What is wrong with my silkworm eggs?

[Sharon12]

Well decided to breed silkworms for Etosha. They have been in the incubator 3 weeks..?? They are changing but no hatching. What am I doing wrong?

 

[nightanole]

They look all caved in and dehydrated. They should be blackish with a "slight" dimple.

Personally i never incubated. I was fine with room temp, and leaving them in the petri dish or just thrown in some mulberry leaves with a lid on it so they dont dry out.

 

[Sharon12]

They look all caved in and dehydrated. They should be blackish with a "slight" dimple.

Personally i never incubated. I was fine with room temp, and leaving them in the petri dish or just thrown in some mulberry leaves with a lid on it so they dont dry out.

Big difference in yours and mine!

 

[nightanole]

Here was the 2017 batch, just 75f, add leaves, add eggs, put lid on.

 

[Redman]

Yeah, I was able to hatch silk eggs with just a basking lamp above them for heat, not an incubator.

I hear that where you source your eggs can make a big difference too. How the seller stores them and other factors can come into play.

 

[Sharon12]

I think my mistake was I did not put lid on the dish

 

[snitz427]

I think my mistake was I did not put lid on the dish

That definitely helps with eggs... but after the first day or two i take the lid off (to reduce chance of mold)

 

[Sharon12]

Thanks all. Here is my next attempt. Success and Etosha is excited!

 

[Sharon12]

Thanks all. Here is my next attempt. Success and Etosha is excited!

My silkworms are getting big now and not sure what I do to get cocoons. Etosha is eating them with gusto but I have saved tp rolls to set some up. Are any ready? Advice please. Also if I get moths and eggs will I need to store the eggs in the cold- how long- before they can hatch. Thank you. This is my first go round and I have alot of worms and a female on restricted diet to keep clutches low.

 

[MissSkittles]

My silkworms are getting big now and not sure what I do to get cocoons. Etosha is eating them with gusto but I have saved tp rolls to set some up. Are any ready? Advice please. Also if I get moths and eggs will I need to store the eggs in the cold- how long- before they can hatch. Thank you. This is my first go round and I have alot of worms and a female on restricted diet to keep clutches low.

When your silkworms have gotten really plump and all of their little wrinkles are filled out, you’ll notice a thin black pulsating vein down their backs...that is when they are ready to cocoon. I try to keep them separate from the not yet ready ones as they vomit out their stomach contents and it makes a mess. Once they start to spin their cocoon, they need to be left alone until it’s complete. I put the cocoons in a clean container with bottoms lined with wax paper...in about 10-14 days they’ll hatch and get right down to business. They attach butts and stay like that for a few days. I cover them with a small Dixie cup (holes poked in it) until they are done and the eggs are being laid. You will want to keep them away from the cocoons, as they will choose to lay the eggs on it and that’s a pain in the butt. Let the eggs stay out at room temp for a couple of days until they turn almost black. Then you can keep in fridge until ready to hatch them. I have noticed I get best hatching results if I keep the eggs in the fridge for at least 2-3 months. Make sure you have plenty of chow on hand.

The first image is what the fertile eggs will look like when ready to be put in fridge. One also laid a big batch of infertile eggs (the pale yellow ones) so that is what they look like when first laid.

 

[Sharon12]

So helpful. I will watch for the vein then. Had no idea. Thanks so much. And yes I can only imagine getting all those eggs off a cocoon.

 

[absolutbill]

Thanks so much! I'm also trying this for the first time and spent about 2 hours yesterday cleaning out the bin I had them in, pulling out eggs (some which were on the coccoons), and getting everything organized. However, its not like I didn't have the time for this project, and its fun learning something new!

 

[MissSkittles]

Glad to help. Credit where credit is due though...I learned just about everything from @snitz427

 

[MissSkittles]

Forgot to add...once they hatch into moths, they don’t eat. They do squirt out what I assume is pheromones, but if you use wax paper, it dries/evaporated quickly.
The male moths flutter their wings like crazy and have a little bit thinner bodies. I always end up with too many males, so my chams get some mothy treats.

 

[CamoChameleonsHuman]

Where you get your eggs has a heck of a lot to do with it. I've gotten duds from damn near everyone but Coastal Silkworms

 

[Mawtyplant]

Well decided to breed silkworms for Etosha. They have been in the incubator 3 weeks..?? They are changing but no hatching. What am I doing wrong?

they dehydrated, (hatch and stuck inside) what was your % of humidity?

 

[Sharon12]

When your silkworms have gotten really plump and all of their little wrinkles are filled out, you’ll notice a thin black pulsating vein down their backs...that is when they are ready to cocoon. I try to keep them separate from the not yet ready ones as they vomit out their stomach contents and it makes a mess. Once they start to spin their cocoon, they need to be left alone until it’s complete. I put the cocoons in a clean container with bottoms lined with wax paper...in about 10-14 days they’ll hatch and get right down to business. They attach butts and stay like that for a few days. I cover them with a small Dixie cup (holes poked in it) until they are done and the eggs are being laid. You will want to keep them away from the cocoons, as they will choose to lay the eggs on it and that’s a pain in the butt. Let the eggs stay out at room temp for a couple of days until they turn almost black. Then you can keep in fridge until ready to hatch them. I have noticed I get best hatching results if I keep the eggs in the fridge for at least 2-3 months. Make sure you have plenty of chow on hand.

The first image is what the fertile eggs will look like when ready to be put in fridge. One also laid a big batch of infertile eggs (the pale yellow ones) so that is what they look like when first laid.
View attachment 263398
View attachment 263399

I have started having die off. Very disappointing. Hope a few live to cocoon. Not sure why unless too moist. Black and squishy.

 

[Mawtyplant]

I have started having die off. Very disappointing. Hope a few live to cocoon. Not sure why unless too moist. Black and squishy.

black and squishy can mean a lot of thing but you should check on two things

1)flatcherie disease (caused by bacterial infection, transovarial, contagious the worms have when they are young and when they get mature they just die one after the other)
2)Pebrine (caused by parasite (yep.. worm can have parasite haha) it compromise immune system etc etc and they usually die before cocooning)

wash your stuff wash your hand burn everything silkworm is a question of high top hygiene.. to prevent introduction of bacteria.. its not strong buddy worm you have there

without a perfect humidity, hygiene, temperature and feeding schedule you will systematically fail

check your food too, sometime the food is just not good, and boom silkworm genocide

 

[Sharon12]

black and squishy can mean a lot of thing but you should check on two things

1)flatcherie disease (caused by bacterial infection, transovarial, contagious the worms have when they are young and when they get mature they just die one after the other)
2)Pebrine (caused by parasite (yep.. worm can have parasite haha) it compromise immune system etc etc and they usually die before cocooning)

wash your stuff wash your hand burn everything silkworm is a question of high top hygiene.. to prevent introduction of bacteria.. its not strong buddy worm you have there

without a perfect humidity, hygiene, temperature and feeding schedule you will systematically fail

check your food too, sometime the food is just not good, and boom silkworm genocide

Thank you. I have new eggs coming. I think i made a mistake of too much humidity. How crowded can they safely be? One I separated them out etc i started trouble. When i left them alone and just fed them i was fine

 

[MissSkittles]

Thank you. I have new eggs coming. I think i made a mistake of too much humidity. How crowded can they safely be? One I separated them out etc i started trouble. When i left them alone and just fed them i was fine

I leave their container next to my cham’s enclosures and make sure to clean their poop daily. If mine are looking crowded, I keep them in a plastic shoe type tote with screen over the top.