making a wax moth colony

[Lycanthrope]

ok im currently in the middle of a darkling beetle rearing project. im hoping to become self sufficient on mealworms, and beetles. next id like to try my hand at waxworms, for the worms, and moths for my aboreals. any tips on how to do this?

 

[Marc_C]

When I bred them this is how I did it.

Housing: Get a rubbermaid bin, one of the medium sized ones. Cut the top out so and put some aluminum screening in its place. This should have the smallest possible holes you can find!


Food: Get some Bran and some honey (I never really measured ,but you need more bran then honey) Heat the honey up in the Microwave for a couple seconds so that it flows freely. Then mix the honey and bran together in a bowl adding a little water to help mixing. Spead the mixture on to a cookie sheet to let it dry out. After it's dry crumble it into the bottom of the rubbermaid (it is also the substrate). It should be just a little bit sticky.

Getting them to lay eggs: When I first started breeding them I read everywhere that all you had to do was cumple some wax paper up and throw it in there, this is not entirly true. The wax paper unfolds and the moths wont lay the eggs on them, so take an elastic band and wrap it around the wax paper so that it holds it's shape.

You really don't need to many of the worms to start off with, I started with 2 dozen. They will begin to spin cocoons not too long after you buy them, maybe a week and a half or so. The cocoons look like dark brown pellets. After the adults hatch out they wont eat. just mate and lay eggs on the wax paper. They die off after a couple weeks so dont be too shy about feeding them off. Just above room Temp works nicly for them to grow quicky. Get a nice tight fitting lid and fine screen and you shouldn't have too much trouble with them escaping. I also suggest keeping some of the food/substrate handy because they will surprise you at how fast they can eat this stuff once you get alot in there. Sorry the post is so long.
Marcus-Sparkus

 

[Wade]

Originally posted by marcus-sparkus
Sorry the post is so long.
Marcus-Sparkus

Geeze, don't apologize! That's great stuff!!!

Wade

 

[Marc_C]

forgot to mention that after the first moths die , it might take a week and a half or so before you notice any of the little worms crawling around. Dont throw the substrate out if you dont notice any right away.
Marcus-Sparkus

 

[Lycanthrope]

forgot to mention that after the first moths die , it might take a week and a half or so before you notice any of the little worms crawling around. Dont throw the substrate out if you dont notice any right away

thanks a bunch, that was exactly what i needed. i will definately give this a try. like wade said, dont apologize thats as good an info sheet as i could have expected. thanks again

 

[Marc_C]

No problem. Good luck. they are great little feeders.
Marcus-Sparkus
P.S. Sorry for saying sorry. lol