Breeding wax worms

[Shauna_T]

I was wondering... I have bread wax worms previously and thought I would ask how others have done it. I was thinking about starting another colony of them for some treats for my cham. I was thinking about incorporating some bee pollen into their diet as well as my miner-all vitamins. Does anyone have any thoughts on this and what did you feed your wax worms?

 

[MissSkittles]

I’ve successfully bred wax worms before, but I had a problem getting them out of the little cocoon-like capsules they encased themselves in. I wonder how professional bug breeders do it. Currently I have some baby wax worms (unintentional breeding) that are taking forever to grow. I keep them in a mix of wheat bran and oatmeal mixed with just enough honey to form small loose clumps. Maybe I should give them some bee pollen. It might help them grow faster.

 

[Shauna_T]

I’ve successfully bred wax worms before, but I had a problem getting them out of the little cocoon-like capsules they encased themselves in. I wonder how professional bug breeders do it. Currently I have some baby wax worms (unintentional breeding) that are taking forever to grow. I keep them in a mix of wheat bran and oatmeal mixed with just enough honey to form small loose clumps. Maybe I should give them some bee pollen. It might help them grow faster.

It is tedious getting them out of their cocoon but if you open one end and gently pintch the other you can usually get them to come right out. Also I used to keep them on top of my snake cage to give them a little extra warmth and that helps them grow as well. All my lights and heat were inside the Viv. It was a wood top so it was just a little more than luke warm not hot.

 

[MissSkittles]

It is tedious getting them out of their cocoon but if you open one end and gently pintch the other you can usually get them to come right out. Also I used to keep them on top of my snake cage to give them a little extra warmth and that helps them grow as well. All my lights and heat were inside the Viv. It was a wood top so it was just a little more than luke warm not hot.

Ahh…they might need some heat then. I plopped a small bit of pollen on top of their substrate & will see if they take it or not.