Sunday 10 October 2010

Silkie update

My silkworms are HUGE! Yes, in one week they have quadrupled in size. They're eating machines and going through vast quantities of mulberry leaves.

Last week Sunday (or Monday) night we had a near crisis. My silkies were attacked by ants. Fortunately, the ants hadn't been in the box for more than 30 minutes so my worms survived. But it was a horrible experience for them - and me! The silkies were writhing in pain - the ants were crawling all over them... biting. It was really traumatic. I took the silkies out one by one and removed their attackers. Once the silkies were safe from harm, a big flood came and destroyed the ants, washing them down the drain. Lovely. Ant-traps are now installed too. The silkies now live in a houseboat -  a tub floating in a bigger tray, like a castle with a moat.

The silkies went through a moult last week too and they've come out of it well and healthy and way, way bigger. They just keep growing! Here's an updated photo taken a few minutes ago - compare to the one from seven days ago.



1 comment:

adventurelisa said...

Silkies started spinning on Monday. Came home to find one ina cocoon and one in progress. Now, Tuesday night, there are four in cocoons and eight in progress. I have 16 worms in total.