# how to rear silkworms



## benton1576 (Nov 7, 2009)

So, I bought a 250 silkworm colony and powdered chow from silkworm store : * - Home Page.

Heres how I reared them, unfortunately not from start to finish but It was the same from when I first got them as tiny stage 1 slikworms (1st instar)

You will need:
plastic hinged box (provided when you order the colony)
plastic angle
mesh (aluminium or plastic)
plastic tweezers (provided when you order the colony)
patience!!!

heres a pic of the items cut to size:










Place the plastic angle in the box like so:










And put the mesh on top:










now place your prepared chow onto the mesh and add silkworms (note how I place the food to ensure the silkworms spread out and dont smother each other):










I keep everything as clean as possible, a thorough cleaning every 3-4 days should ensure no moldy chow is in the box. I also sterilise everything when I clean using soap and water and antibacterial wipes.

To mix the chow simply add boiling water and stir. Your aiming for a fairly thick paste. Put it in the microwave for a minute or 2 to thicken it up, and also to sterilise it. Then just empty the contents onto a sheet of clingfilm, wrap and put into the fridge. You will find that the chow thickens up into a playdo consistancy. This is what you want!

I seperate my silkworms after 2-3 weeks, making sure I wash and sterilise my hands and tweezers before any handling takes place. Cleansliness is VERY IMPORTANT. Take the bigger ones and place them into a seperate box. This ensures that the smaller ones are not getting caught up in the silk and that they can get to the chow. 

Remove any dead or dying (going black) silkworms from the tub as they will make the others ill.

I hope this has been of some use. This was my first time rearing them, and after watching a few videos on youtube I decided to give it a go. It takes time and patience, but the end result is great! Look forward to my follow up thread on breeding them as Ill be letting 30 or so mature to moths!


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## rsklReptiles (Jul 14, 2010)

mine have all cocooned now, cant wait for them to come out as moths! im gunna be going to take a cutting from a mulberry tree when i locate one and grow a tree for fresh leaves hopefully but my cham loves the worms!


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## Kuja (Dec 14, 2011)

very interesting, not tried rearing these yet i will give it a go at one point though!


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## benton1576 (Nov 7, 2009)

I wish I knew what a mulberry tree looked like! lol. I dont seem to be able to find any around me that look anything like I can find on the internet.


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## rsklReptiles (Jul 14, 2010)

benton1576 said:


> I wish I knew what a mulberry tree looked like! lol. I dont seem to be able to find any around me that look anything like I can find on the internet.


Me to ! In august I know the garden centers get them in then so I'll be going Nicking leaves lol if theyre not majorly expensive I'll buy one but I know there is one about half an hour away from me I can get leaves and take cuttings

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## benton1576 (Nov 7, 2009)

rosswaa said:


> Me to ! In august I know the garden centers get them in then so I'll be going Nicking leaves lol if theyre not majorly expensive I'll buy one but I know there is one about half an hour away from me I can get leaves and take cuttings
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


Just so long as you know, once theyre on leaves they wont take the chow anymore! Going from chow to leaves is easy though and usually recommended for the final week to bring them on to cocoons.


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## rsklReptiles (Jul 14, 2010)

Chow is fairly expensive though for what it is

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## Dave9992 (Jul 27, 2012)

Hi. I've been trying to breed these for my veiled chameleon. So far so good, I have about a dozen to 20 cocoons so far. I found this site a good source of info on their life cycle. Thought u guys might find it useful. 

Bombyx mori, the China Silkworm

This is where I bought my White mulberry tree (Morus alba). I bought the 6 inch sapling but it will be a long time before it reaches a decent size to feed my worms. There is a large one on ebay for £255 so they are not cheap. :gasp:

morus alba | eBay


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## shameless_wedgie (Feb 8, 2010)

From what I can remember Morus alba is the type they eat Morus ***** is the common mulberry that they aren't fussed on, this is the type we stock in garden centres for fruit, Morus alba tends to be less in demand and not readily available to the general public, however I will inquire in work as i may have to do this.


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## benton1576 (Nov 7, 2009)

Why? The chow is cheaper, easy to make and lasts longer! They eat constantly and go through food like a swarm of locusts so by the time you have a tree big enough to feed them, theyll be extinct! lol


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## rsklReptiles (Jul 14, 2010)

benton1576 said:


> Why? The chow is cheaper, easy to make and lasts longer! They eat constantly and go through food like a swarm of locusts so by the time you have a tree big enough to feed them, theyll be extinct! lol


Lol its cheaper short term. Not gunna grow it for like 2 weeks time but say next few years I'll have a little few trees to get fresh leaves from 

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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

Mulberry trees grow really fast if you put them in the garden, I bought my wife one a few years ago, an 8' tree that cost around £50 IIRC, and now it dominates the back garden! You could feed millions of silkworms off it's leaves, and the fruit is delicious.

Even a small sapling should grow fast if planted in the garden or a big enough tub.


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## shameless_wedgie (Feb 8, 2010)

Also If you get your tree late in the year there won be any food between October leaf fall and march active growth


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## rsklReptiles (Jul 14, 2010)

2 of mine hatched? Evolved? Whatever they do 



















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## Shaunny (May 31, 2013)

I know this is an old post but I and getting some to try myself as I'm new to it all. If the tree is disiduas did you know that you can start picking the leaves as soon as they harden off ie dark green. There is a new bud at every internode on a disiduas tree that's ready for next year but if picked early (say the leaves got burnt in the sun) then the tree will automatically produce a new leaf. You can do this 3 times every other year so to not stress the tree so much the only downside is the leaf will be 1/3 smaller than the original leaf every time. That's what we do in the art of bonsai to make the leaf size smaller


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## nutbrittle (Feb 4, 2017)

*Update on your silkworms*

Hello

I'm very new to breeding silkworms. I am following your method, and I'm curious as to how your silkworm colony is doing after 5 years.

Cheers


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