Silkworm hatch !!!

[Thechamdad]

Last year I had the urge to get some silkworms for the fun and just to have a stroll down memory lane when I was a kid and used to have tons... then eventually like all they did the spinning thing end egg laying which after that I cleanes the boxes they were in and took all the eggs to the garage , a motnh after and nothing hatched followed by two months nothing happend so I thought just to leave it.. almost 9 months later now ,when pascalli came and I saw they love silkworms I started researching on silkworm eggs and incubating them , so realising it is middle winter I just took some eggs for the experiment and placed then in a bowl with lid and a few holes for air , left them on a decoder I have on most of the time and the decoder gives of a nice little heat patch so today when I looked 2 little silkworms hatched !! , hahaha I feel so excited to know the eggs are viable and now I have tons of eggs to hatch for pascalli !!

 

[ERKleRose]

Yay, congrats!

 

[MissSkittles]

That’s awesome! I’m not certain if it’s absolutely necessary, but I give my silkworm eggs a 3 month diapause in a warm fridge. When I haven’t done that, none hatch.

 

[Thechamdad]

That’s awesome! I’m not certain if it’s absolutely necessary, but I give my silkworm eggs a 3 month diapause in a warm fridge. When I haven’t done that, none hatch.

I just took mine as they were and put them in the garage , then I took some off the eggs and placed them in a small container with a lid , also the eggs are 9 months old already so was deff a surprise seeing two hatched

 

[Caznash]

That’s awesome! I’m not certain if it’s absolutely necessary, but I give my silkworm eggs a 3 month diapause in a warm fridge. When I haven’t done that, none hatch.

Miss Skittles, I have a question, and wonder if you might be able to help? I’m raising silkworms for the first time and I’m in the cocoons and moth stage now and I’m hoping to incubate some eggs. I’d love any advice from someone who’s done this before.
1) how long do wait before putting the eggs in the fridge. Almost black - a darkest brown - is medium brown ok, or does it have to be really dark/black? I have pictures of what I mean and will attach.

I’m afraid I put some in too early bc I read something a few days ago online that said to “wait until they’re black”. Well I hadn’t… especially in the beginning. I try to wait a bit longer now, but I was more concerned I’d wait too long and they’d hatch or wouldn’t be good once I wanted to take them out.

2) a warm fridge? About what temp is ok? I have mine in a mini fridge we use for sodas and other drinks. The small ones for college dorms and such. I’m worried it might be too cold… should I take them out? Or do you have a recommended temp range? I have a small “make up fridge” I bought for my chams bugs. I can raise and lower the temp a bit on that one, so I could move if necessary.

3) is 3 months the minimum time they should spend in the fridge before trying to hatch them?

4) once taken out of the fridge to hatch, does it take about 7-14 days, like it says on the stickers when purchased from online shops like coastal?

I appreciate all your help!! I honestly just need a break from silks for min!! I have been in WAY over my head (I was sent more than I ordered). I thought that was a good thing at first, but then I had to buy huge amounts of food and basically resign to not sleeping more than 4-5 hours at a time! I had thousands… and zebra and regulars, so keep things separated so I knew whose eggs where whose…yeah, it’s been craazzy here! needless to say, I’m just looking to do about 100 or so for my next silkworm adventure. Just enough to hopefully feed my guy and always have some eggs on hand.

 

[MissSkittles]

Always happy to help if I can. You’ve reminded me I need to get some eggs hatching.
1) how long do wait before putting the eggs in the fridge. Almost black - a darkest brown - is medium brown ok, or does it have to be really dark/black? I have pictures of what I mean and will attach. The dark grey/brown is fine. It usually takes maybe 3-5 days for the eggs to reach the dark color.

I’m afraid I put some in too early bc I read something a few days ago online that said to “wait until they’re black”. Well I hadn’t… especially in the beginning. I try to wait a bit longer now, but I was more concerned I’d wait too long and they’d hatch or wouldn’t be good once I wanted to take them out. You can always try to hatch what you put in too early.

2) a warm fridge? About what temp is ok? About 50-55F is perfect. I have mine in a mini fridge we use for sodas and other drinks. The small ones for college dorms and such. I’m worried it might be too cold… should I take them out? Or do you have a recommended temp range? I have a small “make up fridge” I bought for my chams bugs. I found the temps in my tiny fridge (holds maybe a 6 pack) is perfect. I did place a thermometer in it. I can raise and lower the temp a bit on that one, so I could move if necessary.

3) is 3 months the minimum time they should spend in the fridge before trying to hatch them? I’ve found that 3 months seems to be best. Any sooner and they don’t like to hatch for me. I’ve been able to hatch eggs that have been in the fridge for as long as a year. The hatch rates decrease the longer they are in the fridge though. I’ve also had eggs die from being too cold. Dead eggs get deep indents in them and look a bit shriveled. Pics below.

4) once taken out of the fridge to hatch, does it take about 7-14 days, like it says on the stickers when purchased from online shops like coastal? Yes, somewhere around that. After about 3 or so days I start checking twice a day to see if any hatched. My vision sucks and they are soo tiny, so I use a magnifying glass to check them. As soon as the first has hatched I make up a small batch of chow.
They do like to be warm to hatch and with some humidity. I’m not sure of exact numbers. I provide indirect heat - either put in my warm garage or on top of my geckos uvb light with a short deli/bug container between the two. For humidity, I’ll moisten a tiny bit of paper towel and put it in the egg container when the eggs start turning light grey and close to hatching.
Here’s what dead eggs look like. The centers are all indented deeply and almost in a triangle or square shape, while the eggs look desiccated or shriveled a little. The infertile eggs show it perfectly.

 

[Caznash]

Always happy to help if I can. You’ve reminded me I need to get some eggs hatching.
1) how long do wait before putting the eggs in the fridge. Almost black - a darkest brown - is medium brown ok, or does it have to be really dark/black? I have pictures of what I mean and will attach. The dark grey/brown is fine. It usually takes maybe 3-5 days for the eggs to reach the dark color.

I’m afraid I put some in too early bc I read something a few days ago online that said to “wait until they’re black”. Well I hadn’t… especially in the beginning. I try to wait a bit longer now, but I was more concerned I’d wait too long and they’d hatch or wouldn’t be good once I wanted to take them out. You can always try to hatch what you put in too early.

2) a warm fridge? About what temp is ok? About 50-55F is perfect. I have mine in a mini fridge we use for sodas and other drinks. The small ones for college dorms and such. I’m worried it might be too cold… should I take them out? Or do you have a recommended temp range? I have a small “make up fridge” I bought for my chams bugs. I found the temps in my tiny fridge (holds maybe a 6 pack) is perfect. I did place a thermometer in it. I can raise and lower the temp a bit on that one, so I could move if necessary.

3) is 3 months the minimum time they should spend in the fridge before trying to hatch them? I’ve found that 3 months seems to be best. Any sooner and they don’t like to hatch for me. I’ve been able to hatch eggs that have been in the fridge for as long as a year. The hatch rates decrease the longer they are in the fridge though. I’ve also had eggs die from being too cold. Dead eggs get deep indents in them and look a bit shriveled. Pics below.

4) once taken out of the fridge to hatch, does it take about 7-14 days, like it says on the stickers when purchased from online shops like coastal? Yes, somewhere around that. After about 3 or so days I start checking twice a day to see if any hatched. My vision sucks and they are soo tiny, so I use a magnifying glass to check them. As soon as the first has hatched I make up a small batch of chow.
They do like to be warm to hatch and with some humidity. I’m not sure of exact numbers. I provide indirect heat - either put in my warm garage or on top of my geckos uvb light with a short deli/bug container between the two. For humidity, I’ll moisten a tiny bit of paper towel and put it in the egg container when the eggs start turning light grey and close to hatching.
Here’s what dead eggs look like. The centers are all indented deeply and almost in a triangle or square shape, while the eggs look desiccated or shriveled a little. The infertile eggs show it perfectly.
View attachment 326600View attachment 326601

Thank you so much!! You’re the best!! Hmm, my mini fridge may be too cold. I think I’ll try to check temps and if so I’ll put in the little 6pk fridge (perfect description!) Thanks again!

 

[Caznash]

Thank you so much!! You’re the best!! Hmm, my mini fridge may be too cold. I think I’ll try to check temps and if so I’ll put in the little 6pk fridge (perfect description!) Thanks again!

Thank you for letting me know the correct temperature for storing the eggs. I checked my small fridge with a thermometer and it was at 37°!! Great for our cold drinks, apparently not so much for silk eggs! So off they went to the tiny one that’s currently set at 55° hopefully they’ll be much happier here and alive when needed.