areas like placing the container near the heat source of
your reptile’s enclosure. To increase the humidity place
a small piece of damp paper towel (or sponge) in the
container, but avoid excess moisture and do not allow
contact between the damp paper towel and the eggs.
Generally the eggs will hatch between 7-12 days after
they are removed from the refrigerator. They will
change from a dark purplish colour to a light bluish-
grey a couple of days before hatching.
When the eggs begin to hatch, provide young Mulberry
leaves or cooked Mulberry chow. If they do not all
hatch within 24 hours, it is okay to place a small amount
of food in the container to allow the early hatchers to
feed. All worms must be fed within 24 hours after
hatching or they will starve. Sometimes the hatchling
silkworms (known as kego) may not be able to locate
their first meal; if this is the case a fine paint brush can
be used to carefully place them onto the food. Fresh
food needs to be offered a couple of times a day. In
addition to providing food, maintenance of appropriate
humidity is crucial to rearing kego. Preventing the build
up of condensation is mandatory, as too much moisture
will drown the small silkworms; on the other hand, if it
is too dry the food will quickly desiccate and the kego
will not be able to eat. Many factors will affect the
humidity, including the quantity of food provided,
container size, temperature and ambient humidity. Once
the right balance is achieved, the kego will grow very
quickly. Keep up with the feeding and cleaning and you
will soon have silkworms of exactly the right size to
feed to your collection!
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2
1.
Silkmoths mating; if given the
chance, males will attempt to breed
continuously.
2.
The female will lay between 100-
500 yellow eggs,
3.
Transferring the larvae to a fresh
container using plastic net topped with
fresh chow.
All images courtesy Brett De Poister.
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Background photo by Dennis Jarvis. Source: Creative
Commons.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en