Fir coneworm: Care instructions

Fir coneworm is shipped as first-instar larvae (2 per cup) on artificial diet.

1. Upon receipt of the insects, turn the rearing cups upside down so that the diet is at the top. The tiny larvae will move up towards the light to find food. Keep the cups nested within a second cup, since mature larvae may chew their way through the first. Maintain the cups at 23°C, 55% relative humidity and a 16h:8h light:dark cycle.
2. Cups contain sufficient artificial diet for the larvae to attain the pupa stage. Do not transfer the larvae to new diet, even when it dries out or becomes discoloured.
3. Approximately 40 days after shipping, the larvae will pupate within the hardened diet plug. Usually a large buildup of hardened frass and silk webbing somewhere on the surface of the diet provides evidence of a pupa. Carefully remove the pupa by cutting the hardened diet with scissors or gardening clippers and place it within a ventilated container, providing adequate space for adult eclosion. Pupae are difficult to sex and this must be done using a dissecting microscope.
4. Adults will emerge 6–8 days after pupation and require only a daily misting of water for survival.