Wax Worms

[Jwonni]

to my understanding they come in quite a small tub

how long roughly will it be from buying em to em changing to a moth? are they like butterflies and attach themselves upside down cocooned to change?

so should they be moved to a bigger container with room to do this?

 

[infinity]

Well, it depends on the place you get them from- some treat them so they won't pupate at all... I think they recommend you keep them no longer than about 2 weeks - that's how long mine usually last before they pupate. Then another 1-2 weeks within a warmish environment before they emerge. The ones i buy usually come in a tub with wood shavings, they'll pupate in there and get their wings all messed up so separate them out when they pupate, stick them in an airing cupboard for a while and let them do their thing when they emerge

 

[Jwonni]

do they eat?

 

[infinity]

yeah, they originally ate the wax and larvae in beehives- that's where they got their name... but they're fed commercially on sawdust and honey...

 

[Ian]

you can get recipes on the net to breed the moths, and then feed the worms. But I believe it quite expensive getting either old honey combs, or supplement.

Cheers,

Ian

 

[Jodokohajjio]

I've read about plenty of people using some sort of honey/oatmeal paste. Here's a site with directions on raising waxworms (scroll down, they're 2nd from bottom): http://www.geocities.com/lflank/raisingfood.html

From what I've read, waxworms can be kept in a 10 gal. fish tank w/ one of those mesh lids (that fits tightly so you don't have moths everywhere). If you have an inch or so of food on the bottom of the tank and some sort of wax for the eggs to be laid on, you should be set. I believe that the larvae will, by instinct, climb to the top of the tank to pupate and metamorphose into moths, so I doubt you'll need to move adults to a separate tank.

I believe I've seen the beeswax candles that the above site mentions in hardware stores and the like. They'd certainly be available to purchase online, and I imagine you could find real honeycomb there too. Wax paper balls seems to be the easiest solution though.

Also, you'll probably want to find a lid to the tank that has a small door on top. You might even want to secure a large net on top while it is open and try to work around it so that the adult moths can't fly away. If it is big enough, you should be able to stick your hand into the door while the net becomes a sort of glove.

 

[Ian]

I'm sorry, but I have NEVER seen a wax worm climb to the top of the tank. From my experience, they are buried themselves in the sawdust, and pupated there. I don't think they can actually climb?

 

[13ollox]

i agree with ian ! mine never climb .. they just pupate in the substrate !

thanks

Neil