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My silkworms--moths now, are laying eggs all over the coccoons! Theres tons of little eggs stuck all over the silk. What a pain. How do i get them off the silk. Not to mention the red piss is all over and splashing on the eggs/silk too!

I can hardly get mine to live much less breed.
I would just pull the cocoons out when the moths emerge and let them breed on a sheet of paper, they will lay their eggs there.

Problem is that theres tons of coccoons (my cham didnt eat many worms) and they are emerging at different times.

The coccoons with eggs on them are still growing.

UGH what a pain. Should i try to pick the eggs off the silk or what? Theyre stuck pretty good.

np

Not to worry....

first off the "piss" is a totally water soluble substance that they secrete to help break down the silk upon eclosion. If it gets on you or items it can be rinsed off with water.

2nd...just like chams, moths will lay infertile eggs if they have not mated. If the eggs stay white they are infertile, if they darken within a few days they are fertile. The eggs on the cocoons are not a problem unless they are fertile and then you'll have a messy mass of babies! You can attmept to separate them now or wait a few days to see if they are even fertile and save yourself some trouble.

My suggestion is read the link below and in the future check your container for newly emerged moths a few times a day. Carefully pick them up under their abdomen (in other words don't grab their bodies or wings) and move them to a mating cage/tub/box. You will see them mating and you can then put the female into a brown paper bag where she will lay for a couple days. Even those of us who rear a lot of leps use the paper bag method for ease of transporting.

Hope this helps! here's that link

>>My silkworms--moths now, are laying eggs all over the coccoons! Theres tons of little eggs stuck all over the silk. What a pain. How do i get them off the silk. Not to mention the red piss is all over and splashing on the eggs/silk too!
Silkworms

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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

yep theyre almost all fertile--black little eggs.

Problem is the moths are unattended for most of the day. Theyre already emerged and mating on top of the coccoons by the time i get home.

Hopefully whoever i sell these eggs to wont mind them being stuck to cases.

Well, I am sure folks WILL mind b/c they are not going to want to try to pull them off

Anyway, they typically need a cooling period in your fridge to simulate "winter" www.pclaunch.com/~kayton/Silkworms/eggs.htm

My suggestion (and the way I do it) is to place the newly spun cocoons into a rearing cage (or you can use any plastic container just line it with paper towel so they can grasp onto it when they first eclose). I then prop sticks, branches, chopsticks(!) anything for them to climb up on to dry their wings - this way they are up and away from their cocoon and the silk.

Don't crowd the cocoons together. Be sure they have enough room to eclose and then move around - your life will be much easier. If they have spun up in tp rolls or cardboard egg cartons, you can leave them as is and they will find their way out to mate. Generally, the female stays in the same spot and releases pheromones and the male comes to her. I coax mine to climb a stick.

I think you might have better luck if you try some of these methods. I am sure John, Joe and others have their way as well, but this has been my tried and true methods of rearing leps for the past 5 years.

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

yea I had way too many cocoons. I wish my cham ate more of them as worms.

I had 2 tubs full of cocoons (sitting flat not piled up) Theres just not enough flat places to put them!

o well.

next time (if there IS a next time!) try putting in toilet paper rolls, cut up PT rolls or egg cartons so they each have their own little place to call "home." Depending on the time and effort you want to put into them you can "trim" the excess silk from the cocoon and then put them into a new emerging cage/setup.

>>yea I had way too many cocoons. I wish my cham ate more of them as worms.
>>
>>I had 2 tubs full of cocoons (sitting flat not piled up) Theres just not enough flat places to put them!
>>
>>o well.
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

There is no good way to get the eggs off of the cocoons.. (none that I have found)

I put all of my cocoons in a big tub (which I check every morning) I pull the moths from the cocoon tub and put them in a different tub for egg laying purposes. The tub I use has nothing in it except the moths. It has a perfectly flat bottom for easy egg removal.

Like someone else said, the fluid that they leave behind will dissolve in water, so no worries.

After all the moths are dead, I remove their bodies and scrape the eggs into a strainer for washing.

(I have spent many hours picking eggs from cocoons. It's messy and time consuming and not worth the effort, but, it can be done. What works best: Pull the silk away from the cocoon so you have a wad of eggs and silk. run the silk under a bit of water so the threads stick together. Pinch the silk with both figernails and slide down the silk where the eggs are stuck. they will come off onto your finger and under your fingernails. Its a pain in the butt, because you will have eggs sticking to your wet hands, but with a little anger management, you'll get through it. The moral of the story is don't let the moths lay their eggs on the cocoons.)
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Joe
- www.silkwormfarm.com-

good advice!

Do you lay paper towel in the laying tub so they have something to grip onto? it's just a little nicer for the moths

lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

I was under the impression that you shouldnt get the eggs wet. They have to 'breathe' or something and water could drown them?

I don't suggest that you leave the eggs in water. Straining them for a few minutes will do no harm.
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Joe
- www.silkwormfarm.com-