Our silkworms are spinning!

About two weeks ago some homeschooling friends offered to give us some of their silkworms. What we (and they) thought were about ten silkworms turned out to be about 30. They were cute little things. Fortunately there are a number of mulberry trees in the neighborhood, because these guys EAT! Early in the morning you can hear them munching from across the room.

Yesterday we noticed that one of the worms had spun its cocoon. We have two kinds of worms: the white ones spin white silk, and the striped ones spin yellow. You can see a yellow cocoon inside the TP tube (they like to have a circular space for spinning).

I was a bit concerned about the flying insect factor once the moths hatch, but I've been reassured that the moths are so domesticated that they are unable to do more than flutter around the bottom of their box. We'll have to refrigerate the eggs during the winter (they last up to five years in the fridge), until the mulberry trees start growing leaves in the spring.

Meanwhile, I'm surprisingly happy to have these little guys in our house. Even Andrew, who is not usually fond of crawly things, seems to be a bit fond of them.