Silkworms

Took a crack at breeding silkworms this summer and had some success Ill be more than happy to help anyone looking to get their own colony started and by no means am I an experthttp://www.ebay.com/itm/silkworms-100-small-/152214561163?&_trksid=p2056016.m2516.l5255

Yep , silkworms are a fabulous feeder insect.

Worth the time and effort to care for and feed them (if you are collecting fresh mulberry leaves for them).

I've just fed the last my latest bunch of silkworms to my 3 beardies and 2 bluetongues (these were raised entirely on thawed blanched mulberry leaves). On this occasion I didn't let the worms get big enough to start pupating.

This was my first winter batch of silkworms (hatched from eggs I'd kept chilled in the fridge).

Still have about 2000 eggs in sample bottles sitting in the drawer of the coffee table and waiting for them to hatch. These will be last of eggs stash that I had to remove from the fridge after my darling 5 yr old grandson had tantrum and switched the spare fridge where they were kept off.

I highly recommend you let some of your silkworms become pupae and then moths and you keep the eggs (they chill nicely in the door of the fridge (no colder than 7degC) and you bulk up on fresh mulberry leaves , blanch , and freeze these , this way you can have silkworms on the go even in winter.

I've heard of blanching but never tried it and didn't know how successful it would be but after hearing your story im going to give it a try thanks!

SirCal":k0f5dals said:

I've heard of blanching but never tried it and didn't know how successful it would be but after hearing your story im going to give it a try thanks!

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Only change I'd make to my blanching process is to have a big mixing bowl full of icewater (with ice in) handy to rapidly cool the hot blanched leaves.(just quick immersion prior to draining / letting excess water drain off). I suspect mine were too hot for too long (but still useful).

I know of a few lizard breeders who also raise masses of silkworms for their adults and hatchlings who also blanch their surplus adult silkworms then freeze them for use later . Apparently if you freeze a live silkworm it turns to mush when thawed (the freezing process destroys their cell membanes).