The Waxworm & the P. larvae

From 8-14-14.

No other wax moths appear to have hatched from the eggs in the three treatment amounts of BAD on the 24 well plate. Perhaps they still need more time to incubate or they have already been killed (either by drying out, damage to the egg during transfer, drowning while trying to hatch, or other similar complications). I will continue to monitor their progress.

A diet was prepared for the wax worms once they hatch from their eggs. "Diet 3" was prepared according to COLOSS specification (Link). This was the simplest of diets I have found, plus all the ingredients present in the lab for its constitution. The recipe for Diet 3 is listed below:

DIET 3

7 parts dog food*

1 part sterile ddH2O

2 parts honey (Mel-O brand)**

*needs to be ground up prior

**Honey from Link, needed to be pre-warmed to dissolve any honey crystals that had formed in the bottle

Dog food was ground up using a mortar and pestle. The process was performed in small increments as the mortar was not very large. The smaller the amount the more thoroughly the homogenization could be performed. 

80 mL of honey was combined with 40 mL of ddH2O in 240 mL of ground up dog food in a small mixing bowl. The mixture was processed using a gloved hand until thoroughly homogenized. Approximately 150 mL of Diet 3 was transferred to a 500 mL container. 

All the waxmoths at 35C have died (most died within 1 week). The eggs that were adhered to the wax paper hanging from the covers were carefully removed either by VERY gentle abrasion if it looked like they were about to fall off or by cutting the paper around it. Then the small amount of wax paper containing the eggs along with any free eggs were transferred to the containers with 150 mL of Diet 3 (picture below). 

Four small air holes were punched into the cover each container. Containers were slightly mixed to cover the wax paper, this created a rugged terrain for the wax worms. Containers were incubated at 35C in the Fisher Lab. They will continue to be monitored for the emergence of the wax worms.

The left over Diet 3 was stored at 4C in the Fisher lab refrigerator.

The was moths presence in 30 C have not yet died and are still very active. It doesn't appear they have laid any eggs yet either. I will continue to monitor them as well.

//EWW