June 09, 2007

Cocooning


These first two pictures were taken at night. I didn't want to use the flash because it might disturb the silk worm. So, the color is off.

The silk worms stopped eating. That is a sign they are ready to cocoon. Big Sister cut pieces of cardboard to section off corners of a box. This one sat for a while in the small space. She started to sling her head back and forth for a while.




Then she attached fiber from one side of the box to the piece of cardboard that Big Sister had propped inside.


Before we went to bed, we noticed she had made a sling for herself. That's her rear end up in the air. Look at all the fibers.



Here's another angle.


This is what we saw the next morning. You can still see the worm.


Here is a different angle that highlights the "sling" that is holding the cocoon.



The other worm was wandering around while the other one was busy making a cocoon. She must not have liked the corner Big Sister made for her.



The cocoon on day two.



The other worm still hasn't started. It was the bigger worm. It seemed to be healthier than the other. It ate and ate and ate. Now it's late. Or rather, later than the other silk worm.

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