Hornworm Breeding Journey PICTURES

I dug them out, that way i could mist them regularly and help develop their wings properly.. The first time i dug them up they werent cocooned all the way...
I now have 9 worms that are too big to be eaten so now i wait until they are ready!
 
I think it just makes it easier and less of a mess (its a huge mess).
Plus its easier to control in-case something goes wrong.

I cant wait to breed a few more- this time i have 9 not 4 so i am hoping it will be good!!
Keep me updated i am interested in seeing how yours will go! My female moth laid 2 batches of eggs, but only 1 hatched (about 50)
 
I left mine in eco earth and made sure it stayed moist. I put some sticks in the dirt and when they hatched they made their way to the sticks and climbed out.
 
i am so thinking about doing this myself. my landlord has a field that he digs plots for the tenants every spring and i know someone out there has tomato plants. i know from my own gardening here that we naturally get hornworms.. plucked a doozie off some of my plants just a few years ago before i ever got into herps bigtime and didn't know what kind of caterpillar it was just then. so if i can find some live worms on the tomato plants in the field and set up a screen enclosure, i can let them go through the stages and breed them? already have plenty of eco earth on hand. how big of a reptibreeze would you all say like the minimum in size? or would it be easier just to get an xl bin and set it up with mesh? very interested will be following this thread :)
 
we have a big tobacco farm just a mile from us. Maybe i'll ask the farmer if i can gather the worms off his plants and bring them home and breed them. but if my 14 that have pupated do good and lay eggs like crazy i'll have more than i'll know what to do with. i'll have to bring them to work and give them to the guys that have beardies and leopards
 
You just can't feed them. Tomato plants are poisonous to our herps and can kill them. So don't feed worms that have eaten that.
 
could i house them in a small reptibreeze? this is so funny because now that i see the moths in the pics.. we get a LOT of those moths here in NC, and they are huge! i fed one to my tarantula, and she's a big rose hair. cannot believe i would be paying $20 to get a dozen from the LPS when all this time they were hiding right in front of me every summer
 
Thats what i do- they fly around at night which is a little annoying because they hit everything so if you have more than 10 i woulld suggest getting a bigger cage- but otherwise it works out good!
Once they hatch they are all slimy and gross looking but after ten minutes they dry off and spread their wings and its amazing!!
 
cool. thats what im going to do then. not a reptibreeze but a knock off for them will work just fine. im thinking a 38 gallon which is the next step up from a small. found a place to get chow and cups. now just to wait until i get some worms. dunno if im gonna go catch some or use the ones i get in my chameleon's food order, but it's definitely happinen!
 
Just built my moth breeding cage last night. Just some 1x2 rough cut pine and screen. 24x24x36 cost me 25 bucks to build, bought a humming bird feeder and a tomato plant and a plant bulb so around 50 bucks in all.
 
im thinking of putting tubes of nectar and mount them in various places during that stage. i have some tube shooters that would be perfect lol
 
My moths had no interest in the hummingbird feeder at all... i got a hibiscus plant and they sucked it dry but thats it.
They are stubborn...... ugh!!
I just had 9 worms dig into the dirt!!
I would suggest grabbing the wild moths but if youre luck is like mine they will be all males..
Have you considered pulling the eggs off of the plants and just letting those hatch?
 
I forget not everyone got blessed with warm weather yet :(
I can honestly say this is by far the best thing that has happened to my chams and I.
Its lovely not spending 30 dollars just to get 20 worms! Now all i have to do is buy cups and food and i get plenty of worms!
 
i'm not sure if i will buy cups. or just put them in a container with tissue til they hatch them move them to the screen cage after a few days, and use chow. i'm probably going to start with caterpillars as well and let them pupate.. unless i get lucky and fine some in the park garden of which i didnt add anything this year so i might look creepy wandering around lol
 
I bought worms and they just got top big to eat so I let them hatch. I went through 2 cups of food to grow my worms so be prepared to have a lot of food!
 
Im waiting on my 14 to hatch into moths. Has been 3 weeks so I have a week or 2 to vo before they actually emerge. I built a 2 ft X 2 ft x 3 ft cage, put my tupperware container withe the pupae in there a tomato plant and hummingbird feeder. Added a 60 watt grow light for the tomato plant. Built the cage for about 20 bucks. Now just a waiting game until they hatch. My luck will be having all males or all females. :) time will tell. I moved them from my cham room out to the garage where it is warmer so maybe they will think its summertime and hatch soon.
 
Mine would crispen in my garage its almost 100 degrees in there...

Mine just turned brown.. one didnt bury itself... so i got to see it caccoon it wass sooooo neat!!

Good luck, and keep me updated! i would love to see how it turns out!
 
i'm going to get the chameleon starter pack from rainbowmealworms.net
the package contains:

25 Superworms (1.75")

1 Pod Hornworms (12 minimum)

100 Medium Phoenix Worms (0.5")

20 Medium Dubia Roaches (0.75 to 1")

the same site offers a pound of hornworm chow for $22 or you can get 2oz cups of chow for $4 a cup

it only comes with one cup so i'm buying cups from here:
http://www.greatlakeshornworm.com/hornworm-supplies.html
 
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