Successful worm breeding, now what?

[Hashtag ChamLife]

Recently I've been fed up with both local and online retailers. It seems like customer service doesn't matter to anyone because there's always another customer. My local shops don't have anything besides crickets and hornworms (which they split out of the typical cup to ensure you don't get any more than you pay for). I've had bad experiences with a few online places for both roaches and silkworms. So, I've started my own roach colony with help from local suppliers, I let 20 silkworms cocoon, and 11 hornworms pupate. (I'm also working with BSFL, letting them hatch and breed).

I'm happy to report that my roaches are doing extremely well, to the point I've actually been able to pass on my good fortune to a local forum user! I had minor success with the hornworms, maybe 50 eggs. The silkworms are quite prolific for me, to the tune of at least a few 1000 eggs. The BSF seem to have used the corpse of a hawkmoth I threw in their viv as a laying ground for their larvae.

My point in all this isn't to tout my success as much as it is to find out what to do about a food source. Ideally I'd like to not be dependent on any retailers for anything - my way of giving them the finger for their lack of care. I know Rephasy hornworm food is a mix of bad and worse reviews... but I'd like to avoid having to buy 30 ingredients to make a chow.

With the silkworms, I'd prefer to not feed them fresh mulberry as they do not transition off of it. However, living in Florida I *may* be able to get leaves all year long.

Roaches and BSF are the easy ones... veg and fruit scraps and my bug burger mix keep them loaded and happy.

***This is not in any way shape or form an advertisement. I do NOT intend to sell any of my offspring. This was simply an attempt by me to become self sufficient on bugs***

Any and all input on food sources, care, experience with breeding cycles, etc is welcome and encouraged! Thanks.


Roaches:


Hornworm eggs:


Silkworms:

(I found that container I had forgotten about and stuck it in the viv. They've turned out to be the most prolific breeding pair!)

 

[janjan20]

Nice job! I get my bugs from members and one site sponsor. Thankfully they all have amazing track records. I know @snitz427 is knowledgeable with silks and hornworms. Not sure of any other members that have posted in depth about these raising these besides her.
One less expense you now have to worry about lol

 

[Hashtag ChamLife]

Nice job! I get my bugs from members and one site sponsor. Thankfully they all have amazing track records. I know @snitz427 is knowledgeable with silks and hornworms. Not sure of any other members that have posted in depth about these raising these besides her.
One less expense you now have to worry about lol

Yes, that's my hope. I'm just a hobbyist... with eggs about 4-5 months out. I knew I couldn't afford to retail the feeders so I planned accordingly. I've been lucky so far and its worked out... at least till now.

I actually have the biggest gripe about a "site sponsor" but am STILL waiting to hear back from them to see if they want to keep my business or not. The last time I heard from them it took 10 days to get the first reply, which was about 14 days ago or so. Customer service is probably the most important factor when deciding which path forward to take, so I'm going to hang on a few more days before I start writing reviews...

It also has reinforced a long held belief of mine... support people over businesses. You get better customer service, better pricing, and you help your cohorts/peers. I'm totally behind those people like Snitz and James [and others....] who share their collections!

 

[janjan20]

Thankfully I have not had any bad experiences lol! If you have eggs then it’s better to do what you are doing. I plan on going that route as well when my eggs get closer to hatching. This forum has been a blessing and a wealth of info.

 

[Hashtag ChamLife]

An interesting side note for anyone thinking about breeding their own silkworms/moths...

I went to check on my guys and gals and had 2 die offs. I'm down to about 2 pairs, one of which looks extremely strange - almost like shes still in her cocoon. However, I noticed that one male was doing a little dance all by his lonesome up on my cork round. I scooped him up and put him in with the females, and success! I had to bring them out and show my wife, who was completely unimpressed. I found it quite interesting to see them do a little dance, then he chased her down. She kind of "squished" her body to make herself fatter looking (or to expose her access port?) And he promptly turned around and docked!

Yea, this is what I do for fun...