Can I Detach Silkworm Eggs?

[tignish99]

I have put down paper on which the silkworm moths can lay their eggs. The female moths seem to have a mind of their own. One of the girlies has decided to lay her eggs on the walls of the Rubbermaid bin. Another girly laid her eggs on a cocoon in the middle of the night. Is there a safe way to detach the eggs?

Ideally, I would like the eggs loose anyways because it is then easier to pour and count out the eggs when I am ready to hatch them.

Thank you.

 

[Gail]

I've never found a way to detach them but there must be a way because you can buy loose ones. What I've done in the past is wait until the pair of moths are mating then turn a clear plastic cup upside down over them. That way you have a little circle of eggs, you can cut the paper for easy storage or to fit in your hatching container.

 

[tignish99]

I do have some on paper as well. This one decided to mate and lay her eggs during the night without me being even aware she hatched. Regarding the paper, in the past when I lined my petri dishes with paper, the paper tends to wick the water from the silkworm chow and the paper tends to want to mold. Do you have problems with mold when you have paper in the petri dish?

 

[Gail]

Never had any mold issue but I always removed the paper as soon as the eggs hatch and the wormies crawl over on the food. I use small thin strips of food so they are easy to move around.

 

[tignish99]

Good point. Maybe I will cut the paper with the eggs into strips and place them in a zebra pattern. Then I will lure the babies off the paper onto the petri dish plastic with food.