Silkworm moths

[Cruciform]

Well, I got a surprise when I got home tonight

The two silkworms who were feeders-turned-pets came out of their cocoons sometime today, and there are now two silkworm moths hanging out on my bookcase.

Pretty cool. Guess I better do some reading about them and see what comes next.

If you have mulberry bushes growing in your neighborhood it's a worthwhile experiment just watching them grow and change.

[CarlC]

Just put the 2 moth's together. If you have a pair they will start doing their business within a couple of hours. Get thm on clean paper towel.
The females have much larger abdoman than the males. Males will "dance" around the females fluttering their wings. Copulation lasts from 1-5 hours.
Once the female starts laying ova she will have them everywhere. The eggs will be white or clearish for a few hours. Once the outer shell hardens the ova will turn dark gray. After they have turned dark fold up the paper towel and place in the refrigerator for a month or two.

Carl

[DragnDrop]

Originally posted by Cruciform

Pretty cool. Guess I better do some reading about them and see what comes next.

Not much left to their lives. Moths don't live long, their only purpose is to produce the next generation.




Males usually die within hours of mating, though I've seen some hang on long enough to mate a second time. Females die soon after laying their eggs. The moths don't even eat, they don't have functional mouth parts. They only live with one purpose in mind.

Since moths don't eat and can't be gutloaded, I have no idea how nutritious they are, but they do go over very well as treats with my chameleons and leopard geckos.

[Linds]

LOL Hilde you take the best pics

[Cruciform]

Funny The leo wouldn't take the worms, but she munched down the moths with only slight hesitation.

Since they don't stink, I think I'll be feeding her those instead of mealies.