Maintaining Tomato/Tobacco Hornworms the easy way

Here is a great way to grow hornworms:

Keep them in plastic “kritter cages”, you know, the ones they sell I pet stores that have green or red vented lids. Put their food paste on the tops of upside-down Styrofoam cups (they wont eat the cups as long as the food does not run dry) and place 2-4 hornworms on each cup top. Place paper towels under the cups and one inside the lids when you close the cage. If you get lucky they will position themselves on the sides of the cups for easy food replacement maintenance (or you can put them there).

Each day, you will be able to remove each cup (with hornworms attached), change out the paper towel and dump out any additional droppings (they will likely be dry), and then re-add the cups that have the hornworms sitting on them. At the same time any dried uneaten food can be removed and new paste added to the cup-tops.

This is by far the easiest, cleanest way to keep them. If you are really motivated, have an additional enclosure that can be used for a swap-cage when the other is being scrubbed once a week.

Also, if you keep them well light 24X7 they will grow faster as they will eat constantly when the lights are on.

I was wondering, does that apply to silkworms as well? (the part about keeping them in light so they eat more)

Have you ever tried to breed hornworms? If so, what is your method for keeping the moths?

yes I would love to know. I have moths and would like them to breed...

Electric said:

I was wondering, does that apply to silkworms as well? (the part about keeping them in light so they eat more)

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I read that a silkworkms rate of growth is from temperature. The warmer it is, the faster they will grow.

alright thanks, I had them in the cool/dark basement, will keep them in the warmer part of the house from now on!