# Waxworm culturing



## Pro Mantis (Apr 7, 2007)

Wax worm Care sheet

Scientific name: Galleria mellonella

Originlly found in abandoned beehives, waxworms are now usedas a treat for many reptiles and insects. They should never be used as a staple diet but are useful for fattening up a female after pregnancy. They have a high fat content which makes them unsuitable as the only food in an animals diet, whether it be a mantis, lizard or rough green snake.

Their estimated nutritional value is as follows:

Fat 16.0% 
Protein 20.0% 
Carbohydrates 0.4% 
Fibre 0.6% 
Water/ other moistures 63.0% 

They therefore make a juicy but surprisingly fatty treat. This is because of the honey they eat when in the beehives (we will cover their diets later on). As the carbohydrates are not used they are converted into fat. They can be quite expensive to buy, but are wellworth the money if you have a shy pet!

Culturing Your Own:

Waxworms must be kept DRY, I cannot state the importance of this. They will perish very quickly and you will smell it when anything rots won’t you?

Below is something I made on MS Paint™ to show what you should keep yours in if you want to give this a go:









Feeding or gut loading

Food Medium 1: Mix bran and honey in a heated sauce pan. Add enough bran to make it stiff. Spread it on a baking tray with foil on it till it cools. Crumble it up nicely and place on the bottom of your container. Freeze any extra for later use or bin it.

Food Medium 2: Mix seven parts crumbled dry dog food with one part water and two parts honey. This medium should gut load your wax worms. Spread on some foil or similar to dry until no longer sticky – usually around 24 hours. Freeze any extra or just bin it.

Now, just be patient. It can take up to 2 weeks for some moths, and even longer for some nice sized waxies (obviously). Most people rip theirs apart to discover they have done everything right and it paid off without them knowing. Patience is the key.

I hope this helped. Any more info can be provided with request via PM.

To harvest them just grab one from the medium. They drop out of the card when they hatch from th eggs.

written by me!


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## Rainwater (Apr 18, 2007)

i got 3 wax moths now yay, great sheet pro!!


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