Wax worms question

Most Pet stores will carry them every now-and-then. Check around some of the links on this site and see if you can find a supplier. If you go with some from a pet shop, make sure that they are going to be small enough! I had a place tell me that they were TINY and when I got them they were almost to the moth stage.

Culturing them would be very hard since you have to rely on them turning into moths first.

They grow very very very quickly, so to keep them an appropriate size for PDF"s you will have to refrigerate them between uses.

They are in a very sticky media when you get them so it is somewhat of an art to pick through it and get out the worms. I don't think there is really an exact way to do it without getting messy.

I use individual deli cups to harvest my larvae. I put a coffee filter into the deli cup(16 oz) i then place a small condiment size plastic container into the middle of the coffee filter. I fill up the small container with media and put moths in when the larvae comes out, they crawl out of the media and over the coffee filter to the bottom of the deli cup. I then keep the larvae in the refrigerator until I need it to feed.

Why do the larvae leave the media? Wouldn't they want to eat and grow??

-Ben

I sit at our kitchen table with a newspaper down and tear into the media.It is kinda like a treasure hunt.Watching my bicolors chow them down makes all the work on separating them from the media and webbing worth it.
Mark W.

What I can't figure out is how they de-web them for commercial sale. When you buy waxworms from the pet store or online, they don't come in a container full of frass. I wonder how they do it?

What is the media you guys use. I just got some lesser wax worms from Matt Mirabello at IAD. It has his media in it, but I want to start making my own. So far I've researched on the web and I heard some bran and honey mixed so it is somewhat granular, but still sticky. Another recipe is for dog food and honey. I don't really want to get into getting dog food. What do you guys use, how do you culture, specifically.

Thanx,

-Ben

Lesser Wax Moth

try this site

http://www.thebdg.org/Text%20downloads/ ... 0moths.txt

Anyone have any left over glycerine???

found the glycerine

I made 2 cultures yesterday for the lesser wax moth. Now I have to wait till the worms turn into moths and lay eggs. I'll keep you posted on what comes out of it.

glycerine...

I have been wanting to try culturing them as well, but couldn't find glycerine!! Then got the tip to go to Wal Mart in the laxitive section, and VOILA, 100% glycerine suppositories!!! Perfect!

Re: glycerine...

snmreptiles said:

I have been wanting to try culturing them as well, but couldn't find glycerine!! Then got the tip to go to Wal Mart in the laxitive section, and VOILA, 100% glycerine suppositories!!! Perfect!

Click to expand...

Uhh, I got mine at a health food store. It's used in making soap and stuff.

glycerine

I got the 100% glycerine liquid in a bottle. I was leary of using the suppositories because it has some inactive ingredients that I was unsure of. My cultures have been going for 3 days now and I can see the worms burrowing through the media. Just waiting to see if they turn into moths so they will lay hundreds of eggs.

CRASH!!!!

The 2 cultures I started got mold.....i don't see them prodcuing moths any time soon....like never.

NOT MOLD......vitamin oxidation!!!!

What I thought was mold was actually the vitamins I added to the culture oxidizing, and the larva spinning silk all over the place. I have several cocoons and 2 moths emerged this weekend. I will soon have plenty of fatty food for my females.....I need some good eggs.