dead silkworms?

[wendysjungle]

Well, I ordered silkworms from a private party and am not sure they shipped well. Today I received a grat big stinky ball of frass with worms embedded in it, and have spent the past hour trying to extract the worms from the sticky ball. I now have maybe a dozen moving worms, and a pile of smelly, frass coated worms that aren't moving at all. Anything I can do here? I'm assuming rinsing is a no no, but do I assume anything unmoving is dead? I've never had silkworms before, so do I toss the ones that aren't moving, or wait for a Great Worm Revival???

 

[mika]

Try tapping the container. If it moves, it's alive. If not, it's dead or nearing death

 

[wendysjungle]

Oh, I've done much more than tap! These thing are absolutely COATED in frass, just a giant smelly mass all stuck together. I just didn't know if they go through any growth stages where they don't move, as these are all young, less than 1 inch, and I didn't want to toss them if they are possibly alive when unmoving.

12 movers extracted, everybody else is laying around on their frass.

 

[Brian]

Sorry to tell you this but If there not moving there probably dead. Usually when there dead they stink and look a little wet.

Brian

 

[wendysjungle]

Well they definitely stink, but I assumed that was due to the giant ball of poop they are stuck in. Can't tell if they are wet, they are too coated with frass and I am trying to dry everything out so the frass falls off and I can see if there are any more live ones. This is seriously gross.

 

[CleanLineChameleons]

Yea, if they aren't moving then they are done. Just pick out the ones that are. I get mine shipped from the west coast occassionally (mulberry farms) and they normally make it here Priority no problem, though I have had one get lost in the mail for a few days and that greatly affected the number that were alive. How were they shipped??? USPS Priority is the most common. Did they get lost in the mail a few days?

-chris

 

[wendysjungle]

No, shipped priority mail form Georgia on Thursday and arrived here in Washington today, so the weekend added an extra transit day, but that's about all. How are they normally packaged? I wonder if that could be the problem.

 

[Brian]

No, shipped priority mail form Georgia on Thursday and arrived here in Washington today, so the weekend added an extra transit day, but that's about all. How are they normally packaged? I wonder if that could be the problem.

I just shipped 150 to a form member, but I went ahead and did express shipping because of the weekend, even though he was located in the same state as me. They all arrived alive. I think it was the weakend and the heat that got them.

Brian

 

[CleanLineChameleons]

Normally they are in deli cups with chow on the bottom with a screen on the lid. Then they are put in a box with peanuts and away they go.

-chris

 

[wendysjungle]

These were in one of those disposable flat tupperware containers, slightly longer than sandwich sized, lid sealed tight with no airholes and a piece of coated wire grate (not screen) inside. This was sealed in a cardboard box with plastic grocery bags for padding. Did they maybe just suffocate?