House:
a cardboard box with a lid is an ideal home for silkworms. The
box should be at least as large as a shoebox. A jar is not suitable
because it does not allow airflow and can overheat.
Temperature: Room temperature is ideal for your silkworms
and they do not require sunlight.
Predators and ills: Keep spiders away but do not use fly
spray, cleaners, hair spray, incense or any other chemicals near
the silk worms.
Food: Silkworms only eat mulberry leaves, feed twice a
day to avoid the leaves becoming mouldy. Place enough leaves to
cover them in a single layer, when you can the grubs above the
leaves it is time to feed them again. They will eat more as they
grow then slow their eating when they are ready to spin.
History: Silkworms are not native to Australia. Their ancestors
were native to China. A Chinese Princess has been credited with
the discovery of silk and farming of silkworms. Humans have bred
them for thousands of generations, increasing their silk quantity
and quality and their ability to be handled by humans. These
Silkworms are no longer able to live in a natural world. They
form helpless flightless moths and look yummy for birds (actually
they taste quite horrid to most birds, but that is discovered
by the birds after it kills them). They spin large cocoons with
fine thread in return for your care. Now the silkworm is fully
dependent on humans.
Silkworms will eat mulberry leaves twice a day, when they slow in their eating and begin to look chubby and slightly yellow, they will start to spin. Place an upside down egg carton over them or put them in a egg carton with just a few leaves as required. They will surround themselves in golden yellow, salmon pink, yellow-green or white cocoons. In a month or so they will exude a chemical that dissolves the end of the cocoon so they can emerge as a flightless moth. Put they moths together in a flat-bottomed box. They do not eat or drink during this part of the lifecycle. The moths will flap their wings at high speed calling for a mate. When they find a mate they will join at the tail end. When mating ends, the females will lay eggs. The eggs will be laid on the walls of your box and on any paper available. The grey eggs are fertile and will hatch next spring. The yellow eggs are infertile. The moths will only live for a week or two. The moths do not eat or drink and only need protection from sun and predators such as spiders and birds. When they die they will become still and lifeless, sometimes they lie on their back. You should remove all dead moths and put them in the garden because dead animals can cause disease amongst the living ones. At this point you need to choose if you wish to keep silk worms again. (Do not compost the eggs, return them to the supplier, give them away to a friend or burn them. It would not be humane to dispose of them in the garden or bin). The eggs will hatch into tiny worms next spring.
Silkworms are good pets because
they are noiseless, odourless, little and soft. They live for
only a short time. We can enjoy them now and again the next year.
They remind us of the fragility of life. They remind us of the
importance in being responsible to animals in our care. They
demonstrate the life cycle and the importance of a healthy habitat
and food.
The best use of the silkworm droppings: These droppings are clean,
pelleted and wonderfully rich for potted plants and in the garden.
Mulberries and Silk are good for the environment: Silk is a sustainable
material and unlike most of the light and comfortable fabrics
on the market today, it is natural and will decompose. Mulberry
trees are also valuable food to people and should be promoted,
they are easy to grow and harvest and do not harbour pests and
diseases. The fruit is very tasty. It can be eaten raw or cooked
in pies. The leaves can also be cooked as a vegetable. Fresh
fruit grown locally on bushy trees builds a healthy community
and a healthier city. Trees help filter the air, protect the
soil from erosion, provide free shade and provide habitat for
birds and small mammals. You should avoid planting mulberries
close to fragile native areas because birds can spread the seeds
inside the fruit.
Commercially the silk is harvested
from the cocoon (chrysalis) whilst the moth is still forming in
order to avoid the damaging exudate released by the young moth.
This commercial process kills the silkworm, the moths are then
fed to animals or are composted and become nutrient in the soil.
Some especially good weavers are allowed to hatch for the next
generation of silk worms. Silk is a biologically sustainable fabric
and very versatile (it is used to make rope and warm padding,
as well as the famous fashionable fabric). The uses for the home
silk cocoons are not limited: they make great Christmas tree decorations
and other craft uses. You can cut the ends and make them into
finger puppets. You can stuff a pillow with cocoons, make a necklace
or sew them together to make a pincushion.
A. Sampson-Kelly ADPA.,BCA.,MCA., GrdDipSci