12 cocoons and counting

[seanUTD]

So I just fed the remaining silks and I counted 12 cocoons finished/in process.. The info I got from these forums was amazing... As soon as I turned off the heater and gave them a night/day cycle... They absolutely FLOURISHED and started getting into the tubes... Now is there any tips for influencing mating and breaking out of cocoons? I really want the best success rate as my chams really enjoy their silks...

 

[suzi]

Yay Sean! Wahoooo mine just broke out and started mating straight away and were interlocked for days! Only one didn't come out! You probably won't have to many problems with that part, raising the babies for me is the hard part

 

[seanUTD]

Did you move them to a different type of substrate... i.e. what were the female mating and laying eggs on??

 

[Ace]

you can put them in a seperate plastic container, pair them off

they will be locked together for a couple days, once the male finishes, just leave the female alone in the container, on a little piece of papertowel

she will lay lots of little yellow eggs

i can post pics of how mine looks if you want....i have eggs that should hatch soon

the males were fed to my cham ZUlu

 

[seanUTD]

you can put them in a seperate plastic container, pair them off

they will be locked together for a couple days, once the male finishes, just leave the female alone in the container, on a little piece of papertowel

she will lay lots of little yellow eggs

i can post pics of how mine looks if you want....i have eggs that should hatch soon

the males were fed to my cham ZUlu

PLEASE DO!!! I would love to see some pics

 

[suzi]

I didn't even pair mine off they paired themselves and stayed that way for days like Ace said. When they cocooned I transferred the toilet paper rolls with the cocoons in a large plastic cricket keeper lined with paper towel. They hatched paired themselves, mated for days and then the females laid hundreds of eggs all over the paper towel and on the toilet paper rolls some right in the silk.

 

[dinamite]

How do you tell the males from the females?

 

[Ace]

I didn't even pair mine off they paired themselves and stayed that way for days like Ace said. When they cocooned I transferred the toilet paper rolls with the cocoons in a large plastic cricket keeper lined with paper towel. They hatched paired themselves, mated for days and then the females laid hundreds of eggs all over the paper towel and on the toilet paper rolls some right in the silk.

you are right they pair them selves off, but i had multiple males trying to "attack" a few females i had, so i decided to pairt them off in a little container and make it easier for me and the females. the males go at it

How do you tell the males from the females?

you can tell males have longer abdomens and longer antanae?? i will post pics of the moths i had and them mating and eggs

 

[Ace]

 

[suzi]

you are right they pair them selves off, but i had multiple males trying to "attack" a few females i had, so i decided to pairt them off in a little container and make it easier for me and the females. the males go at it

MEN

you can tell males have longer abdomens and longer antanae?? i will post pics of the moths i had and them mating and eggs

Yes the females are much thicker!

Hey Ace, lady silkworm told me to wait 1 month then refrigerate the ones that are not slate blue, but most of mine are slate blue and it has been just over a month and none have hatched, even incubated. Do you think they should be refrigerated or not? I have heard stories of some hatching up to 5 years! The last eggs I raised to moths were bought, these are my first laid so I am still learning the diapause cycles and generations, it gets a bit confusing

 

[Ace]

Yes the females are much thicker!

Hey Ace, lady silkworm told me to wait 1 month then refrigerate the ones that are not slate blue, but most of mine are slate blue and it has been just over a month and none have hatched, even incubated. Do you think they should be refrigerated or not? I have heard stories of some hatching up to 5 years! The last eggs I raised to moths were bought, these are my first laid so I am still learning the diapause cycles and generations, it gets a bit confusing

to tell you the truth this is my first laid eggs as well, that i bought large silkworms from coastal silkworms, iwouldnt know on your question to refrigerate or not...and sorry for not knowing but what do you man by turning "slate blue"

and i know its not the best but ive gone this far by "going with the flow" aspect

and i dont know when my eggs will hatch (hopefully) i read about 10 days???

i know the hatchling silks are black....i am not aware of the cycles during incubation they havve to go through

im taking things as they go

 

[suzi]

to tell you the truth this is my first laid eggs as well, that i bought large silkworms from coastal silkworms, iwouldnt know on your question to refrigerate or not...and sorry for not knowing but what do you man by turning "slate blue"

and i know its not the best but ive gone this far by "going with the flow" aspect

and i dont know when my eggs will hatch (hopefully) i read about 10 days???

i know the hatchling silks are black....i am not aware of the cycles during incubation they havve to go through

im taking things as they go

Oh ok, the eggs usually turn a slate blue color right before they hatch, (light blue) I have bought eggs that hatch out in 7 to ten days, but it is different when They are laid. I heard they are sprayed with something when you buy them. They also know when to sell them in terms of there dia pause cycle. From what I have read you can have the same batch hatch out at different times. Some need to be subjected to cold, some will hatch out a room temp or higher and some may be infertile, all from the same batch, and the colors of the eggs will indicate it. Yellow, purple, blue, black. Then there is the fact that some are one generation and some two generation, meaning you can only get one generation or two depending on what kind of silk worm (zebra, etc...) I also just do it and learn as I go sometimes, this time it is a tad bit more complex than I first might have thought live and learn! hopefully we will all hatch out some tasty treats