Help me hatch this hornworm moth!

[LindsayG]

Okay so I thought I had started a thread about this awhile back but it also may have been private convo. Anyways, I have had one hornworm in its shell for a couple months now and I just checked on it and totally thought it was dead because I only found one empty half. I found the other half and there is a wiggling moth butt hanging out the end. Hes in with my frog and I just want to make sure this hasn't all been a waste. How can I best ensure he comes out alive? And how could I best get him to lay eggs if and when he does come out? I have a small screen cage if that would work better? Any help is much appreciated

Ps. Don't worry about the frog. He refuses to eat so the moth hasn't been in any danger even though it totally looks that way.

 

[AlienCreeper]

If you only have one, you wont have eggs :/

 

[LindsayG]

If you only have one, you wont have eggs :/

Dang. I didn't think of that lol. Well I have another one but its not close to coming out yet. I still want it to live though. If no eggs I would still feed it to my cham.

 

[LindsayG]

Dang. I didn't think of that lol. Well I have another one but its not close to coming out yet. I still want it to live though. If no eggs I would still feed it to my cham.

I am like way too excited about this lol. I've been waiting for so long for something to happen and I already lost the other 3 I had. It's just exciting to see

 

[AlienCreeper]

Did you have them under any type of lighting while pupating? I've read that increasing the light on time can help speed up the process. I have no personal experience with them yet as I'm still researching but I did read that they can go into diapause if the lighting is not on long enough. Sorry I can't offer any hep on helping get him out tho

 

[LindsayG]

Did you have them under any type of lighting while pupating? I've read that increasing the light on time can help speed up the process. I have no personal experience with them yet as I'm still researching but I did read that they can go into diapause if the lighting is not on long enough. Sorry I can't offer any hep on helping get him out tho

Thank you. Well since he's in with my frog he has lights on 12 hours a day and he gets misted along with the frog. So he definitely has had plenty of light. Although sometimes the when the frog (Tiberius) would move around, the moth would get buried and moved around. It's for sure alive though so I wonder how long until it all the way comes out. Thank you for your help

 

[Connorology]

Normally if the humidity is high enough they can get out themselves. When I've had them stuck (or appearing to be stuck) I took a dissection scalpel and carefully cut the pupae open to manually remove the moth.

This wasn't the best method and I ended up with deformed wings. My chameleon still ate it though, so if you plan to feed the moth off immediately it doesn't much matter.

 

[AlienCreeper]

Next time, while they are pupating try to put them in a place that you can give them 14-17 hours of light. They should turn to moths much quicker like that (3-4 weeks instead of a couple months)

 

[LindsayG]

Normally if the humidity is high enough they can get out themselves. When I've had them stuck (or appearing to be stuck) I took a dissection scalpel and carefully cut the pupae open to manually remove the moth.

This wasn't the best method and I ended up with deformed wings. My chameleon still ate it though, so if you plan to feed the moth off immediately it doesn't much matter.

Do you know how long after the bottom half of the shell falls off should they come out on their own? I don't check on it often so I don't know how long it's been like that. Do you suggest I cut him out? I do intend on him being food since he can't make eggs himself lol

 

[LindsayG]

Next time, while they are pupating try to put them in a place that you can give them 14-17 hours of light. They should turn to moths much quicker like that (3-4 weeks instead of a couple months)

I will definitely keep that in mind for the next time. This really wasn't a planned thing. They kinda just got too bug and weren't fed off soon enough. Now that I see a moth butt though I'm kinda wanting to try breeding them. Thank you so much for your help

 

[jpowell86]

The bottom shouldn't separate at all. They actually will emerge from a slit in the upper portion of the shell. Not saying this doesn't happen, but I keep a constant cycle of hawkmoths pupating at all times for my Melleri and the only time I ever saw this is when I didn't provide adequate moisture to the soil they were in.

If you just had him sitting on a surface, then more than likely he is stuck. I would do what @Connorology said and remove him. He will not emerge pretty, but with one moth, you will not get a new cycle of caterpillars anyways. Might as well let him be a delicious snack!!

 

[LindsayG]

The bottom shouldn't separate at all. They actually will emerge from a slit in the upper portion of the shell. Not saying this doesn't happen, but I keep a constant cycle of hawkmoths pupating at all times for my Melleri and the only time I ever saw this is when I didn't provide adequate moisture to the soil they were in.

If you just had him sitting on a surface, then more than likely he is stuck. I would do what @Connorology said and remove him. He will not emerge pretty, but with one moth, you will not get a new cycle of caterpillars anyways. Might as well let him be a delicious snack!!

Thank you so much. I will cut him open as soon as I get home. Thank you everyone for your help!

 

[Connorology]

Take a scalpel or art-quality xactoblade and make a vertical cut along the pupae. Do that on back and underbelly of the pupae, and try gently removing the moth.

I think the proboscis and wings are most likely to get damaged in the process, so be careful when removing them. However, if you moth is going to be food immediately, damage isn't a huge concern.

 

[LindsayG]

Take a scalpel or art-quality xactoblade and make a vertical cut along the pupae. Do that on back and underbelly of the pupae, and try gently removing the moth.

I think the proboscis and wings are most likely to get damaged in the process, so be careful when removing them. However, if you moth is going to be food immediately, damage isn't a huge concern.

Is the front the part where the little tail thing on the shell points down? Or would it be the other side?