How to tell when a tobacco hornworm is ready for pupation #hornworm #worm #pupation #caterpillar #moths #nature #insects #metamorphosis #Manducasexta #tomatohornworm
I love feeding those things to my dragons especially when they're big I love when they crawl over me especially when you have a 1000 of them it's a godly feeling Just think of their teeth biting their skin but it's a little massage
The best thing to use is coconut choir, I use "eco-earth" brand. You can find it at pet stores, it usually comes in a block that you soak and then squeeze out the water and you are good to go. The benefit of this is it doesn't mold, and it doesn't compact like soil does so it is easy to dig them up when it is time. The hornworms love it.
They are sold in pet stores as "feeders" for lizards- they usually come with their own food in a cup, but you would need to put them in a larger enclosure to raise them (like a small aquarium or a mesh butterfly enclosure.) You can also buy them from "CarolinaBiologicalSupply,.com" they have them in various stages for sale and offer food as well. If you don't want to use the man-made food, you can feed them tomato or eggplant leaves - they love them but you have to have a good amount. Once they start eating "real" leaves they won't go back to the man made food. They will also eat whole tomatoes and slices of potatoes. :)
I have a Yellowstriped Oakworm caterpillar and it’s about to go in its pupae how long do I have to wait cuz mine hasn’t gone in its pupae for like 4 days
Most species take a week to pupate- they shrink and expel extra fluids in the process. Once they turn into a pupae, they will be delicate and soft for a couple of days until they harden so wait until it looks dark and dry to handle it :) Patience is key!
@@Kuwi-enjoyer yes, the majority of larva take a week. Some may take less but if you have them in the dirt and you cannot see them wait at least a week before trying to dig them up or you may kill them.
I typically use something about 6''x6''x6'' per hornworm. They like to go pretty deep, I usually find them on the bottom of the container. I have also sucessfully pupated them in a cardboard shoebox lined with a damp paper towel and some crumpled up dry ones. They need complete darkness though so I put the shoebox in a cabinet as well. It is cleaner but I do think they appreciate the coconut choir.
@@erichart7707 So I soak it ( I typically buy the "bricks"...) then I take a handful and squeeze it out as hard as possible with my hands. I put the squeezed out choir in the container and shake it around to loosen it up , and repeat until the container is full. It should basically feel "damp" and loose. (You definitley do not want any water to pool up at the bottom so better on the dryer side than wetter.) Once they have gone under, I mist the top of the coco daily so that it doesn't get dry. I typically use mesh and a rubber band around the top of the container so there is airflow, if you are using a lid it may stay wetter and not need daily misting. ) I never let the top completely dry up. Hope this helps! :)
They absolutely love lettuce just oure lettuce its cheap and yku get a ton for like $5 at shop rite. Not iceburg it ruined too fast. Get the long leaf kind and dont let them run out!!
I like to use coconut fiber also known as "eco-earth" sold as substrate for amphibians. It usually comes in a block, and you soak it in water prior to use. The reason is that is doesn't mold, and is also lightweight and not as heavy as soil. Hornworms need lots of moisture and the substate needs to stay damp. Once they go under the dirt to pupate you have to wait a week to dig them up or you risk damaging the pupae. You can use organic potting mix, or regular outdoor soil but it is a bit more risky in terms of the caterpillar pupating successfully. If you cannot get coconut choir you can simply use a shoebox filled with damp paper towels crunched up and they will pupate under the paper towels. The key is they need complete darkness to pupate so if you use a shoebox keep it in a cabinet or dark place and only check infrequently that there is still moisture.
My hornworm went halfway under a napkin, so I put it’s terrarium in the darkest spot in my room but it’s dorsal line isn’t moving anymore. Is it dying?
When they are ready to pupate, they stop moving and they shrink considerably. They actually look like they are dying. You just need to be patient, It takes 3 to 4 days for it to shed its skin and become a pupa. If however, something has gone wrong and it’s going to die, It will eventually become obvious that it is dead... In the meantime, I would just watch and wait and keep it as dark as possible. Perhaps you could put a dark blanket or sheet over the terrarium to simulate darkness.
Mine are pupated and I dug them out and put them in a butterfly pen so when they hatch their wings aren’t damaged.. but for some reason their dying in the pupate stage and idk what to do😭 do you happen to have any advice??
can you tell me more about how they are dying? How are you keeping them? They need to be misted twice a day in the pupa stage, and take about a month or a little longer to hatch. Most issues are related to moisture.
@@girlbye4233 No problem! When they are underground ( as they normally would be ) they are always moist- the dirt is very humid. I keep mine on damp Sphagnum moss or paper towels and mist twice a day! Good luck :)
