Silkworm HELP

[Kbullock]

So I just wanted to see if anyone else has ever had this happen. I got a shipment of Silkworms and so I put them in a tupperware container that was pretty big about 10 gallons or so and I put holes for air and then a few bamboo sticks for them to crawl on. Well I keep them in the chameleons room because its so warm in there and today when I checked on them they were all black and little puddles of goo. I cannot figure out where I went wrong. They had food and heat and air yet they all died in stages.. Any idea on whats wrong??

 

[dodolah]

The source can be anything really.. but seems like your silkworm colony is contaminated with grasserie virus. I believe you are familiar with the silkworms 101 thread. I wrote a lengthy basic husbandry for silkies and touch a bit about grasserie disease.

 

[Kbullock]

The source can be anything really.. but seems like your silkworm colony is contaminated with grasserie virus. I believe you are familiar with the silkworms 101 thread. I wrote a lengthy basic husbandry for silkies and touch a bit about grasserie disease.

Okay so I just did some research and I agree they did have some of the signs like a few of them just got all milky and oozing liquid out of there body but there was nothing about them turning black?? Also if they have been contminated should I be worried about my chameleon he did eat a few of them befor they went belly up?

 

[dodolah]

When they die, the infected silkies will turned black. Although i do not think that the virus will affect your chameleon physically, i am assuming the infected silkies will have quite an odd taste. For the fear that your chameleon might develop a strong aversion to silkworms, i recommend not feeding the sick silkies to your cham.

 

[ladysilkworm]

So I just wanted to see if anyone else has ever had this happen. I got a shipment of Silkworms and so I put them in a tupperware container that was pretty big about 10 gallons or so and I put holes for air and then a few bamboo sticks for them to crawl on. Well I keep them in the chameleons room because its so warm in there and today when I checked on them they were all black and little puddles of goo. I cannot figure out where I went wrong. They had food and heat and air yet they all died in stages.. Any idea on whats wrong??

I am a breeder, do my own cycles of silkworms from egg to egg. ONe time when I needed some supplies I ordered some live worms from one of the big two. THey arrived 25% dead. The rest kept dying.. I shipped some to customers and they died on transit in just 3-4 days (this usually does not happen with healthy worms) the rest just kept dying in my hands, and at the hands of my other friend too. We couldnt really figure out what was wrong. I consulted a researcher of 30 yrs and we concluded that it was flaccherie- a general term of pathogenic death. It just meant that the silkworms were not raised in sanitary condition and carried a lot of germs in them. She told me to burn them all, but I left them outside to die.. and they sure did. Even with the little ones that did cocoon, they ended up rotting inside..

Grasserie is usually transmitted by a virus on the leaves. If you didnt use leaves, chances are, it is not pembrine nor grasserie. It's more like excessive pathogens.


in general, you raise kegos in higher heat higher humidity and closed.
for larger worms, you need good air circulation. I never raise silkworms in closed lids. I only cover them with parchment paper to preserve the chow ... when they reach one inch, NO COVER. Why would you want to cover them? they dont crawl out. I know its tempting to cover them if you use chow. But under such high humidity they start molding and molding fast!


Silkworms can grow fungus on their skin as well. This happens when you have stale air and high humidity. This happened with my breeder worms when baby sat by my mother. She kept them in closed lid with little vents. When the worms molted, their skins literally bursted open like bad sunburn.. she told me to turn on the AC! Imagine that, where you put your worms in a cham room, I was told to turn the AC on.. either that, a giant fan! The worms did not molt clean for 24 hrs.. I dappled them in water and peeled off the skin myself....saved all but one. They are ready to spin silk soon.

In general, I would suggest you raise them from eggs.. it's very easy really. I have one brood on chow, one on leaves, and I find them both growing competitively well.. no die offs... both are half inchers now.

 

[silkworm]

How to prevent disease from grasserie virus

If you are raising silkworms as feeder, you should lower temp and humidity that they recommend to raisers who raise silkworms for silks. This will help to prevent some diseases especially, from grasserie viruses

When silkworms are raise in 3-5 F degrees lower compare with the recommended temp, they grow slower but healthier. However, they are not productive.

Raising silkworms to feed your pet, productivity is not critical so just lower down the temp (3-5 F degree) and humidity (about 10%).
The recommended temperature and humidity are very from specie to specie.
I believe that most of silkworms in North America are Bi-life cycle or at least driven from that.
Here is the recommended temperature and humidity for are Bi-life cycle silkworms

Instar 1,2,3

• Temp 80 - 82
• Humid 80 - 85%

Instar 4,5

• Temp 77 - 79
• Humid 70 - 75%

If raising silkworm as feeder, reduce

Instar 1,2,3

• Temp 75 - 87
• Humid 75 - 70%

Instar 4,5

• Temp 72 - 75
• Humid 65 - 70%

If you just lowing down temperature without lowing down humidity, silkworms are ease to get Botrytis bassiana which is a fungus that destroys the entire silkworm body.

Do not put silkworms in closing box, they realy need fresh air.

Should not keep temperature and humidity are constant day and night. Let they vary as nature

Currently, I am building my silkworm website, when it ready I will post the links

 

[ladysilkworm]

In general, lowering temperature prolongs silkworm larval stage.

Most of the silkworms here are bi-voltine yes. But it all depends on the egg supplier. The regular ones are possibly univoltine, all others pretty much are bi. which is why they can call the zebras hardier than the whites.