So, after several years of breeding B. Mori i thought it was time for something new! Thanks to this forum i got some A. Yamamai eggs!
I'm familiar with diapause as most B. Mori strains need it too. I've always stored eggs that needed diapause at room temperature for several months before putting them in the fridge. That way they didn't have to spend too long in the fridge. I put them in around new years and get them out as soon as the mulberry trees start to grow leaves, which is usually the beginning of may. It has always worked great that way.
So, now i planned to do the same with the A. Yamamai eggs. So i was keeping them at room temperature. But all of a sudden one egg hatched! Yep, there was a little one wandering around, without having had it's diapause time!
So first question: does this occasionally happen that an egg hatches without having had it's diapouse time?
Not much i could do for the little one as nearly all trees have lost their leaves by now.
Anyway, i popped the other eggs in the fridge right away and now they'll have to stay in there until the end of april/beginning of may.
And now i'm concerned that that might be too long!
How should i best store them to prevent them from drying out? Closed or open container? Put in a wet tissue? Whatever, i have no idea!
Btw, i know it would be better to let them overwinter outdoors, but that's not an option as i don't have an outdoor space myself and the weather can switch from cold to warm to cold to warm very quickly these days.
So any advices on giving them the best conditions in the fridge would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Anna