Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm am raising wax and butter worms ( chilean carpenter moths) for reasearch in my art work.
I bought some, but the people I bought them from said that they don't eat! Can this be possible???
i told them that I wanted to raise them to maturity, and asked them multiple times, but they kept saying they don't eat!!!
Any feedback would be apprecaiated,
Grace

No, it's not possible. They both eat. Suppliers are usually in the business of reselling them, not raising them. Your supplier doesn't know what they are talking about. They are often sold and resold in a dormant (starving) state. They basically starve to death (unless they are fed to a reptile first! )

Wax worms are typically fed a diet of honey/glycerine/and some type of dry flaked baby food or grain. There are many different recipes that work, some even use graham crackers or dog food. I used to raise them using baby cereal, but it is a real pain. (compared to other feeders like crickets and silkworms)

Butter worms come (I understand) from a nodule on a plant that is then broken open to extract the worm. The plant is very similar to "tumble weeds" I am told. I don't think you can get anything comparable in this country to feed them, and I understand they are all imported, and never bred in this country.

Rodney

Yes, all are collected in the wild. They do exclusively feed on Trevoa trinervis in their habitat, but at least some take and thrive on sliced carrots and then undergo matamorphosis in captivity.

Ci@o

Ingo

I will try giving them sliced carrots, thanks!
While researching butter worms formy painting, I found that some people in Chile use butter worms as a source of protein ( i.e. They eat them!!!) I wonder how collection effects the amount of Chilean Carpenter Moth ( the adult form of butter worms)?

This link is pretty neat: www.food-insects.com

I tried the beeswax, oatmeal, and honey recipe. I have only had 2 (out of 50) die so far.
I was really surprised to see that some have started to pupate!! I recently accuired them 4/17... I have been keeping them at 80 degrees, because I didn't want them to starve to death.
The butter worms, on the other hand, have enclosed themselves ( as a group) in a round nest of sawdust and silie string. They actually appear to be a little larger than when I bought them, although they haven't desturbed the food I prepared for them. Any ideas on what could be happening???
I have seen some butter worms for sale on the internet, that appear abnormally plump. I doubt that these could have been collected from the wild. Maybe I could email the company and ask them?
Anyway, Thanks again,
Grace

there are several caresheets on raising waxworms available on the net. For butterworms, it would be very difficult to raise in captivity. It may even be illegal to raise them in the US (I don't know, just guessing here completely. To find out for sure you will have to check with your federal/state ministry of agriculture or national resources). I do know that butter worms are also called Tebo worms because they feed exclusively on the Tebo plants of Chile. They are imported from Chile and as far as I know, are not bred anywhere else. Their scientific name is Chilecomadia Moore.

Both waxworms and butterworms are typically just stored in the fridge to keep them alive the longest by slowing their metabolism. Every time I bought waxworms they looked diseased and unhealthy so I decided not to buy them anymore, even as treats. Never ordered the butterworms so have no opinion on their state of health when purchased.

I suppose if you can get ahold of Tebo plants you could raise them in captivity but how to go about that, I don't have a clue. Searching the web may bring out some information on them, especially for class room study.

Actually its Trevo Worms if I remember right.. not Tebo and the plant they feed on is exclusive to South America.. and very difficult to grow here or rather no one's tried really hard to do so... Despite the fact that Trevo worms are actually a very good source of food for reptiles.. and also high in calcium.. almost a rival for Silkies.
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Lucien

1.1 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh and Isis)
2.2 Leopard geckos (2 Blizzards (Caine and Goliath), 1 het Blizzard (Lilith) and 1 Tangerine Albino (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short))
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros)
13 rats
1 Gerbil
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
2 cats (Sahara and Hercules)

they're called tevo worms as well due to their eating habits. Who'll thought a larvea would have so many different names?