All this usually happens behind the occluding screen of the cocoon; this is stuff that even I don’t get to see. Even when the caterpillar doesn’t spin a proper cocoon, and ends up just a bare pupa lying on the floor of the cage, I don’t get to see the moment of change – it takes about ten minutes, and I’ve never caught it happening.
Except, this time I did.
When I went into the soap/silkworm room to check on the cocoons, I found this guy hanging his still-damp wings. It’s a Yamamai or Tensan silkmoth, originally from Japan.
moth shots
These are from my friend Howard in Hawaii. They are a strain of Bombyx mori that throws gold-colored cocoons. They are not the same as the kind that has the peach and gold colors; these are much more of a true chrome yellow.
I’ve been reading in some of my sericulture books, about using a hydrochloric acid bath to break the diapause, and make the silkworm eggs hatch *this* year instead of next year. Well, I tried the acid wash last night.
These are cocoons from eggs that a friend of mine sent me last season. They are a variety of Bombyx mori, the classic silkworm – but they throw peach and gold cocoons
I took a lace-knitting class at CHT, and found out that it’s not as impossible as I had heretofore believed. We did Old Shale as a learning experience, which didn’t turn me on so much… but it paved the way.
So Susan Lawrence’s Branching Out on Knitty was just the right thing at the right time. Hard enough to make me really learn what I’m doing, easy enough that I didn’t throw it against the wall in despair more than twice, at least after I learned how to set life lines.
I have a bunch of nice fingering-weight alpaca (200 yards / 50 grams) yarn from an Ebay auction that I decided would be nice – it turned out to be a good choice, as it tinked relatively easily and stood up to the constant fiddling that I had to do while learning the pattern. It’s not as soft as I wish it were; it’s got an odd blend of very-soft and slightly-scratchy touch.
Branching Out, and Alpaca Hookers
At our concert last week, the wandering photographer snapped a good shot of me. So here I am!
Howdy, y’all!
A friend has sent me a HUGE amount (I’m guessing six thousand or more) eggs from his silkworms. These are a cultivar of Bombyx mori, and they eat mulberry. They spin a beautiful yellow-gold silk, which when degummed is white.
I can’t raise this many eggs myself. Once they’ve begun the warming process, they can’t be refrigerated to delay hatching – I have another six or so thousand for NEXT year too, already in the refrigerator. I am looking forward to raising some, but this is a LOT more than I was expecting to have at one time. If you want some, please email me at oakenking@gmail.com – I’ll be happy to send you some eggs. I need to mail them today and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday) because they should start hatching soon.
Please remember to give me your address, and how many eggs you want. I’m using a 1/16 tsp, which holds about 250 eggs, to scoop them out – so multiples of that are easy to count. I have 3000 or so on my desk at work, and as many at home.