Silk Cocoon

Here is Big Sister's silk cocoon. After the silk worm spun its cocoon, she had to put it in the refrigerator for several weeks so the moth wouldn't mature and break out. The teacher wanted them to measure the length of the silk thread. It is one long thread! She placed it in a plastic bag and then in a pet bottle with its top cut off. She put it in the vegetable bin. She took the cocoon to school today in a box. I'll post later what they did with the cocoons.

Click on the label below to see other posts about the silk worms.

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.

Mulberries

The silk worms' branch of mulberry leaves also had mulberries on it. Silk worms don't eat the fruit.

Silkworms

These are Big Sister's silkworms. Her science teacher gave them to the class

along with some mulberry leaves.

Each one has these markings.

The top of one of the worm's head.

The end or tail of the silkworm. Click to enlarge to see its legs.

Saving Earthworms

That's not to say that we have an earthworm collection. For some reason, we come across a lot of earthworms squirming on the hot pavement. There's a place down the street from our house that we call "earthworm crossing". Whenever we see one that is alive, we save it by putting it into cooler soil.

On the way home from the hardware store today and after my dragonfly experience, I saw this one. I took its picture then picked it up and moved it. I had to carry it quite a distance to find cooler digs and it was mighty slimy. I couldn't take any more pictures. Not even one of a dragonfly in the right spot.