My silkworms are finally showing signs of growth. At 16 days old they should be a bit further on than this, but we've had a bit of a cold spell which has held them back for a while. They now live permanently on top of our water heater, and that seems to have got them going again - they're much more active too.
I've waited until today to take photos because I wanted to be sure some of them had gone through another skin change. I'm fairly certain these are in their third instar (2 skin changes behind them) and they're looking a bit more grown up. They've started developing stripes, and their heads are bigger (all the better for eating with!). I'm not sure what colour these will turn into (probably mainly white), but they won't be like the ones I've had before which were black and white stripes.
Some of them haven't grown quite as fast - you can see the difference with the one in the middle and some medium sized worms on the left.
Two worms racing for the new leaf I'd just put in front of them.
Definitely looking a bit "lumpier" than before.
Under normal circumstances, silkworms generally reach the cocoon stage in about a month, but I think mine are going to be maybe another week after that because of the delay they've had. Roll on warmer weather!
P.S. Remember in my last post I was amazed at getting so many silkworms from 100 eggs? Well the mystery was solved when I phoned my friend, Sarah, who ordered the eggs. When I told her how many worms I had she sounded rather sheepish and said "Ah, well, I ordered 1,000 for myself and then decanted what I thought was about 100 eggs into a container for you"!! So how come we both got about 800 worms from 1,000 eggs? That's value for money!
I've waited until today to take photos because I wanted to be sure some of them had gone through another skin change. I'm fairly certain these are in their third instar (2 skin changes behind them) and they're looking a bit more grown up. They've started developing stripes, and their heads are bigger (all the better for eating with!). I'm not sure what colour these will turn into (probably mainly white), but they won't be like the ones I've had before which were black and white stripes.
Some of them haven't grown quite as fast - you can see the difference with the one in the middle and some medium sized worms on the left.
Two worms racing for the new leaf I'd just put in front of them.
Definitely looking a bit "lumpier" than before.
Under normal circumstances, silkworms generally reach the cocoon stage in about a month, but I think mine are going to be maybe another week after that because of the delay they've had. Roll on warmer weather!
P.S. Remember in my last post I was amazed at getting so many silkworms from 100 eggs? Well the mystery was solved when I phoned my friend, Sarah, who ordered the eggs. When I told her how many worms I had she sounded rather sheepish and said "Ah, well, I ordered 1,000 for myself and then decanted what I thought was about 100 eggs into a container for you"!! So how come we both got about 800 worms from 1,000 eggs? That's value for money!
Aren't they amazing?? Oh. My.Goodness.... 800 is A LOT!
ReplyDeleteWell I think so, but then I do get rather attached to them! I don't think I'll end up with 800 - I find a few dead ones each time I clean them out, usually the smaller ones. The small one in the middle of the top photo may not survive until maturity. It should have grown more than that by now.
ReplyDeleteso - I need to know... are they wiffy?
ReplyDeleteNo, I can honestly say they don't smell. The only thing you do smell are the leaves as they get shredded by the worms, and that's not unpleasant. I clean them out every second day which is an easy, if time-consuming job (depending on how many you have!) so they don't get chance to smell.
DeleteTo clean them, I just put fresh leaves on top and transfer the whole lot, leaf and worm, when they climb onboard.