Maturing waxworms into moths

[Mike]

I've also used this recipe to culture waxworms, it's a bit simpler and works well too: Breeding Waxworms

One thing you want to keep in mind is that waxworms can eat through plastic when they run out of food/medium, so if you're going to culture them in jars you should use glass jars with metal screen lids. Also make sure the screen is very fine or the tiny larvae will escape (it's happened to me a few times when the mesh wasn't fine enough).

One methods for feeding out the moths is to put the culture in the fridge for a bit until they slow down, then once they're in your vivarium they'll warm up again and become active. I've stopped culturing waxworms since I never found a good method to harvest the larvae from the medium (any suggestions?).

[deengo1975]

I have successfully breed these waxworms but I never get more than 10 out of the 250 I put in there to start the culture. Then they die off soon after I've discovered them. So I've stopped trying to breed waxworms.

[John]

What temperature are you keeping them at, what kind of ventilation are you giving them and how moist is it in there? These are the important factors.

[deengo1975]

They were kept at 80 degrees F. I drilled many 1/4 holes in the top and put an old T-shirt over it so the babies would not escape. I think it was pretty moist in there though.

[John]

Waxworms naturally live in Bee Hives where humidity is very carefully controlled by the bees. I would bet it was too humid.

[Bearnandos]

I've breed waxmoths accidentally - only problem was my frogs refused to eat them...in fact my frogs even refuse to eat my silkworms I think it is due to the steady temps I kept them at.
One thing we must all remember is that in a few countries - releasing wax moths on purpose or accidentally is illegal as they can wipe out bee colonies very quickly.