My silkworm moth breeding project has been a success so far. I have been researching it quite a bit but have some questions. From my research I am finding that this diapause thing is not a clear cut as I had assumed. I went into it thinking that if the eggs turned dark they were fertile and would require a couple of months in the fridge for the diapause phase. I am now finding information saying that if they turn dark brown they are in diapause and should be refrigerated. If they turn dark gray/bluish they do not need to be refridgerated and will hatch without forced diapause.
Congrats on your successful breeding! And now is the waiting part
Diapause is not clear cut, because of diff lines in today's silkworms. Some eggs are dark purple, some brown when they go into diapause. Some eggs will go into diapaause and some not from the same moths that laid them IN THE SAME BROOD. It has to be with the amt of light their parental EGGs were exposed to and what their neurosis tell them to do. Some eggs will hibernate, and some won't, given the same batch also. So , if you raise them in spring vs fall there is going to be difference as well due to the length of daylight.
"If they turn dark gray/bluish they do not need to be refridgerated and will hatch without forced diapause. "
there is no forced diapause. There is just forced UNDIAPAUSE by acid wash.
"If so I have refrigerated some gray blue eggs. Will they now die or will they hatch when warmed up? "
There is ONE Thing NOT to do, is to refrigerate greyish/slate colored eggs. That means they have reached the point of hatching. Take them out before 5 days is up.. let them warm up slowly and expose them to light. THey probably will hatch... But if you leave them in 40C for two weeks, they will probably die.
It can get very complicated depending on what stage of embryonic development they are when you put them in 40C... witheggs that are being incubated, you can put them back in the fridge as well, but it depends on where they are, if passed certain stages they will die. This is why if you but eggs form CS or MF they say don't put them BACK in cold storage (if you didn't get them overnighted). But for a scientific person with a microscope, you can put the eggs back in the fridge days after they have been sent to you.. with some calculated risks.
I am really wanting this project to work. I take almost as much pride in breeding my feeders as I do breeding my reptiles.
Not to mention the money in food costs it saves!
