Silkworm colony

[FadedIntimacy]

I hope you would call it a colony..
haha
Hey everyone! long time no see. :]

So, Im considering starting a silkworm breeding project!!
My mother will not allow roaches into the house, so a dubia colony will start when me and the boy move in together... but for the time being i was thinking of starting a silkworm colony and keep it up even after the dubias, to give Emm a bit of variety. (Not to mention Im thinking we may bring home a new baby around january... soooo we'll need little feeders til then :})
I've been reading around and understand its hard.. but can anyone send me any good websites for buying supplies and maybe even a step-by-step guide?? I intend on buying some bulk eggs from somewhere, hatching them and starting them that way.. buttt i need to know about containers, foods, keeping, ...ect, ect...

Any help/advice will greatly be appreciated.
Thanks!!!


Edit: Also, if anyone can also maybe help me out with links of stuff i can do with the silk cocoons i'd REALLLLY appreciate that.. I bellydance and we use silk veils... :]

 

[invictusrules]

My absolutely most favoritest silkworm site is:
http://www.wormspit.com/

Tons of photos, info, and eye-popping projects. (especially the tablet weaving) This will make you appreciate those silk veils even more!

He doesn't have anything on rearing feeders with artificial diet, but you can search the BD.org site for containers and rearing info. Several members have posted pictures of their set-up. I had a virus wipe out my colony, and I never tried again.

 

[NYDragon]

Like Invictusrules said, wormspit.com is a really good website. The page on the site that I find the most helpful is http://www.wormspit.com/bombyxsilkworms.htm. It has a step by step guide with pictures on raising silkworms from eggs.

 

[wormspit]

Howdy!

This is Michael, from wormspit.com - I noticed the hits to the site from here, and just stopped by to see what's up.

Silkworms aren't hard - they're really pretty easy, once you have a few basics down. Hygiene is a concern - especially with the chow - you have to be careful and keep your hands clean, and make sure they aren't sitting in their poop. That sounds ridiculously basic, but you'd be amazed how often people have trouble with it. Ventilation is also a must; the youngest hatchlings need higher humidity, but the larger worms need more air circulation to ensure that their frass (poop) and the uneaten food will dry out, rather than mold. If you get mold, they can get sick.

Sunlight can kill them, especially in a transparent container. Keep them out of direct sun. They like light - just not hot sunbeams.

Other than that, it's pretty much just putting food into one end, and cleaning up what comes out the other. If you get a good-sized batch of eggs and have them shipped with a cool pack, you can refrigerate them and be able to start a new colony on about 10 days notice.

Let me know if you have any other questions; I'm always happy to talk caterpillars.

Michael

 

[FadedIntimacy]

Thanks everyone!!


My main concern is the FOOD. I have no mulberry tree/bushes/w.e. and its october, a little late to start growing one and get something out of it... i know i can buy packaged food, but it seems messier. :<

also, i need a constant supply.. so would i go everything in rounds? like. buy alot of eggs.. keep some in the fridge and start a second/third batch a little ways in? like.. batch one... two weeks later... batch 2... two weeks later... batch 3... possibly a batch 4 depending on where my first batch is? then how do i handle the eggs? how long do they need to 'winter'in my fridge?

Also once i get over the "OH MY GOD FUZZY BUG WITH WINGS" freak out and can handle the moths... how do i collect the eggs? :<
Should i use deli containers? orrr should i use maybe clear storage containers? Which would be easier.. i need ALOT of these things... they are going to be in my closet.. so not of light anyways..

Edit: just saw someone using one of those storage plastic drawer set thing for superworms... could i use one of those?

 

[invictusrules]

would i go everything in rounds? like. buy alot of eggs.. keep some in the fridge and start a second/third batch a little ways in?

That sounds like the easiest route. The great news is that the eggs will store in the fridge (unlike hornworms :? ) and you could start them in batches. I've seen reports of eggs still being okay after a year in the fridge, but I don't know how true that is.

Collecting the eggs is fun. The girls will lay a lot of eggs over a day or two, and they stay in one place while they lay (unlike hornworms :? ) so the eggs are easy to collect. The problem with collecting the eggs is that some of them will need to be chilled before they hatch (can't remember the name of this type of egg). Some of the eggs will hatch in a few days after they're laid, with no need to refrigerate. It has something to do with day length/temperatures. Makes sense if you think about the theoretical "wild" silkworm moth. The eggs laid in summer need to hatch right away to take advantage of the food supply, while the ones laid in fall need to "chill out" to survive the upcoming winter.

OH MY GOD FUZZY BUG WITH WINGS

Just wait till you see their cute faces... you'll fall in love!

Hmmm. Talking about this makes me want to try starting silkies again!

 

[wormspit]

Starting with a big batch and making little colony-ettes a few eggs at time works great.

The difference between eggs that hatch without refrigeration and ones that need it, is voltinism - I did a post on it here: http://wormspit.com/blog/?p=1601
A lot of it is genetics; if they have the right genetics for multivoltinism, *then* the temperature and light cycle figure into it.

Michael

 

[invictusrules]

Aha! Thanks for the info, Michael!

The same thing happened to my moths. They were laying lots of eggs that hatched in a few days, but a few generations later, the eggs simply stopped hatching when fall came. I ran out of refrigerated eggs, and then grasserie hit from some purchased caterpillars, and I gave up trying to breed them.

The big batch of eggs sounds like a much better way to go.

 

[HYPORollo]

i just started out with 3000 eggs and i have alot that have hatched but i allso have alot that havent hatched yet but the ones that did have like left there silk lines all over the eggs while getting to the food so ive learned that the next time i order im going to ask for the eggs to be divided inot 500 eggs per petri dish or at least tell them not to glue them down so i can do it my self so if you order alot of eggs make sure you do this step or you will have a huge mess on your hands like i do not to mention how hard it is to try and keep the premade food poop free any one have any tips to help with this problem

 

[pl4life52]

where do you guys order your eggs and do you get zebra or plain and is there a big dif between the two?
i was thinking about buying silks again but now reading all these posts i wanna breed them so if anyone can throw out more tips on first starting id appreciate it

 

[burt1016]

Mulberry farms is the way to go. A few tips, try going around your neighberhood and looking for mulberry trees. We bought 2 small trees and planted them in the backyard so that is another option. The biggest tree in our entire block turns out to be a mulberry tree. I walked by it 4 years ago and saw a TON of delicious deap purple mulberrys and made amazing pies and....ok thats enough. Anyways, powdered chow is another option. I've had 3 diferent colonies of silkworms. 1 of which were chow based. The leaf based ones were MUCH easier to maintain then the Chow based, but you can't get leaves in the late fall and winter.

 

[pl4life52]

yeah umma try to get the leaves gotta find out what mulberry trees look like and where they are around over here

 

[wormspit]

I can mail you some eggs, if you're going to raise them on mulberry - email me at oakenking (at) gmail (dot) com.

 

[burt1016]

Now theres a nice guy ^^^^ You weren't talking to me were you... :roll:

 

[wormspit]

I'm happy to share eggs (within reason) with anyone who wants some... I run a Yahoo group for people who raise silkworms, and I usually mail to 50 or 60 people each year - everything from fiber-arts people to home-schoolers to pet-feeder-raisers.

Some of the strains I raise won't eat the chow. I don't use chow much at all, so I'm not really 100% sure which strains I have that can eat it - but if you're interested in raising on leaf, I've got lots.

oakenking (at) gmail (dot) com

Michael