My Expanding Family: Do not watch if of a squeamish nature.
I think I must have 200 little silkies now. I think they are slowly becoming more attractive. Well, bigger, anyway. I have many more eggs in the fridge.
However the food situation is now getting desperate, and I am eking it out. The firm has taken my money (quite a lot of it) but has ignored all my attempts to contact them, so I have now made a dispute claim with paypal. I do know another firm which is more reliable, but unfortunately they are on holiday until mid-March...oh, the drama!
Since they are 5 days old they really should have moulted by now and should be in their second instar. If you click on the photo above I think you can see that some of them are half brown and half white, and wonder if they are in 'mid-moult' and the moulting process is not as dramatic as I'd imagined. I'd expected a cracking open of skin, but instead it seems to be a very thin outer brown layer that gradually rolls or wears away from the head-end revealing the whiter skin beneath.
Comparing this photo with the one two days ago, I can see that their white portion has increased, indeed some have lost their brown skin altogether, and the brown portion that remains is shiny, as if stretched.
However the food situation is now getting desperate, and I am eking it out. The firm has taken my money (quite a lot of it) but has ignored all my attempts to contact them, so I have now made a dispute claim with paypal. I do know another firm which is more reliable, but unfortunately they are on holiday until mid-March...oh, the drama!
Since they are 5 days old they really should have moulted by now and should be in their second instar. If you click on the photo above I think you can see that some of them are half brown and half white, and wonder if they are in 'mid-moult' and the moulting process is not as dramatic as I'd imagined. I'd expected a cracking open of skin, but instead it seems to be a very thin outer brown layer that gradually rolls or wears away from the head-end revealing the whiter skin beneath.
Comparing this photo with the one two days ago, I can see that their white portion has increased, indeed some have lost their brown skin altogether, and the brown portion that remains is shiny, as if stretched.
Labels: food, silkworms at 5 days old
posted by Clare Dudman at 1:40 pm
3 Comments:
I hope it's not the lack of food holding them back. Can't quite believe you're on the second batch of silkies already. Hope that food situation sorts out soon!
Yes, I hope so too, Barbara. They can go a few days, but I am loathe to order elsewhere because I paid for a lot from this firm and I suppose it could still turn up. Argh! Who would have guessed silkworm raising could be so vexing?
Oh, they are still quite horrific on mass. But I do hope the food arrives soon - it's really making me appreciate how tough it is for creatures with restrictive diets. How lucky we greedy omniovores are.
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