How to breed hornworms

camimom said:
Well mine takes care o fhim too. and by takes car of i mean he mists him in the evenings since he gets home b4 me, and turns of his light at bedtime..
I do the rest.
Click to expand...

lmaoo, thats exactly what mine does. She will not feed him or handle him yet.
But she mists away.
 
JonRich said:
lmaoooo!! I assume you guys don't have kids?

"feed these kids, they came out of you!! " boohahahah
Click to expand...

Nope no kids. not yet.
ANd if he pulls that crap with kids, Im gona be like... they are half yours, literally!!!! feed them now!!!
 
moviemanmania said:
This thread really contains alote of information about breeding hornworms... :-(
Click to expand...

Well if you are really serious about taking the plunge into breeding Hornworms. I did a bit of searching and compiled a bit of a "how to" using several different internet sources. Hope it helps!
_______________________________________________________________

From what I understand the actual raising of the hornworm is the easy part. The process to the adult Hawk Moth and them being stimulated to mate is the task, along with adequate flying space for the adults!

*Most People seem to start with eggs or the worms via a "pod"! (sold by vendors on this forum)

*You raise them as you would to feed your Cham. When they mature (3"-5") <~ this depends on your source, some seem to have a strain that produce hugeee Caterpillars.. They will stop feeding and begin to wonder (as if looking for a place to hide, in this case to pupate)

* Take them out and put them in individual pint canning jars filled with aspen shavings(you can use large plastic cups) - one per jar.The aspen bedding sold in pet stores works great. Cover the top of the jar/cup with a paper towel held tight with a rubber band to prevent the Caterpillar from escaping.

*The caterpillars dig down to the bottom of the shavings and scratch around for a day or so. 4 days later, more or less, they pupate. When they're good and hard, move them into community enclosure "flight cage", still covered in aspen to maintain humidity. The containers go inside the flight cage to wait for emergence. (3-5 weeks). I see some people use mesh vivarium for the flight cage. (about 18"x18"x30") It's made of mesh, which allows the moths to rest on the sides during the day and lay eggs on it at night. If you want to raise a lot of moths, you'll need something a lot bigger.

*The moths MUST have something to crawl up on immediately when they come out or they'll be deformed. Some people use paper towels to form a "bridge" from the aspen container to the vivarium screen. ((see attached photo)) Usually they come out in late afternoon

*To stimulate mating/egg laying, pin tomato leaves on the outside of the mesh (The tomato scent helps inspire the moths). Some people have luck without them, but there seem to be better results with using fresh tomato leaves. The moths will lay eggs on the mesh around the leaves, you can then pop the little green eggs off each morning using your fingernails or credit card.

* I assume a sugar solution can be used to feed the adult moths, as shown in this video (granted not by hand).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8jK1H1-WT0

*Can also use a potted Tomato plant in the "flight cage". And just pluck the leaves that eggs were layed on.

*When storing the eggs, room temperature is fine, though warmer is better!(Winter slows everything down, plus there's no fresh tomato leaves.) The eggs hatch in about 4 days, maybe more depending on temp.

*This is where it comes full circle. You can purchase worm-pods already stocked with artificial food. Or you can make your own using plastic containers w/ the worm food at the bottom and mesh pieces for the worms to cling to and waste to fall away from the food to be easily disposed of!
 

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JonRich said:
Well if you are really serious about taking the plunge into breeding Hornworms. I did a bit of searching and compiled a bit of a "how to" using several different internet sources. Hope it helps!
_______________________________________________________________

From what I understand the actual raising of the hornworm is the easy part. The process to the adult Hawk Moth and them being stimulated to mate is the task, along with adequate flying space for the adults!

*Most People seem to start with eggs or the worms via a "pod"! (sold by vendors on this forum)

*You raise them as you would to feed your Cham. When they mature (3"-5") <~ this depends on your source, some seem to have a strain that produce hugeee Caterpillars.. They will stop feeding and begin to wonder (as if looking for a place to hide, in this case to pupate)

* Take them out and put them in individual pint canning jars filled with aspen shavings(you can use large plastic cups) - one per jar.The aspen bedding sold in pet stores works great. Cover the top of the jar/cup with a paper towel held tight with a rubber band to prevent the Caterpillar from escaping.

*The caterpillars dig down to the bottom of the shavings and scratch around for a day or so. 4 days later, more or less, they pupate. When they're good and hard, move them into community enclosure "flight cage", still covered in aspen to maintain humidity. The containers go inside the flight cage to wait for emergence. (3-5 weeks). I see some people use mesh vivarium for the flight cage. (about 18"x18"x30") It's made of mesh, which allows the moths to rest on the sides during the day and lay eggs on it at night. If you want to raise a lot of moths, you'll need something a lot bigger.

*The moths MUST have something to crawl up on immediately when they come out or they'll be deformed. Some people use paper towels to form a "bridge" from the aspen container to the vivarium screen. ((see attached photo)) Usually they come out in late afternoon

*To stimulate mating/egg laying, pin tomato leaves on the outside of the mesh (The tomato scent helps inspire the moths). Some people have luck without them, but there seem to be better results with using fresh tomato leaves. The moths will lay eggs on the mesh around the leaves, you can then pop the little green eggs off each morning using your fingernails or credit card.

* I assume a sugar solution can be used to feed the adult moths, as shown in this video (granted not by hand).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8jK1H1-WT0

*Can also use a potted Tomato plant in the "flight cage". And just pluck the leaves that eggs were layed on.

*When storing the eggs, room temperature is fine, though warmer is better!(Winter slows everything down, plus there's no fresh tomato leaves.) The eggs hatch in about 4 days, maybe more depending on temp.

*This is where it comes full circle. You can purchase worm-pods already stocked with artificial food. Or you can make your own using plastic containers w/ the worm food at the bottom and mesh pieces for the worms to cling to and waste to fall away from the food to be easily disposed of!
Click to expand...

interesting. Very detialed, yet easy to understand. Thanks! maybe I will try it.
Where can I get a pod? or can i just buy worms and let them do their thing?
 
 
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