Hornworms?

[ToughPrincess]

I just got 40 small hornworms for Lucy. I've heard they grow fast, but how do I judge how much to feed her? How hard/easy is it to breed them and how? I hate crickets because of the smell and noise. If I get frustrated with it and quit can I feed her moths?

Also, what is the whole blue vs green thing? I got green because I didn't want to feed her some genetically modified crap, but I don't get the difference? What's healthier?

 

[brittani299]

They are hard to breed. Mine are happy with 4 big ones at a time. They do grow fast. I feed mine the blue ones but I am unsure about the difference between the two.

 

[lexus465]

I'm not sure about how many to feed as I have not tried them yet, but I was just looking at the Great Lakes hornworms website and in their FAQ section it said this about their coloring:

"Do they have dark juices squirt out of them when my animal bites them?

No, their food does not contain green chlorophyll and yellow xanthrophyll to turn the worm green. The dark color is formed when yellow xanthrophyll mixes with the hornworms naturally blue blood, resulting in a green hornworm. The green chlorophyll is isolated by the worm and excreted in their frass (poop), thus dark colored frass occurs when the worm is fed leafy greens. Since our diet does not contain those chemicals our worms color remains blue like their blood. So the juices that squirt out of them will be a transparent light blue color, not dark." http://www.greatlakeshornworm.com/

So it seems that their color is based on their diet...

 

[BBTrucker]

Let's say I keep about 50+ hornworms in a 60gal lid locking terrarium and I keep food in there for them to eat on. And things to climb on. How long would they last and how fast will they multiply if it turns into a moth in. The cage how many offspring will it normally put out and would a 60gal. B substantial for about 4-8 moths atime? Room temp? Things like that please let me know

 

[midmichicer]

They wont just multiply. They will die if they get to big. They must bury themselves, pupate, and then you have moths. IF they have no where to go, they die.