How to Raise Silkworms

Silkworm breeding is a very interesting and popular practice among the little ones. And it is that this tiny animal can show you a magnificent biological process of nature in its entirety: a small worm is born from a tiny egg that, after making its own silk cocoon, turns into a beautiful butterfly. Both at school and at home, the silkworm is postulated as a great option for a family pet, since even the little ones will be able to analyze the phases through which the silkworm breeding goes from birth to metamorphosis. To butterfly. In addition, you will also see the wonderful process in which such a small worm can make natural silk itself as if it were a work of art.

We present the basic steps for you to raise and care for these animals from birth to their metamorphosis into butterflies in a simple and fun way. In addition, you can have all this at home spending very little money, since it is an animal that practically does not dirty anything, requires little dedication and occupies a very small space.

What do you need to raise silkworms?

• Cardboard box with a lid – you can use a large shoe box – or a container with a lid.
• Eggs or live silkworm -you can find it if it is season in specialized stores-.
• Mulberry leaves – the only food for the breeding of silkworms.
• Napkins or kitchen paper.
• Optical microscope -optional, although with it you will be able to observe tiny aspects much better-.

Instructions for raising silkworms

1. First of all, you need to get your hands on eggs or silkworms. If it is the first time you are breeding, we recommend that you take the worms alive, that is, once they have hatched, as this way you will be able to learn how to take care of them and later you will be able to pair them with each other at home before metamorphosis. If you decide to catch eggs, you should do it in the middle of winter -November or December- and if you want to start with live worms, you should get them in season -they hatch in spring-.
2. Once you have the worms, you must enable the area in which they will live. A large cardboard shoebox will suffice, although the size depends on how many worms you have; you need to make small holes in the box so they can breathe.
3. If, on the other hand, you have acquired eggs, while they are hatching you will have to keep them in a cold and dry place -the fridge could be a good option-. You must put them in a tray or on the same sheet of paper so that they are safe and you can see them clearly. Keep in mind that observing the color of the eggs is essential to get to know the process: dark means that the larva is still developing; light green is a symbol that hatching is imminent – it is just a few days away – and yellow means that it has already hatched. Come out or on the contrary the egg was not fertilized so no worm will come out.
4. When you already have the live worms, you must enable the box as we have indicated.  It is important that you put a paper napkin or a piece of kitchen paper on the surface so that the liquid waste remains on top. Keep in mind that since they are very small, you will have to change the paper every 2 or 3 days to keep the box dry and clean.
5. When it comes to food, try to start with small mulberry leaves– when they are still larvae or in the early stages – and as they increase in size, you can put larger leaves on them. In no case should you put another type of food -not even lettuce leaves-, since the only food for the silkworms is the mulberry leaf.
6. You see checking that the box is consistent with the size of the worm/s; they will form the silk cocoon inside, so they must have enough space. Keep in mind that before making the cocoon, the larva changes its original color to a lighter shade with pink tints in the lower area. In addition, it also expels a soft stool with green or brown liquids. All this alerts you that the process of metamorphosis is coming.
7. From this moment on, the worms will look for corners in which they will weave the silk cocoon. As soon as they are fully formed, change the paper napkin for a sheet of paper, as this way you will be able to better catch the eggs that will fertilize when they come out. They normally emerge from their chrysalis first thing in the morning.
8. When they leave the chrysalises, you can remove the remains to leave the area cleaner.  This will be the moment when they will mate and fertilize new eggs. Inside the box the butterflies will die, if your intention is for them to live you can let them go as soon as they come out of the cocoon although this way you won’t get eggs for future worms.

Tips for raising silkworms

• Try to keep the eggs in a dry and cool place until the spring season. Pay special attention to the temperature, since in winter the houses usually have the heating on and with the heat the larvae could believe that spring has arrived and they would hatch before the mulberry trees have leaves. Without mulberry leaves the silkworms could not survive.
• Try not to pick up small worms with your fingers, as you can hurt them. From 5 centimeters you can pick them up but always with great caution: they are very delicate.
• Be especially careful with the poisons that the leaves of the mulberry tree may have.  On many occasions you will pick mulberry leaves from the street so they can be exposed to insecticides.