1st attempt to breed hornworms!
- Thread starter sterling archer
- Start date
sterling archer
New Member
Oh ok maybe ill do n experiment one in dirt one on paper towel and see if it makes a difference..
sterling archer
New Member
Hey guys does anyone know the sugar:water ratio for hornworm moths?
ColombiaCham
Member
hummingbird nectar works well.
sterling archer
New Member
That something i can buy from a garden center?
Trillian
New Member
My moths just hatched! And I have the same question. I read that commercial nectar isn't necessary for hummingbirds, it just has additives. The ratio for hummingbirds is 1 part white sugar to 4 parts water, which I'm guessing would work for the hawkmoths? They are in a mesh pop-up laundry bin at the moment, which I'm hoping will give them enough space to fly and enough air circulating. Are they nocturnal?
mclovin
New Member
I just had my hornworms do everything successfully so here's what I did: They were in a plastic bin with dirt in it (in their cocoons) in a screen cage 16x16x30 I think it is. I put a hummingbird feeder at the top with the hummingbird nectar inside. I put a dowel in there as well (I saw it in someone else's setup). In case they couldn't aim their long feeding tubes into the hummingbird feeder slots, I put a container with some hummingbird nectar in there that had holes in the top (I saw this as well in another setup). I had a small umbrella plant in there that I took out when some of my moths hatched and weren't able to fly (their wings weren't fully extended and they just died off). I finally got 3 moths that had full, usable wings. They're not active during the day but they fly around in there at night and after a day or two I noticed eggs all over the hummingbird feeder and screen. I also noticed they were using both the hummingbird feeder and container to eat from (the nectar dries white and there was some on the lid of the container). Just a note - no one in my area had tomato plants so I bought some tomatoes on the vine from the grocery store and put them around the cage and on top. It's been maybe a week and I came home to a bunch of tiny worms on the screen Tuesday night which I gently lifted off and moved to a container. I took the hummingbird feeder down and pushed all of those eggs off and into the same container. I made them some food from the hornworm chow recipe you can find online or in the forums and today I have probably 3x the worms I had Tuesday night so I know the eggs are hatching. The worms are tiny with a long black hair like thing sticking out of their butts. It's almost the length of their bodies right now. Next time I'll leave the umbrella plant in and hope she lays on the leaves but for now, it worked and I'm super excited.
ColombiaCham
Member
The best info is here
http://insected.arizona.edu/manduca/default.html
and yes the humming bird formula does have some preservatives but it is also made from sucrose. The problem with doing it yourself is that it can kill the moths if done incorrectly. So save yourself the time and buy the nectar it is easier trust me.
My set up is as follows:
I have an old 2x2x4 cage with a hummingbird feeder hanging from the middle. I also have a 4oz cup with the lid punched with half dozen holes hanging by fishing line. These will help your moths to feed and produce more eggs.
The moths will mate and will be active and laying eggs from dusk till dawn.
I use a tomato plant with large leaves inside the cage. You have to remove the plant every day and look on the underside of the leaves but look everywhere. Remove all the eggs. Repeat this process until the moths die or you feed them off
. The eggs will hatch about 3-5 days later.
Before they hatch cut a 2-1/2" x 4" piece of screen and create a small ramp using the 1/2" part of the 2-1/2" side. put a everything inside a Tupperware container with tiny holes on the lid and line it with a paper towel. Put the eggs (about 30 per container) on the lower side of the ramp and the food on the high side. When the worms hatch they will crawl to the food. The frass will fall through the screen on to the paper towel. replace the paper towel everyday. Make sure you feed the worms what they can eat in one day. too much and the food will get moldy to little and they will eat each other. Do this until the frass does not longer pass through the screen. At this point you can can transfer them in to a pod or a bigger container with larger mesh size screen. At this point the worms will grow to adult size very quickly. so i suggest you start putting some of the containers in a wine cooler 1 day in 1 day out and this will stun the growth. Allow one of the containers outside completely so these can be used to start the process all over again.
Hope this helps
http://insected.arizona.edu/manduca/default.html
and yes the humming bird formula does have some preservatives but it is also made from sucrose. The problem with doing it yourself is that it can kill the moths if done incorrectly. So save yourself the time and buy the nectar it is easier trust me.
My set up is as follows:
I have an old 2x2x4 cage with a hummingbird feeder hanging from the middle. I also have a 4oz cup with the lid punched with half dozen holes hanging by fishing line. These will help your moths to feed and produce more eggs.
The moths will mate and will be active and laying eggs from dusk till dawn.
I use a tomato plant with large leaves inside the cage. You have to remove the plant every day and look on the underside of the leaves but look everywhere. Remove all the eggs. Repeat this process until the moths die or you feed them off
. The eggs will hatch about 3-5 days later. Before they hatch cut a 2-1/2" x 4" piece of screen and create a small ramp using the 1/2" part of the 2-1/2" side. put a everything inside a Tupperware container with tiny holes on the lid and line it with a paper towel. Put the eggs (about 30 per container) on the lower side of the ramp and the food on the high side. When the worms hatch they will crawl to the food. The frass will fall through the screen on to the paper towel. replace the paper towel everyday. Make sure you feed the worms what they can eat in one day. too much and the food will get moldy to little and they will eat each other. Do this until the frass does not longer pass through the screen. At this point you can can transfer them in to a pod or a bigger container with larger mesh size screen. At this point the worms will grow to adult size very quickly. so i suggest you start putting some of the containers in a wine cooler 1 day in 1 day out and this will stun the growth. Allow one of the containers outside completely so these can be used to start the process all over again.
Hope this helps
mclovin
New Member
Lol...one of mine escaped. I caught it in a shoebox after I peeled myself off the ceiling.
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