Help with infected wax worms

Hi, I’m an 8th grader and looking for help with a science experiment involving wax worms and the transmission of a common virus found in them. It’s called an iridovirus and it replicates very quickly in wax worms, making those that are infected actually become iridescent blue or at the very least turn almost clear.

Although it’s a common virus in wax worms, I’m having a hard time finding the infected worms at the larger worm farms.


I’ve been told that some people in this forum might actually raise wax worms for food for their pets and am wondering if anyone happens to have any worms with these symptoms and if they’d be willing to share them with me. It would really help and I’d be willing to share any information we learn with you.


Thanks,


Joe

In my time keeping reptiles, i have never seen that sort of thing. Most of us in the reptile community get our food from trustworthy companies that try their hardest to keep their food healthy for us and our pets. Id imagine if anyone using wax worms for feeding found that sort of thing, they would get rid of the worms asap.

I havent heard of too many people breeding their own waxworms either, but id imagine that there would be little chance of any disease spreading in a good captive breeding setting.

You could always try breeding your own, im sure there are care sheets and breeding sheets out there.

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Originally Posted by Joe124

Hi, I’m an 8th grader and looking for help with a science experiment involving wax worms and the transmission of a common virus found in them. It’s called an iridovirus and it replicates very quickly in wax worms, making those that are infected actually become iridescent blue or at the very least turn almost clear.

Although it’s a common virus in wax worms, I’m having a hard time finding the infected worms at the larger worm farms.
Thanks,


Joe

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I've been using waxworms, sometimes in wholesale quantities, for about 20 years now and have never once seen what you're describing. If you are having difficulty locating infected worms, it may be a virus that's common in the wild but virtually non-existent in captive stock.

You mentioned it replicates very quickly. If it also spreads easily, I'm not surprised the worm farms denied having any. I'm sure they eliminate entire colonies carrying this sucker immediately at first sight. A less charitable explanation is that they wouldn't want to admit having it present. A cricket virus decimated the industry several years ago. A lot of people lost their jobs and production was curtailed.

Awesome subject choice though! My degree focused on microbiology (and a related dual in molecular) and virology is an incredibly interesting field.

Wow. When I was in eighth grade I wasn't concerned with anything but friends and video games. I'm impressed with the subject

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