THE SECRETS OF SILKWORM CULTURE

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In addition, the silkworms will be healthier if you clean their "litter"—by sliding in fresh, dry pieces of paper and removing (to the compost pile) the soiled sheets—regularly. When this isn't done, molds can form that could give rise to a number of worm diseases.

Though the caterpillars seem to eat more in the mornings and evenings, they're actually chowing down at all hours. The only times the worms will stop chewing are during their four molting periods ... which occur about every five or six days.

Shortly before each molt, the heads of the worms will swell, their skins will lose color, and their bodies will become transparent and immobile. (It's extremely important that the larvae aren't moved or disturbed in any way at this time.) During the 24-hour "skin-shedding process" your wigglers will go into a sleep and lose all interest in food. Otherwise, their appetites are regular and enormous.

Mary Stock reports that silkworms get especially voracious in the last week before they start to spin. While in this stage her 10,000 charges consume two and a half bushels of mulberry leaves a day, and-though Mary already has 15 trees on her 25-acre farm-she's in the process of planting 25 additional seedlings! (Besides providing worm food, the trees make great windbreaks and produce quantities of useful berries.)

PUPA PREPARATIONS

As the caterpillars increase in size, divide the brood into several containers. Each individual needs space to grow ... and you'll want to avoid conditions that force the critters to Crawl over each other, because their velvet skins are so delicate that even silkworm feet can tear them. When you transfer the fragile larvae, it's best to wait until they climb onto their food and then remove each wormleaf and all—to new quarters.

Once the "spinning time" approaches (after three weeks or so) provide containers with lots of edges, so your wiggly weavers can quickly set up the "guide wires" from which they'll hang their silken shelters. A number of small strawberry boxes or egg cartons will be fine for this purpose.

Then suddenly—anywhere from 25 to 32 days after hatching—your caterpillars will stop eating and start to produce silk.

You'll be able to tell when a worm is ready to spin, because it will appear sluggish. Often the critter's head will move from side to side as it seeks a suitable location for its new home. (Since the larvae have no eyes, try to make sure that they don't have to travel far to find a suitable corner.)

A silkworm "sets up shop" by secreting a filament from an orifice located just below its mouth. As strands leave this opening, they make contact with another secretion called sericin which becomes sticky when it's exposed to the air. This "glue" allows the incredible little workers to set their guide wires and shape their cocoons.

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