You may recall our dispatch last weekend when the largest of the Free-Ride silkworms indicated their readiness to pupate.
They didn't figure it out right away.
Being ready to pupate doesn't mean an instant cocoon:
Actually, it took us a little while to figure out that the tall cylindrical plastic container in which we'd set them up with lots of sticks was not working so well for them. They kept trying to get their silk to stick to the plastic walls, and it just didn't. So we switched over to a shallow rectangular container with paper tubes. That seemed to work better.
Here are some cocoons in progress:
And here are some completed cocoons:
It's like being a teenager:
Before you know it, they'll be moths.
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Three weeks after the first cocoon was built, the first of the intrepid Free-Ride silk moths have emerged.
Did the sprogs notice the remarkable resemblance of silkworms to twigs? As soon as I saw them, I could guess what mulberry twigs look like.
For the Tax Deductions
Can you pupating primates tell me why silk is so expensive?