BREEDING WAXWORMS

Srt14292

Est; 1992
Messages
1,294
Location
London, UK
Well I don't believe there is a thread on this already, so here it is.
My way to breed your own waxworms.
Be warned the home bred waxworms can get up to over an inch in length, and are ALOT faster then shop bought.

1. Basically what you will need is:
- A jar (Plastic, tall if possible remember you are housing moths however its not mega important.)
- Bodywork mesh (if you are English you can get this at halfords, Americans I think home depo or your equivalent of a B&Q might do it, it must be small hole'd mesh.
- Culture medium (see next section)
- Corrugated card
- A tub of waxworms (approx 20 - 30).

2. Culture medium:
This is one of the most important sections, many people get this wrong and it is why their cultures fail.
You will need,
- Some wheatabix, or wheat germ if you have it. Cheap supermarket brands are ok the waxworms are not going to notice.
wcfija.jpg

- Glycerine ( It is used in cake mixes can be picked up from local store, this is optional)
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- Calcium and vitamins (they are optional but I like to use them)
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- Honey
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...To make the medium I crush a load of the Wheatabix into a tub (the ammount depends on the size of your tub, bare in mind you can always make more.
...Once this is crushed and it resembles wheat germ, add some of the calcium and vitamins if you are using it. Only 2 or 3 large pinches each, again depends on the size of your tub and medium mixture.
...Add a few drops of Glycerine if you are using it.
... Now you need to warm the honey up, I tend to put this in a pot over a glass of boiled water so it turns really runny.
8y94w4.jpg

...Add this bit by bit to your mixture while turning it over untill you get the required consistancy, the consistancy you are looking for is like when you prepare vermiculite, needs to stick together when squeezed in hand, but easily crumbles.
...Once this is done it can be stored in the fridge for later use, or use it all at once.

3. Now what you want to do is layer your tub with around 2-3 inches of the medium.

4. This is where your corrugated cardboard comes in, this takes time but find a couple of peices, you need to take away one side so you are left with one flat side, and the other side is the bumpy ledge like side.
This takes time but get the peices so they can stand veritcally in your tub, with the ridges running horizontally.

5. once you have added the cardboard its time to set to work with the mesh, cut a sizeable hole into the top of your plastic lid, this is where the mesh is going to go, stick it underneath the top of the lid with superglue etc, make sure it covers the whole of the hole. Make sure you can still fit your lid onto the tub.

6. Now the hard part is over! Believe it or not, Just add 20 - 30 waxworms and wait.

Heres a picture of a fresh batch I made today.
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7. You now just need to wait around 8 weeks for the moths to emerge, lay the eggs on the cardboard and die off, once ALL moths have died, remove them from the tub, do not try it while you still have live ones in there, unless you want them escaping.

Rough time line :
Start: Waxworms added
Week 2-3 : Waxmoths emerge
Week 4-6: Medium teaming with small to medium waxworms
Week 8 onwards: The waxworms will be getting BIG now, its ready to harvest whenever you want.

This is only a rough timeline it was in dark warm conditions.

MAINTENANCE: there is no real maintenance needed, just check up often to find there is not a load of moisture as this will kill them.
As usual they can be kept in the fridge to prolong their lives. Again bare in mind when harvesting, these are alot faster then shop bought worms.

When you have made the culture, after a few times you will get to know a recipe for yourself and you can tweak it.

Once you harvest them just pack up in tubs with some shavings and leave to pupate if not already.

ENJOY.
 

LizMarie

New Member
Messages
2,002
Location
NYC
Interesting.

Snakegirl I believe already has a tutorial somewhere around here on how to breed waxies but she might do it just a tad bit differently
 

Srt14292

Est; 1992
Messages
1,294
Location
London, UK
Interesting.

Snakegirl I believe already has a tutorial somewhere around here on how to breed waxies but she might do it just a tad bit differently

I did have a look before I posted the thread, I think she has done one on mealworms not waxworms.
If im wrong correct me. :)
 

GeckoGathering

GrizLaru
Messages
4,323
Location
Indiana
WAX WORMS / BEE MOTHS, Grubs, Ahaaa yes.

Ahh bad Liz, Yeah I suppose more then one
method isn't all that bad.

Hey Sean of London.
I commend your efforts on this thread.
Great job in directions too.
I have tried and raised them.
Maybe you can answer a question on one
of the reasons I quit. Unlike your jar or tub
I raised them in a 10 gal. aquarium.
Screen on top, honey, bran, etc. I couldn't get any size
out of them before they went into a cocoon
stage.
I have a very inexpensive source
for them so I went with that.
Enjoyed the experience but always wondered.
..........assumed I needed a cooler location.
What would you say?
Take care. Hj

 

Srt14292

Est; 1992
Messages
1,294
Location
London, UK
Hey Sean of London.
I commend your efforts on this thread.
Great job in directions too.
I have tried and raised them.
Maybe you can answer a question on one
of the reasons I quit. Unlike your jar or tub
I raised them in a 10 gal. aquarium.
Screen on top, honey, bran, etc. I couldn't get any size
out of them before they went into a cocoon
stage.
I have a very inexpensive source
for them so I went with that.
Enjoyed the experience but always wondered.
..........assumed I needed a cooler location.
What would you say?
Take care. Hj


Hey HJ. Generally I see that if they are warm then they grow and eat faster,
So I have mine sitting either in the airing cupboard, or on top of one of the vivs that is quite warm, aslong as they are gently heated you should get some nice big ones.
I would also try moving to a smaller tub, height would be more important than floor space in this occaison, and after about 6 weeks its all a waiting game, once you find some that are resembling the size you want, just collect a few in old waxie tubs you have with a few wood shavings and put them in a colder place or in the fridge, this way they will not cuccoon for around 3-4 months, and you can continue feeding off of them, by that time the next culture would have yeilded some fruits.
I allways after harvesting start a new culture with around 25-30 of the waxies from the harvest, Just keeps it stable so by the time I have used all of the waxies in the fridge I have more to harvest so on and so forth.

Hope this helped.

Sean
 

GeckoGathering

GrizLaru
Messages
4,323
Location
Indiana
WAX WORMS

Thanks Sean.
My raising quarters was always a little bit of
concern.....think that might have been a factor
now that I've heard of someone raising them
without the problems I had.
In my further tests on increasing the life time
of them I find that mixing layer hen crumbles
with the shavings, storing in a little fridge
at 55 degrees, and removing once a week for
24 hours will decrease the black dead ones
and increase the life time/cycling.
Good thread.
Enjoyed London for 2 years.
Take care. HJ
 

Srt14292

Est; 1992
Messages
1,294
Location
London, UK
I might have to try that fridge trick, Thanks for the complements and your input.
Glad you enjoyed London, its a nice place really.
 

Srt14292

Est; 1992
Messages
1,294
Location
London, UK
Just a quick update on the culture, It was started on the 23rd of last month its now the 5/6 th of october and most have cuccooned. Pictures follow.
This is what you are looking for :
vrvuhk.jpg

The one at the bottom is the uncuccooned waxie Rest look kinda burnt but rest assured they wiggle!

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In the pot.
 

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