Silkworms are a bit harder to care for then many other worms.
So remember, If its your first time caring or Been breeding for years.
keep in mind that high die off rate are something you need to deal
with. even with perfect care for these Worms.
So remember, If its your first time caring or Been breeding for years.
keep in mind that high die off rate are something you need to deal
with. even with perfect care for these Worms.
Silkworm care
1.) Eggs, when first laid they are a very light yellow. After a day they turn dark. *Any eggs that do not darken after a day are not good* Eggs do not need very much care as long as your temps do not drop under 70F or go over 85F. you can leave them out or even keep them in a incubator around 80F if you want...But really Leave them out on a shelf works just as well :main_rolleyes:
Female moths lay up to 250 eggs EACH!
2.)New hatching silkworms, the eggs turn color and that means they are going to hatch in 48 hours. when they do they are Super small,black, and need food. DO NOT TOUCH. until the silkworms turn white. Touching will kill them very easy (just because you without knowing smash them) Place silkworm food Around the patch of eggs. *within a hour or so they will crawl on it* replace with new everyday or every other day.
hint: Your huge killer right now in this stage is MOLD.
If you let the bin or let the food sit there. Mold will grow and kill
Many if not all. To stop this from happening Only place a Little food at a time.
Making sure the food is dry before replacing with new. *If its to late and mold has hit...Take tweezers and slowly replace each silkworm in to a new bin...But good luck..Because they might still die
3.) White silkworms, your pretty much in the clearing now! All the weak ones should have died off. Always keep your hands clean when handling them but i never use "Tweezers" to pick them up to keep them cleaner:main_rolleyes:. i do use newspaper for bedding. and Feed them EVERYDAY. What people don't know is the huge killer here isn't really ""keeping them clean" But "Keeping the space" Worms do not like being in groups Make sure you can see a good space around the worms making sure they can move around.
(you might notice your silkworms Frozen with there heads up, This is good. it means there growing!)
Killers at this stage: Keeping space! Keep feeding!.Make sure you keep it clean.
Adult silkworms, keep feeding, feeding, feeding! and cleaning. like you have been.they grow a little over 2 inches long! Then there adults. Put down egg crates, Or paper towel rolls if you wish. But i found that just ball up news paper An they will go in there and Cocoon. you can tell when there about to. the silkworm back will almost be clear. then it will become smaller (It should be cocooning now) if not...It will become much smaller and yellow. and might even die.
front worm: Past due to cocoon.
Back worm: perfect size to cocoon.
It takes around a week and they will hatch into moths! YAY
No care here! they do not have any mouths. So any feeding of any kind Isn't needed. they will just start breeding. the live for around a week and die off right before laying there eggs.
they tend to Spray, as you will notice with the egg photo. Don't put these guys near your face:main_lipsrsealed:
Male moths: they are much smaller then the female and wings Tend to only show the top And not there smaller back wings.
Females moths: Many show off there 4 wings, 2 large tops and Small back ones.Also there HUGE. if you flip them over you might even be able to see them eggs
So here is the whole care for them. And i hope this helps. there is no way to sex the normal silkworm. Only when its a moth. However if you want to be able to. Zebra silkworms can be.
photo of adult Zebra silkworms male white, females stripes,
that bin right there was a bit over filled with worms. take out around 50 and it would be perfect. *reason why its packed,because they where being counted to be shipped*
If anyone needs more photos,info,or help mail me and i willbe more then happy to show you! good luck
1.) Eggs, when first laid they are a very light yellow. After a day they turn dark. *Any eggs that do not darken after a day are not good* Eggs do not need very much care as long as your temps do not drop under 70F or go over 85F. you can leave them out or even keep them in a incubator around 80F if you want...But really Leave them out on a shelf works just as well :main_rolleyes:
Female moths lay up to 250 eggs EACH!
2.)New hatching silkworms, the eggs turn color and that means they are going to hatch in 48 hours. when they do they are Super small,black, and need food. DO NOT TOUCH. until the silkworms turn white. Touching will kill them very easy (just because you without knowing smash them) Place silkworm food Around the patch of eggs. *within a hour or so they will crawl on it* replace with new everyday or every other day.
hint: Your huge killer right now in this stage is MOLD.
If you let the bin or let the food sit there. Mold will grow and kill
Many if not all. To stop this from happening Only place a Little food at a time.
Making sure the food is dry before replacing with new. *If its to late and mold has hit...Take tweezers and slowly replace each silkworm in to a new bin...But good luck..Because they might still die
3.) White silkworms, your pretty much in the clearing now! All the weak ones should have died off. Always keep your hands clean when handling them but i never use "Tweezers" to pick them up to keep them cleaner:main_rolleyes:. i do use newspaper for bedding. and Feed them EVERYDAY. What people don't know is the huge killer here isn't really ""keeping them clean" But "Keeping the space" Worms do not like being in groups Make sure you can see a good space around the worms making sure they can move around.
(you might notice your silkworms Frozen with there heads up, This is good. it means there growing!)
Killers at this stage: Keeping space! Keep feeding!.Make sure you keep it clean.
Adult silkworms, keep feeding, feeding, feeding! and cleaning. like you have been.they grow a little over 2 inches long! Then there adults. Put down egg crates, Or paper towel rolls if you wish. But i found that just ball up news paper An they will go in there and Cocoon. you can tell when there about to. the silkworm back will almost be clear. then it will become smaller (It should be cocooning now) if not...It will become much smaller and yellow. and might even die.
front worm: Past due to cocoon.
Back worm: perfect size to cocoon.
It takes around a week and they will hatch into moths! YAY
No care here! they do not have any mouths. So any feeding of any kind Isn't needed. they will just start breeding. the live for around a week and die off right before laying there eggs.
they tend to Spray, as you will notice with the egg photo. Don't put these guys near your face:main_lipsrsealed:
Male moths: they are much smaller then the female and wings Tend to only show the top And not there smaller back wings.
Females moths: Many show off there 4 wings, 2 large tops and Small back ones.Also there HUGE. if you flip them over you might even be able to see them eggs
So here is the whole care for them. And i hope this helps. there is no way to sex the normal silkworm. Only when its a moth. However if you want to be able to. Zebra silkworms can be.
photo of adult Zebra silkworms male white, females stripes,
that bin right there was a bit over filled with worms. take out around 50 and it would be perfect. *reason why its packed,because they where being counted to be shipped*
If anyone needs more photos,info,or help mail me and i willbe more then happy to show you! good luck
