manage them, and it takes less time, but they take more work than other caterpillars because they depend on you entirely.

Here's a picture of a female silkmoth with her freshly laid eggs:

Thank you for that helpful information!! I recently bought 50 large silkworms from FramsChams, and they are great!! However, a couple of days ago, I started noticing cocoons popping up everywhere, I think I have about 10-12 right now. Is it smart to breed silkworms without experience? It's something I want to try since Daffodil really likes them. If I were to breed silkworms, would I need a bigger container than the one I have right now? I'll try to attach some pictures.

 

[Raymond1412]

Hi, so I just felt like adding my two cents here. I've been raising silkworms since 2020. I've also read alot about the topic. Mating can be from several hours to about a day. I've seen both. I've read that a female can give between 300 - 500 eggs, although other sources have cited different numbers. I've found it to vary from female to female. Ones with bigger abdomens are usually carrying more eggs.

I've always heard that the eggs take between 7-21 days to hatch, and while mine usually fall within the latter part of this range, I've also had some exceptions such as ones as old as two months hatching. If your eggs turn black three days after being laid, they are in diapause and should be put in the fridge for about two months to simulate passing winter in their dormant stage. However if the eggs don't turn dark in three days and you see a bit of orange with a yellow spot in the middle, and then eventually darkens, well these do not go in the fridge and will hatch right away. Trust me, I learned that the hard way.

For difficulty, personally I would say that the first year is the most difficult because even if you have done your research, there's still more to learn from experience. It's especially hard if you end up with sick worms. I find it easier now to manage them, and it takes less time, but they take more work than other caterpillars because they depend on you entirely.

Here's a picture of a female silkmoth with her freshly laid eggs:

Here are some pictures:

 

[Ghostbirb]

Unfortunately I had to forgo my old eggs, but I have two pupated silkworms right now so hopefully one is female and the other is male
If not I’ll just buy some larger silkworms and try to have multiple cocoon next time

 

[MissSkittles]

If your eggs turn black three days after being laid, they are in diapause and should be put in the fridge for about two months to simulate passing winter in their dormant stage. However if the eggs don't turn dark in three days and you see a bit of orange with a yellow spot in the middle, and then eventually darkens, well these do not go in the fridge and will hatch right away.

Huh! I’ve never seen the eggs with a bit of orange with a yellow spot. Maybe since I didn’t know to look for it, I missed it. Next time around I’ll definitely be checking with my magnifying glass.

 

[Firewallx]

Thank you for that helpful information!! I recently bought 50 large silkworms from FramsChams, and they are great!! However, a couple of days ago, I started noticing cocoons popping up everywhere, I think I have about 10-12 right now. Is it smart to breed silkworms without experience? It's something I want to try since Daffodil really likes them. If I were to breed silkworms, would I need a bigger container than the one I have right now? I'll try to attach some pictures.

It's ok to breed silkworms without prior experience, everyone begins that way. I'd just say that it is important to learn as much as you can about the process as you can so that you are well prepared.

Huh! I’ve never seen the eggs with a bit of orange with a yellow spot. Maybe since I didn’t know to look for it, I missed it. Next time around I’ll definitely be checking with my magnifying glass.

Well I've seen it only on eggs that do not go into diapause. Also, I am using a video magnifier (the kind that the visually impaired use). I have a picture that shows it. It is most visible on the egg in center - right. It didn't come out great but usually this is pale orange and you see a bit of yellow in the center.

The orange becomes the body, the yellow is just the center of the egg. Here you can see further development:

 

[Firewallx]

Here's one of the diapaused eggs just before hatching. Notice the color difference between this and the above.

 

[MissSkittles]

Wow! I love your magnifier! Every now and then I’ll find a few eggs that look kind of like your middle picture, but this is after they’ve been diapaused and I’ve had them out for hatching. Those eggs never hatch and I’ve just assumed that for whatever reason the baby died. They are always mixed in with a batch of regular eggs. My last go round, I did have a surprise with some eggs hatching within days of being laid. I saw that they had reached the pale grey/pre-hatching color so kept them out. I thought it was because the afternoon sun hit them just right.

 

[Firewallx]

Wow! I love your magnifier! Every now and then I’ll find a few eggs that look kind of like your middle picture, but this is after they’ve been diapaused and I’ve had them out for hatching. Those eggs never hatch and I’ve just assumed that for whatever reason the baby died. They are always mixed in with a batch of regular eggs. My last go round, I did have a surprise with some eggs hatching within days of being laid. I saw that they had reached the pale grey/pre-hatching color so kept them out. I thought it was because the afternoon sun hit them just right.

Well the reason that some eggs don't go into diapause while others do has to do with the strain of silkworms we use. There are some that are univoltine, meaning one brood per year, so they always have diapause eggs thinking that the eggs will have to overwinter. There are also bivoltine and polyvoltine strains which will have some non-diapausing broods.

It's like some other butterflies and moths: some species have one generation during the year and they overwinter while other species may go through a few generations in a year before producing the overwintering generation.

For the ones who are of the bi or poly voltine varieties, what their eggs will do depends on what conditions the mother experienced in her egg stage.