That time of year again!

Usually each May I rear a batch of Bombyx Mori silkworms and this year is no different, it just happened later than usual. I have to watch my mulberry tree in early May to see if there are any leaf buds showing. That is the sign to put eggs to warm so they will hatch 10 days to 2 weeks later. The weather conspired against me and I realised that was was going to be unable to rear a pure strain of Bombyx mori in time to take them to Hatfield House Living Crafts event, So.. I ordered some medium sized silkworms from an online company along with some ready made artificial food for them to eat. Problem solved! Now I am also hatching some eggs in order to take them to Birmingham Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers in 2 weeks time.

This photo shows all stages of the silkworms life cycle. On the right are the eggs which should hatch in another week. In the middle are cocoons spun by the caterpillars taken to Hatfield House. For the first time I had caterpillars spinning at a show and people found it fascinating. In the container with some leaves are small caterpillars. The brown objects in the middle are chrysalis which I took from their cocoons. In the two round containers on the left are mating pairs. The two moths at the top and the one in the centre are males awaiting hatching females.

Bad manners

As a child I was always taught that it was bad manners to make a noise while eating.
Since raising silkworms I have read many times that during a visit to a silk farm you could actually hear the worms eating. I have never heard this sound, until recently!!
For the last four weeks I have been feeding 140 silkworms which hatched unexpectedly because I didn't get the eggs into the fridge quickly enough after they were laid and shown to be fertile.
When they are first laid the pin head size eggs are white and almost invisible on kitchen paper. Within a couple of days the eggs start to darken - if they are fertile - then they are stored in the fridge, as they are supposed to need a cold period before they will hatch. Mine hatched in double quick time, probably due to the extra hot spell we had a month ago.
I have never reared so many caterpillars at one time, my poor old mulberry trees have lost a lot of leaves, but I started collecting them from the bottom of the branches which needed pruning anyway so the lawn mower could get under.
Last week, each time the caterpillars were fed, I heard the noise written about. I guess 140 mouths chomping on the freshest, crispest mulberry leaves is the difference. Our sons girlfriend likened it to the sound of rice crispies when the milk is poured on.

First silkmoth of 2009

The first moth of this year has hatched, nearly 3 weeks after he started spinning. I know it's a he because of the slim body, females are usually fat with eggs that can be seen through their skin!
He hatched from the yellow cocoon on the left of the picture.
Unfortunately, although he could live for 2 weeks, he'll probably see no action because the other caterpillars didn't start spinning until several days after him.
What a boring life, no food, drink or friends to pass the time with!!
I wonder if he knows something about the contents of the cocoons he's chosen to rest on? Male or Female?
Last year caterpillars who had chosen to spin next to each other were infact one of each sex!

Green leaves are good for a diet

Well, they make us fat!
Look how much we have grown in TWO days since we have been fed mulberry leaves instead of that 'pate'.

Got some more!

These silkworms are the kind that spin the white silk that we are all familiar with. Bombyx Mori is the latin name for them.
These are at slightly different stages of development, having hatched on different days. They are feeding on artificial food which is dried, reconstituted mulberry leaves. They must have mulberry to thrive and produce good quality white silk.
They will cast their skin for times in the four weeks it takes them to grow big enough to spin their cocoons.
The worm/caterpillar on the paper has stopped eating and 'stuck' itself to the paper so it can walk out of the old skin. It is important that I do not move 'him' during this time.

Look What I've Got

Well, sometimes we find unexpected things in our fridges - usually green mold! But look what I found today - hatched caterpillars.
To be fair, I knew the eggs were there and I was expecting to take them out of the fridge, sometime soon, where I had been keeping them until there were leaves on the oak tree - their favourite food. When I checked them today I realised that four caterpillars had already hatched. I have 5 now. Each of them is nearly 1/2 a centimeter long. Unfortunately the oak leaves are not ready so they are feeding on hawthorn which is a good substitute in the beginning.

These caterpillars of the Giant silkmoth grows very large have a green face and more interestingly, they spin a wonderful egg-shaped cocoon of BRIGHT GREEN SILK.

I have not raised this variety before so I will be photographing them regularly and look forward to the moths hatching later in the year.