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.
I’ll take any of the non-viable ones for my A&S project we were discussing LOL
This would be a great way to show the differences in cultivars….
Well, the eggs look just like the other ones. I’ll be happy to save you the ‘duds.’ The cocoons – I’ll be using those! I could send you a couple.
Normally I’d take you up on that, but we have enough new crafty-type projects on our plates.
Good luck finding home for the wee beasties.
I have NO idea on how to raise them or I’d take them…urk!!
My website at https://www.wormspit.com shows a pretty thorough photo-tutorial… it’s a lot of work, but they’re very cool.
Oh wow…beautifully done and very intensely worked tutorial kudos on the information and rearing.
However, getting everything ready and having the resources and time is probably not going to happen by the time I’d get the darling buds of silky goodness.
*looks sad*
Sorry.
Maybe next time. If you decide it’s a project you’re interested in taking on, let me know.
I have thousands of eggs in the refrigerator; they can come out at any time. The only reason I’m freaking out with these, is that he took them out of the fridge and sent me this HUGE number of them – and they’re going to hatch soon.
Mostly I’m looking for the regular Bombyx cocoons. I won’t be reeling them just yet…they are mostly for display until after the competition.
I plan on having items from each stage of development in the cultivation of silk in the 12th Century. The different instar of silk worms will be photographs if I can find someone to take specific shots for me (or allow me to swipe with credit theirs LOL). From there will be what the cocoons look like, the basic reeling set up with a couple of them, the dying process, the tablet weaving of them and finally the finished product.
I’ve decided not to do this for the baronial competition, I’m going Kingdom *shudder*.
Thankfully, the Creative in SCA means I can do this in theory until we move into a bigger place.
*nod*
I’ll run it past the other half it may very well be an excellent part and possibly a logical part of our business but we’ll have to see.
Wow, so many!!!!
Oh, understood I saw the timeline with them being refrigerated and taken out so completely understandable and I only wish I could help out, I hope you find a great home for them though!!
BTW..found your last dream to be very intriguing indeed…*nod*
Oh, man, I’d love to, but I haven’t the faintest idea how to reel silk.
I’m game.
The mulberry tree in the front yard is beginning to bud, and my SO has given me permission to try it. As I figure it, the worst that could happen is that 250 silkworms die on me rather than die on you.
I’ll send you my address in private email.
Re: I’m game.
I really needed to mail them Saturday… I can try some mailing Monday, but I’m concerned that they’ll start hatching in transit. They came out of cold storage on the 2nd, which means a hatch-date between the 9th and the 16th.
If you want to go ahead and give it a try, I’ll send some tomorrow.
Re: I’m game.
It looks like I messed this up… I realized yesterday that I forgot to actually send you my address. I guess it’s too late now, unless you are willing to send me some out of your refrigerator.
I hope the extras went to a good home.