Thread: raising wax worms

I was thinking about trying to keep some wax worms and meal worms. Raising them is a whole nother ball game.

What's the best way to keep them? How long do they last?

Don

I am not having too much luck with this first batch every day more and more turn black and I guess are dead. The temperature here is fluctuation wildly from cold at nite to hot in the day and I think that may be a problem. No worms have spun a cacoon yet. I am raising them in the house but turn the heat way down when we are a sleep.
I will give this batch a few more weeks then try starting over when the temps are more suitable for the wax worms.

This may be dumb question. But arent wax worms the same as beemoth? If so, then I think I may take a stab at raising some.

Found these simple instructions on the net and pasted them below. Doesn't sound to complicated. Looks like these instructions say to use crumpled wax paper instead of a bee comb. Or maybe I might just buy the kit @ http://www.wormman.com/pd_lesser.cfm. It only $10.95.

BTW, what is bran mix, can it be bought at the grocery story?

Anyone used this method?

1.Best way to start raising wax worms is to buy some.
2.Prepare an escape proof container for them ie 3 to 5 gallon tank with screened lid
(tape it on later).
3.You will also need a substrate- get some bran and honey- mix it together dry. If you can get some bees wax grate it into the mixture. Crumble the mixture into the tank. You can also buy the bedding above.
The mix may still be a little sticky.
4.Put the wax worms in the container with the bedding.
5.Add a few crumpled balls of wax paper as well.
6.Keep the wax worms at room temp. eventually the waxworms will begin to spin
cocoons. They will remain in their cocoons for approx two weeks- then moths will
emerge.
7.The moths will mate and live for about a week or so- they will lay their eggs in the wax
paper.
8.A couple of weeks after the moths have died you will see lots of tiny worms. They
grow fast if they are kept at room temp- so once they are half grown you may want to
store them in the fridge in a container with small air holes and some of the honey and
bran mix. If you leave them at room temp the cycle will begin again.
9.You must secure the top. The worms hatch small and will escape.

Wax worms go through four stages: egg, larvae, pupa, and adult. At 85 degrees it will take the worm 5 to 6 weeks to go from larva to adult.

1. When the worm starts to turn grayish or darker. Is he dieing or begining the cocoon stage?
2. Is this what they look like when they are in coccon stage? Found the picture while searching the net. Says they are wax worm pupas.

Here is two of the best online links I found for info about and raiseing beemoth(waxworms). Seems Lizard and Aqualand Pets owners know alot about raising wzxwroms. Got mine in a jar waiting to see what they do, die or multiply. I just ground some hard dogfood up, added a little honey & water, and made a mix. If nothing else, the grandkids like to watch them crawl around. Entertains them.

http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Live...ax%20Worms.htm

http://www.adcham.com/html/insects/i...m-rearing.html

Here a site you might want to check out.Its www.waxwormkit.com

Originally Posted by prchjerker

Here a site you might want to check out.Its www.waxwormkit.com

I broke down and bought the waxworm kit mentioned above. It came with 100 waxworms looks like I will have plenty of worms if they all live.
I tried to go at it with homeade supplies but all the worms died. I was using worms I had in the fridge for a few months so that may have been the problem with my set up. I will clean up my homeade rigs and try a few fresh worms in it to see what happens.
Kenny

okay so yeah i have these wax worms also and i have had them for a while....ive never seen them spin a cacoon however i have seen them go into a brownish colored cacoon that sits loose untop of the substrate. the substrate i use is only oatmeal aka bran which i got for a dollar at walmart....also i feed them fruits instead of hunny which attracts way to many bugs to my room...lol being only 16 i sort of have to keep my room wild bug free....btw i only feed them slices of apples and nectarenes (lol i dont think i spelt that right) dont try to feed them fruits like pears cause they tend to mold quickly...okay also when the moths come out of the cacoon they cant fly immediately but the can hover a little this is when you should transport them into another container with some paper.... i use papertowels however its better to use wax paper ...when moths they dont eat much some say they dont eat at all but i still give them a bit of fruit...the moths lay eggs in a bout a week then die...... the eggs hatch in a couple of weeks like 2 or 3 then are little wax worms....but they can climb! so you need to have the lid of the container be either very well covered or sealed completely with a removable lid..add some oats to the container for them to live in and give them just one or two small slices of fruit with out the peal.... do this once a week until they get bigger then add a little bit more food to accomodate thier hunger and size........be sure to remove any food that begins to grow mold...replace oats whent he old oats are almost completly powder......

Get some fresh ones from the bait shop. Don't try with the ones you've had in the fridge for weeks.They will usually die.Also the ones you get at a baitshop will not spin a cacoon. They will turn brown and hard and hatch into a moth.Keep them around 85 degrees with some himidity in the container...A wet sponge in a small can will do the job..Keep us posted on how you do...
Norm

Hi,

I am new here, but my friends and I are trying to raise a bunch of wax worms. We are using 3 gallon jugs, but they keep filling up with silk type stuf. Is there any way to stop the worms from creating and filling my jug up with silk? Anywone had this problem before?

Thank-You for any and all help offered.

Jim -MN