The Silkworm Lady

27/12/2022

FREE SILKWORM EGGS:
If anyone is looking for silkworm eggs (probably set to hatch in July/August/September next year) please contact Anzelle at 084 282 4351. She is located in Vanderbijlpark, Johannesburg and is giving them away for free.

04/10/2022

FREE SILKWORMS:
If anyone is looking for silkworms, please contact Lundy at 083 628 8482. She is located in Hillcrest, KZN and is giving away worms, cocoons, moths and eggs for free.

02/10/2022

Hello everyone.

I've decided to revive this page for a good cause, this time to help South African silkworm keepers find customers. So if you'd like to be featured here, please leave a message or contact me on WhatsApp at 063 534 8696.

I also still give advice on silkworm rearing so don't be shy to ask any questions.

13/11/2021

I will not be breeding silkworms anymore.
I got rid of all my moths and eggs, and only one horned white seductress moth successfully emerged from it's cocoon.
I wanted this project to become so much more and I planned for it to continue, but I can't do it anymore. The eggs only hatched once a year, the worms got sick every time, it got exhausting and draining and was no longer fun.
Now, I'll have a lot of useless knowledge about and experience with silkworms for the rest of my life 😂

03/11/2021

Update: I just realised that some of the moths have started emerging from their cocoons so I've decided to give the moths, cocoons and remaining worms away FOR FREE.

My worms have been struggling with a sickness of some kind, I suspect a fungal infection, and may die after you collect them from me. But this is really my last hope.
If anyone wants them, please message me or comment. I'll provide as many shoeboxes as you need and some mulberry leaves, all free of charge.

03/11/2021

I've decided that I want to completely downsize my silkworm collection to just the horned white seductresses I've been selectively breeding. That means I'll be getting rid of all my normal white seductresses and zebras. My worms got sick this year so I'll only be selling the cocoons that have survived for R1 each.

I have two strains for each type, one strain is the one I've cultivated myself and the other came from someone who gave me their moths last year. I'd recommend mixing the strains to get hardier worms. I've also been working on selectively breeding moths with similar cocoons colours, so you can ask for gold, lime or white cocoons to breed. The moths will start emerging very soon, and keep in mind that the eggs will naturally hatch next year in July/August when mulberry trees grow new leaves. You could also make them hatch earlier by putting the eggs in the fridge but you'd have to buy silkworm chow. Please do your own research.
I'm giving away unused shoeboxes for free to anyone who buys cocoons from me. Message me or comment for more details.

I've realised that after spending a few months each year slaving over my large silkworm collection, I don't love it anymore. I will be keeping the horned silkworm cocoons because that's the biggest thing I've been working on all this time. Hopefully they won't all die out and I'll be able to breed and eventually sell them.

14/10/2021

Recently, I decided to put whole branches in the boxes. I was afraid that this could introduce harmful things to the worms but I was willing to take the risk. So far, there hasn't been anything drastic like mass deaths or a fungal plague. Some zebra silkworms have unexpectedly died since adding the branches, though. That may be related, but the deaths have stopped as of now.

Because silkworms naturally want to walk on branches, they tend to start grabbing onto each other when there is nothing else in their box. Giving them something to climb gets them off each other, provides enrichment and, perhaps most importantly, gets them off the ground and gives them more surface area so the box isn't as cramped. This is especially useful if you are a silkworm breeder or have many worms.

Experiments like this is why I decided to buy silkworms in the first place. They cause me pain and joy, and I sell them to spread awareness about how wonderful and nuanced they really are, but I started rearing them to do things like selectively breed them, diversify their diet and document the details about their behaviour. Most people just think they are a fun, sometimes expendable, toy for young children, but from my experiences I know that they are way more than that.

20/09/2021

I have decided that they are finally big enough to sell!
I have white seductress and zebra silkworms available for R1.50 each. They are around 3cm long at the moment.
Please have a reliable mulberry tree in your area and shoebox ready before purchasing.
Message me for more info or care advice.

09/09/2021

I haven't been posting as much as I'd like because I haven't had much time to take photos and write about them, so for this post I'll be discussing silkworm behaviours and what they mean, at least as far as my experience allows me to understand.
. .

Stretching upward and flailing:
They have detected a disturbance or the scent of jasmine in mulberry leaves and are simply looking for food.

Staying still for long periods:
If they have their head tucked in, look puffy and respond to touch, they are most likely in shed. They may even be found on their side or on their back, but as long as they respond to touch, they are probably fine.

Shaking their head side to side:
Something has irritated them. This could be as harmless as a breeze or something touching them. However, it could also indicate that another worm has bitten their caudal horn (tail) which could become infected. Clear fluid coating the worms body or back end are indicators of this. This may happen during feeding frenzies if there isn't enough leaf surface area for worms to eat from. It could also be because the box they are in or old leaf mound they are on is too small for the amount of worms there are.

Becoming wrinkly:
In extreme cases, this could be due to starvation but they are most likely starting to become a pupae without having created a silk cocoon. I'm not exactly sure why this happens, I tend to put it down to genetics or sheer laziness. A healthy moth can emerge from such a pupae, as long as it is kept in a safe place. Don't worry about rotation while they are in this phase, being moved will not effect them and they will sometimes move by themselves.

Wiggling slowly, curling and not responding to food:
The worm is very uncomfortable or in pain. This could be because of an injury, infection or disease. There is little you can do other than isolate it from the other worms in case it's affliction is contagious. Still offer it small amounts of mulberry leaf daily because it may want to eat and there is a chance it will get better.

Turning black:
This is an early sign of death. Once again, the only thing you can do is isolate the worm and make it as comfortable as possible.
. .

I am not a scientist and do not study silkworms professionally, these are just things I've observed and come to my own conclusions about.
Let me know if I'm inaccurate about any of this or if you've seen other behaviours that I didn't mention here. Feel free to message me or send photos of your worms if you've noticed anything out of the ordinary and need advice.

Happy silkworm keeping. 🐛

18/08/2021

Please note that my silkworms have only just hatched and will not be for sale until about a month from now.
Thank you

14/08/2021

Only four days old and I can already see the difference between the white seductresses and zebras.

At this age, they can only eat the softest, newest mulberry leaves. I cut the leaves into roughly 1cm by 1cm pieces to minimise waste and maximise surface area for the worms to eat from. I try to feed them three times a day.
For now, I won't be throwing away the dried leaves because it would be too frustrating and dangerous to brush all the worms off. I will start to do this later on when they are big enough to handle.

(There are both white and zebra silkworms in this photo but all my other shoeboxes house them separately. I will explain this in more detail in a future post)

10/08/2021

Here we go again...

29/09/2020

These photos were taken on August 29 and September 3

I am no longer selling silkworms as most have spun cocoons, emerged as moths and layed eggs. They will be available again next year around August/September when the eggs hatch in sync with the budding of mulberry trees. I will, however, still be available to give advice and will be posting about some things I noticed with the worms, cocoons, pupas, moths and eggs. Stay tuned

03/09/2020

These photos were also taken on August 29

The most contrasting variation I have found has been that of white seductress silkworms. Most of them posses little to no evidence of star, crescent or eye spots. A few, however, which make up about 1/8th of my white seductress population, have exaggerated markings. I nicknamed them horned white seductresses and they are my favourite variety of silkworms that I have kept so far (my most favourite would be tiger silkworms, which I have not had the pleasure to keep, let alone find, yet). I believe that these, too, can be selectively bred, and have separated them into different shoeboxes.

Although I sell zebra silkworms and normal white seductresses, this horned variety is not for sale, but may be next year when I've had a chance to breed them.
PS, please contact me if you know of anyone remotely near South Africa that has tiger silkworms 😜

03/09/2020

These photos were taken on August 29

I have noticed some variation in my zebra silkworms. Some have very faint star spots and others have very distinct ones. After reading the article I posted before, I think that these are entirely different mutations that can be selectively bred. I'm not equipped to separate them right now because I have so many worms and not enough boxes or space, but will do so for the next generation. I plan to breed only a few worms this year

30/08/2020

This is the most fascinating newsletter I have found so far on silkworm research. Please have a look. It is a quick read that has been beautifully written and encompasses all my interests about silkworms

Four years have already passed since I started working as a staff member at the National BioResource Project Silkworm. I started as a member of the administrative staff, and, at that time, I did not even know whether cocoons or pupae are necessary for the support of a cocoon investigation. However,....