silkworm management… the paintbrush

When you need to move a tiny kego from place to place, like when you give them new leaves and need to get them off of the old ones… a paintbrush is the best tool.

This is a #1 synthetic sable; anything from a #0 to a #2 will work. You kind of “scoop” the kegos with the tip, being careful not to get them meshed in the bristles. If they get caught up there anyway, a second paintbrush, or the tip of a pencil, can get them out. I find that I need to “wipe” the kegos off the paintbrush.

You can’t really see it because the camera doesn’t want to focus, but the little blurred kego is hanging from a silk thread. Bombyx mori caterpillars use a safety line from the time they’re born.

Here, you can see the high-wire act a little better.