hornworms(goliath worms)

[jesseesperto]

when these worms get to there full size what can I do with them? I cant feed them to Oliver? there bigger than him..lol. I would like to see if they can go into a cocoon and turn into a moth. Has anybody done this? if so how did you do it?What can I feed them? they ate all the food they came with..

 

[Will Hayward]

Hornworms!
by
B. J. Caruthers (lele)

READY TO FEED GREEN MONSTERS TO YOUR GREEN MONSTER??
or
Is your sweet little rainbow-colored scaly friend ready to dine on cute little green cat(erpillar)s?

 

[jesseesperto]

WOW..Thanks Will I got everything I wanted from these links and then some. I am going to try the soda bottle method. I will post photos and let you know how it goes. ..you know its funny..how I would never imangined that I would be trying to metamorph my hornworms into moths. Three weeks ago I didnt even know what hornworms were..lol I was not happy spending $15 bucks and only got to feed Oliver 3 worms. They grew so fast. The cute liitle inch worm turned into a monster in a week. So its going to fun and try to do this science project..

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Watch out!
Before you know it you'll be like me..and Heika...and several
others here who have unwittingly fallen prey to the new (for me)
hobby of raising insects.
My closet of bugs is getting pretty full....don't know where
I'll expand to, but you know I'll figure it out.

-Brad

 

[lele]

WOW..Thanks Will I got everything I wanted from these links and then some. I am going to try the soda bottle method. I will post photos and let you know how it goes. ..you know its funny..how I would never imangined that I would be trying to metamorph my hornworms into moths. Three weeks ago I didnt even know what hornworms were..lol

I see you live in NY so be prepared for a long period of diapause (pupa). As I noted in the article it can be up to 10 months in the northern regions. You can TRY to force them to eclose early but even then it would have to be after an extended period of chilling (few months in the fridge). Have fun and good luck! Lep rearing is great fun

lele (author of linked article)

 

[jesseesperto]

I see you live in NY so be prepared for a long period of diapause (pupa). As I noted in the article it can be up to 10 months in the northern regions. You can TRY to force them to eclose early but even then it would have to be after an extended period of chilling (few months in the fridge). Have fun and good luck! Lep rearing is great fun

lele (author of linked article)

Thanks Summer is just around the corner...when you are excited and eager, a few months seems like an eternity. I plan to venture on down to mayflower(a big garden store) today. I did order today some powderd chow from mulberry farms. I hope I dont loose any of them do to hunger. They have been out of food for a couple of days and probably wont get my order for anouther few days. I will be sure to let you know how it all turns out .

 

[lele]

use sterile potting soil so there are no other organisms in with the pupae. Once they have pupated and settled for a week or two (want to make sure their outer "skin" is firm before handling) you can lay them on soil in plastic containers in the fridge. Don;t remember if I mentioned that in the article. If you need more help let me know.

As for feeding, you can try a variety of greens/lettuce (romaine, endive) and see if they will eat it for a few days. If they are that large they may well be ready to pupate. They will turn a darker color and wander around a lot. If that happens place them in the can/bottle/soil setup (and cover it!). They will likely wander for hours. In nature they are looking for an appropriate place to burrow but confined to a small space they just keep going 'round in circles! lol!

Earth pupators are very cool as they create a smooth sided chamber in the ground in order to pupate - it's neat to be able to watch it. The first Leps I ever raised with success were hornworms and I began with the soda bottle method - that was in 1998 and have been breeding and rearing Saturniid moths (and others) ever since!

Male luna

eye spot on luna wing

Enjoy!!

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Lele,

I would be interested to know where you obtain some of the species
you work with.
I know the Butterfly Pavilion here gets chrysalis (sp?) shipments daily
but I don't know where from.
Do you know of suppliers of exotic live insects in the U.S.?
My fascination with keeping insects has grown beyond providing food
for Kitty!

-Brad

 

[jesseesperto]

Thank you so much. That male luna is awsome. I never see any moths like that. The soda bottle seems easy and materials are easy to get. I would not have known to get sterile soil and I will try to give them some lettuce. I feel good going into this now. Thanks...I will have questions..dont worry about that..lol.

 

[jesseesperto]

The lettuce has worked out good. They attacked it. Guess they were hungrey. Mulberry farms wont be shipping my order till Monday so I wont get it till probably Wed or Thurs. ..I havent felt this excited in a long time. I put them in a small critter cage for now with the lettuce.

 

[lele]

I would be interested to know where you obtain some of the species you work with.I

Brad, just sent you an email...

 

[Chameleon Kingdom]

Hey lele, did you take those pictures???
If so, what camera did you use???
Those pictures are amazing!!!

 

[lele]

Hey lele, did you take those pictures???
If so, what camera did you use???
Those pictures are amazing!!!

Thanks you and yes, I did. I rear them - egg to adult to mating to release. I think all of those were taken with my last camera which was a Nikon Coolpix 4300. I now use a Nikon Coolpix 7600. Still saving to get a good SLR so I can do even more macro shots, but this little does a good job.

I have a bunch of photos of from 2004 to last season - gearing up for this one - on my webshots page:
lele's pics