The silkworms are getting sooo big!
A few of them have gone to silk already.
O
Others are working on it.
I took dozens to the guild where the white elephant table accepted them as their first ever consignment of ‘livestock’ and they went home with a spinner who has grandchildren staying (and a weeping mulberry tree). Here they are in my basket ready to go…
Meanwhile. the search for mulberry leaves continues. We went to the Himeji gardens yesterday but the mulberry trees were not fully in leaf.
On the other hand, the gardens were beautiful even on an overcast day.
And there were ducklings!
In the end we made a trip to a nearby crash repairer where there is an immense mulberry tree hanging over a fence and dropping fruit… so I got some mulberries as well as plenty of leaves no one will miss.
Local & Bespoke 
Are you sure those ducks are feral? They look a bit like pacific black teal, which are pretty common hereabouts and native to Aus. Of course, it’s hard to be sure from that pic! Have you seen the male(s) around? They can be a fair bit easier to identify clearly than the females.
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I would be so happy to be wrong! 🙂 Will amend the post.
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Well, they could go either way. Mallards are not indigenous to Aus, and the female mallards look quite a lot like female black teal. That being said, all the ducks that have set up shop in my swimming pool over the years have been black teal; but then, I’ve seen both mallards and teal puttering around in the city. So who knows?
Anyway, to get back on topic again: yay for nice fat silkworms! It’s good to hear that yours are doing so well that you’ve got spares! Do you have any specific plans for the coccoons/silk when they’ve all done their thing?
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My fingers are crossed too! More and more cocoons, whew… the feeding schedule gets impressive toward the end. I don’t have big plans. I was thinking maybe I would try reeling this time but I can feel my nerve ebbing away 🙂
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I’m putting my vote in for Pacific Black ducks , which we get stacks of in the ACT.
I think the loo rolls are a great idea for the silkworms. I think we just used to let them pupate wherever they chose!
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Fingers crossed about the ducklings! Always glad to be wrong and get happy news on a subject like this. If only I had saved loo rolls all year… I rolled more paper tubes before bed time last night to deal with the new round of silkworms who are ready to pupate. I found this left my cocoons cleaner and easier to spin from than picking bits of dry leaf and frass from them…
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Have just re read this post. We have a weeping mulberry in the garden (Malus alba) and the leaves have been eaten by silkworms previously so if you ever need leaves let me know.
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Thanks so much! It is the month for silkworm hatching, but mine are still in the fridge!
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