# I Haz Moffs!



## Miss Lily (Oct 3, 2008)

Lol! I woke up to find that the first of the silk moths had emerged early this morning! They really are the cutest moths ever!! I have 3 males and only 1 female so far, but I am sure more will emerge tomorrow morning! Can't beat free food! :2thumb: As soon as the pair finish mating, the female will be separated to a clean tub so she can lay her precious cargo in peace. Then, finger's crossed they are fertile eggs that she lays (they should be as they've been at it for hours, lol!) Once they are determined to be fertile they will be put into diapause in the fridge for 4 weeks then I shall take some out and start all over again! My baby Jackson chameleon loves silkworms, but these ones grew so big they were bigger than Monty himself! 

Here's a few pics - gotta love the false eyelashes they have as antennae!:flrt:


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## MaMExotics (Dec 4, 2010)

Miss Lily said:


> Lol! I woke up to find that the first of the silk moths had emerged early this morning! They really are the cutest moths ever!! I have 3 males and only 1 female so far, but I am sure more will emerge tomorrow morning! Can't beat free food! :2thumb: As soon as the pair finish mating, the female will be separated to a clean tub so she can lay her precious cargo in peace. Then, finger's crossed they are fertile eggs that she lays (they should be as they've been at it for hours, lol!) Once they are determined to be fertile they will be put into diapause in the fridge for 4 weeks then I shall take some out and start all over again! My baby Jackson chameleon loves silkworms, but these ones grew so big they were bigger than Monty himself!
> Here's a few pics - gotta love the false eyelashes they have as antennae!:flrt:
> 
> image
> ...


very cool are these has people make out to breed?


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## Miss Lily (Oct 3, 2008)

They are hard work, yes! My eggs hatched on 16th December and it has taken this long to get them to the moth stage! They need to be kept clean and everything you use needs to be kept clean. You can't touch them with bare hands - they have no immune system so just one sick worm can end up spreading whatever it has to all the others! They get this disease called Grasserie and it turns them all to mush! Some nights it has taken me two hours to clean them all out and feed them, and I only had 250 hatch, lol!! The hardest part is getting them big enough to pupate! Once the moths emerge they mate pretty much instantly. I have had much better success with raising them from the egg rather than buying the silkworms to raise. he eggs are cheaper too - you get a lot more for your money. Having raised this lot and seen how expensive it is both in supplies and time, I can fully appreciate how they aren't very cheap to buy! The powdered food costs £12 a bag and I'm on my second bag now.


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## Miss Lily (Oct 3, 2008)

*I haz eggies!*

Lots and lots of eggies!

The first female that emerged and mated yesterday has laid her precious belly full of eggs! I was able to video her actually laying them and took some pics.

The video lost a lot of quality when it was uploaded, which I am disappointed about, but you can still see what she's doing.
Silk Moth Laying Eggs - YouTube

In this pic you can see her ovipositor. Strangely, she laid a lot of the eggs inthe indents of the kitchen roll pattern!









another of her laying


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## Postcard (Aug 29, 2010)

I am a bit phobic about moths, but if any were going to make me want to cuddle a moth it would be these - adorable! :flrt: Sooo cute.


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## Miss Lily (Oct 3, 2008)

They really are cute! I never really liked moth smuch until I had these. They are fascinating to watch. They even wash their feelers and faces with their hands much like a cat washes it's whiskers and face with it's paw! Don't think I can feed any to the chameleons, it seems so cruel!:blush: I've been trying to get a video but they always stop washing when the camera starts up, lol!


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## tRiBaLmArKiNgS (Nov 10, 2011)

Cooool  Love that 2nd pic! :2thumb:


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## Mockingjay (Feb 24, 2012)

Beautiful! Just amazing! I love moths so darn much! They are so cute and gorgeous!! <3 Ok end of me freaking you out XD

What breed are they? I have never seen them so diddy! and who did you get yours from? (Looking for a range of suppliers atm)


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## Miss Lily (Oct 3, 2008)

They are silk moths! :flrt: Such pretty l'il things! These started life as silkworm eggs back in December. They hatched and I have been raising them ever since and finally have some that have pupated and become moths! I have 2 females and 4 males at the moment with a lot more silkworms either cocooned, spinning or near to spinning. Probably have more moths emerged in the morning!


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## Jaina_Organasolo (Jan 7, 2012)

I have to say, they are really pretty :flrt:


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## Mockingjay (Feb 24, 2012)

They are so cute! I will be starting to breed Actius Luna moths soon they are really pretty also <3 Did you buy yours online?


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## Miss Lily (Oct 3, 2008)

Yes, I bought the eggs from silkwormstore.co.uk. It's so exciting as I have never had this many get to pupation before!


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## Mockingjay (Feb 24, 2012)

Its great! They are so adorable also!!


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