Day Thirty Eight

The adult silkworm larvae now have a new type of condominium.

About twenty cocoons are being spun at the moment.

A close up of the latest cocoon.  Inside, the silkworm is still spinning away.

The adult silkworm, preparing to spend the next few days spinning.

This is the typical arch of the silkworm as it makes ready to build its cocoon.

We ran out of leaves today and Mr Honey Pie had to make a special trip down to Nepean River's Tench Reserve to collect more.  He brought back five shopping bags full.  One and a half have already been devoured by the ravenous silkworms.

I think the most important job to growing silkworms is keeping the tanks clean.

This has been a constant task over the past two days.

The amount of frass is astronomical!  

Silkworms can survive without food for up to one week, but if their housing is allowed to go mouldy, then that could be the end of them.

Day Nineteen

The silkworms are eating mulberry leaves at record speed.

They can't wait to turn into moths.

I can only imagine that my Grand Daughter has been inspired by our rearing of silkworms to have drawn and cut out the above images without any prompting from the grown-ups in her life.

The silkworms continue to grow, I continue to feed and keep clean their house.

Part of the cleaning process involves removing the silkworms' droppings.

The proper term for silkworm droppings is 'frass'.

Adding frass to your garden beds is said to aid flowering plants to bloom.

It is important to keep the silkworms' house clean to prevent mould growing and causing  the silkworms to become sick.

The silkworms' house should be cleaned out at least every two days.

Not only should the frass be removed, but any dried up leaves as well.