Silky Miracles / A life journey of 69 silk worms
Did I know anything about silk worms when my son brought them from school? Well, no! But this experience turned out both educative and lifechanging for both the worms and the humans ))))
On June 9th my son brought 69 little ugly almost black worms home, told me that it's a school project of observing the little creatures and making notes, I put them outside to the garden in a big shoebox, but as soon as I gave them a few mulberry leaves the next morning, I couldn't stop filming them, reading all about taking care of them and, the most important, touching them, what was strictly prohibited for "they're not toys", according to my son.
How surprised I was seeing these little guys being hungry all the time, they were growing "what are you feeding them with?" kind of way, consuming from four to five leaves per day and increasing this quantity up to 10 in two weeks.
But one day suddenly one of the worms stopped eating and started to just wander around the box making bizarre movements with its cute head - he was searching for a place to make a cocoon. I've never seen a worm making a cocoon before, so I was stuck there staring at it for about an hour, then I looked it up on the internet, the process should have been taken about 10 hours, haha, so I've decided to check on it in the morning. And by this time four worms made their cocoons!!!
Just yestarday last cocoon was finished and now we're waiting for the first moth to be born, or for the first worm to be reborn in a moth's body ))
Unfortunately, silk worms and their moths are completely dependent on us, humans, due to being domisticated about 4000 years ago in China and the evolution the way of lost ability to fly and total blindness. That's why having them didn't feel like depriving them from freedom.
Special thanks to @d-pend for the wonderful music!
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Aw, they look like furry little easter eggs in your hand there, haha. It's kind of happy-sad about their dependency, and life cycles, I remember from the last time you posted a haiku about them. At least these guys are doing some extra good, education wise :)
They're doing much more extra good, Lazarus!!!!! My son is learning to be responsible by checking if they have enough food, there were a few times we had to go pick up leaves late in the evening, because they had none ))) haha, also the cocoons can be used after the moth are born - they're great natural skin peeling )))) hahahaha, I'm surely gonna check this out )
I am now looking forward to the moths that are going to emerge. Thanks for the report
Unfortunately I will not see them emerging for I had to give them away to my friend a day before the first one had to emerge, uffff!!!!! But I couldn't risk them by bringing to Russia where the temperature is lower than 25 and they're really sensitive. So I hope that the next year I'll be able to repeat this experiment, my friend promised to put a few eggs of moths to the fridge (so there will be a new generation of silk worms by the spring) =)
Every female moth makes about 500 eggs, so the chances are good))
Thank you Sayee! Aren't they cute? The cocoons?))))) I loved Lazarus' comparison!