Day Sixty Seven

Only a handful of moths emerged this morning.
Can't be too many left.
It was time to clean up the tank this morning.
I've had overnight visitors so I'd already tidied up a bit by putting all the moths into one tank (instead of two).  The eggs have been removed periodically and kept in another empty and clean tank.
This way I can stack all the tanks atop one another so that the moths/cocoons/eggs take up less floor space.
I threw a lace tablecloth over the tank containing the moths, so that the mass of bodies was not open to full view.
This proved problematic because the female moths climbed to the top and laid eggs on the cloth!
This morning I lined another empty tank with clean paper and transferred all the moths to this tank.
The incessant wing flapping causes the moths' wings to slowly deteriorate so that their wings look ragged and shaggy.
The bottom of the tank gradually becomes covered in a downy dust that used to be the moths' wings.
Over the past few days I have found this to be a bit of a health hazard, causing hay fever like symptoms.
This I think, could be a serious health hazard for anyone suffering from respiratory illnesses.
Tonight, a male moth shocked us by taking flight.
He scurried across the dining room floor and into the lounge room and then flew across the front of the television.  I managed to capture him and return him to his tank.
Silkworm moths are not supposed to fly!

Day Fifty Seven, Week 9

We Have Moths!

Fluttery moths, who have wasted no time with moving on, to the next step of ensuring the cycle continues.

As with the hatching of the silkworms, all the action seems to take place around dawn.

Not much happened after about nine this morning.

So...all that work I was going to do, to prepare for the emerging moths, has been delayed because of a four week influenza that eventually developed into bronchitis.

I'm on antibiotics now and I have been feeling a little bit more on top of things for about twenty four hours...thankfully.

Working under pressure now, I removed from the tanks and counted the cocoons.

I cleaned and dried the tanks and then lined them with paper.

One layer of paper is laid out to line the tank.

A smaller piece of paper is used to add a second liner to the bottom of the tank.

Rectangles of paper are added, in the hope that the moths will lay their eggs on these bits of paper making for easier handling.

So far I've got two requests for eggs.  The first is for a small amount.  The second is for  whatever remains.

If you would like to purchase eggs or empty cocoons, do contact me.

Sorry, due to border control, New South Welshman only please.

And, what does six hundred and ninety nine cocoons look like?

Well, this one didn't cocoon...but metamorphosis is still progressing.

As I'm about to publish this post, the first batch of eggs has been laid!

Day Forty One

My biggest fear at the moment is that one of the silkworms is going to get stepped on!
I came home this afternoon to find five or six of the little critters creeping around on the floor, probably having dropped off the edge of their tank in a bid to find a spot to anchor their cocoon!

Spinning is proceeding happily.

The silkworms make just as much noise spinning as they do eating!

Did you know that the length of silk thread produced to make one cocoon exceeds six hundred metres?

Day Twenty Eight

By the size of the holes in this leaf it 

 seems that silkworm caterpillars are not the only caterpillars that like mulberry leaves.

I found the above little fellow on my supply of leaves that have been stored in the refrigerator.

It has been chilled for something like three days, and survived.

I put the caterpillar and the leaf outside.

I'm hoping that the little creature can fend for itself.

My other find today was a silkworm in a smaller container that I  had been storing the larvae in ready to be picked up.

I thought  it was empty.

I'd say that the silkworm had been in the container for something like a week.  

It too survived!  

If there was food for in the container who can say?  There was none today.

It has now joined it's brothers and sisters in one of the three tanks I've got going to house them all.

Day Twenty Seven

This silkworm is one of the  biggest in the tank.

Well, Mr Honey Pie & I  really mis-judged on how big a container we were going to need to keep the silkworms in.

We purchased the smaller container in the foreground for that purpose.

Luckily I'd cleaned out the larger three in time to keep them in.

My how they've grown!

Day Twenty Four

Thanks to The Graphics Fairy for the above vintage image of a silkworm caterpillar, moth and eggs.

I'm beginning to feel quite attached to the caterpillars.

They are large enough now to be much more easily handled.

The size variance between them all is still huge.

The larger ones are buzzing with life.

I can feel this when I touch them.

They do not flinch at all when I make contact with them gently using my finger tips.

It is essential that the larvae are only handled with clean hands.

Bacteria may be transferred to the larvae.

To keep the caterpillars healthy it is important to keep the humidity (moisture) in their tank  low.

High humidity encourages mould to grow and will make the silkworms sick.

If the worms must be handled it should be done with great care so as to avoid bruising them.

Day Thirteen

Thank you to Mr Honey Pie for being such a generous gatherer!

We now have a third source of mulberry leaves because Mr Honey Pie has discovered a mulberry tree growing in the yard where he works.

Just look at all those shiny green leaves.

This means we don't have to go to Tench Reserve alongside the Nepean River to gather a supply of leaves.  But it's reassuring to know that the supply is there if need be.

I'm finding the tanks a little easier to clean now.

Having two tanks is much more convenient than one.

With two tanks I can transfer all the silkworms and the leaves they're feeding on, to one tank while the other is being cleaned.

While I'm cleaning the tank, I place as many fresh leaves as I can into the other tank to entice as many silkworms onto the new leaves.

When the cleaned tank is ready I can then place the silkworm-laden leaves into the clean tank.

I am getting a bit of a better pattern and routine to the care of the worms.

Now that they are larger, they are also easier to handle.

One of the worms measured in at 1.5 cm today.

The temperature dropped to around 17 oC overnight.  

We've had cloud and rain so I'm hoping that it doesn't get much colder than this.

Otherwise I'll have to put the heating on again.

Day Eleven

Caring for fifteen silkworms is MUCH easier than caring for three hundred plus!

Last year I bought fifteen silkworms at the markets, for $5.00.  Fifteen silkworms doesn't seem many.  Somehow I lost three of these silkworms, I'm not sure what happened to them.  Out of the remaining twelve silkworms all managed to reach the spinning stage, and eventually we had just as many moths.

Not all the moths lay eggs, only the females.  The eggs were refrigerated until spring and the result is what you see in this blog.   I realise now, that fifteen is probably a good number to keep as pets.  As the larvae grow and come closer to spinning cocoons, the more ravenous they become and need an endless supply of mulberry leaves.   Last year I ran out of leaves towards the end, but luckily I was able to find some at a relatives house which is quite a distance away.  Since then I have found a closer supply, besides the one little tree we have in the garden.  How many will be needed for hundreds of the little creatures?

Sometimes it's necessary to transfer some of the larvae from one leaf to another...they can become quite attached to an old leaf, even when it's all shrivelled up and lifeless.

I have found that the easiest way to transfer the silkworms is by scooping them up gently using a side way stroke with a soft water colour paintbrush.

The larger silkworms are now measuring in at 12mm in length.

I'm finding that the insects are much more active early morning.

This seems to be the best time to transfer them from old leaves to new ones when it becomes necessary to clean out the tanks.

I spread fresh leaves over the old and as the silkworms crawl onto the new leaves I transfer the leaves and silkworms into the second freshly cleaned tank.

Before I throw any of the old leaves out, I put them into what I'm calling a 'holding tank' with one fresh leaf (to attract any silkworms I may have missed) for twenty four hours.

Day Eight, Week 2

Some tiny little larva are still present.  Can you see it to the left of the coin?

Most though are now around 7mm long and a bit more than 1mm thick.

More fertilizer means that I can now feed my indoor plants.

But this many silkworms also means a need to clean out their house.

Fresh leaves in place.

My Grand Daughter took around 20 silkworm larvae home with her yesterday.

I've also listed them on Facebook  for sale and sold one lot of 20 so far.

I have two tanks going now as one tank is not large enough.

I estimate well over 300 silkworms that need taking care of.

Day Seven

The eldest of the silkworms are now seven days old.

By now some of these older brothers and sisters will have become too big for their skins; literally.

To cope with this situation the little critters moult, that is, they leave their old skin behind.

The time between each moult is called an instar.

Some of the silkworms have moulted twice since hatching last Thursday.

You can see some old skins above, they look like shrivelled up silkworms.

The first time you see this you might think that the silkworms are dead and take you by surprise, which is what happened to me.

Then I remembered that they shed their skins, just like a snake.

Silkworms moult four times, there are five instars during this stage.

The first stage is the wait for the eggs to hatch (incubation).  The egg stage is called Ova.

The second stage is the silkworm stage and is called Larva.

During the Larva stage, the silkworms eat and eat and eat.

Silkworms eat mulberry leaves so if you want to keep silkworms as a pet, then you need a mulberry tree.

The second thing you will need is a tank or box with good airflow to keep them in.

The third thing you will need is some time each day to feed them and to clean up their house.