Why are my feeder hornworms turning green?
Bought a cup of hornworms for my beardie last week. They arrived that bright turquoise blue colour, and over the last few days several have gone a much more ordinary green. A couple of them are also crawling about restlessly instead of sitting on the chow.
Everything I find when I search is gardeners complaining about tomato plants. Are the green ones still safe to feed, or has something gone wrong in the cup?
@chow_not_leaves · 2h ago · 2 replies
Nothing has gone wrong. Feeder hornworms are raised on a prepared chow rather than on plants, and that chow is what makes them that turquoise blue. The ordinary green is what you get when a hornworm takes in plant pigments instead, or when the chow changes, or just batch to batch variation between suppliers.
The restless ones are the more interesting part of your post. Wandering plus slowing growth plus going off the chow usually means they are getting ready to pupate.
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@turquoise_cup · 1h ago
If they are heading for pupation, is there any point keeping them or should I just use them up?
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