Clean. Feed. Repeat.

[20.04.2015 - about a week after the silkworm eggs hatched]

During the growth weeks in between the hatching and the cocooning, silkworm rearing is basically about cleaning the installations, feeding them, and repeat the process while we watch them grow.
Unlike half the population in this country, I never had silkworms in a shoebox when I was little, so it is the first time I’m accompanying their growth and learning about that while I do it.

They were born in the nursery in the butterfly house in Serralves, which is shaped like an aquarium, but that for silkworm rearing, even in this initial stage, is not practical at all - it’s too narrow and deep.
I transferred them to a wide tray, lined with paper on the bottom, that I throw away at each cleaning, along with the excrements (those black dots). I also remove the old leaves, transferring any silkworm that is left behind over to the new leaves. They are so small at this time (it has been only about a week since hatching and they’re not even 1cm long), so I use a leaf to pick them up.

From what I’ve read about this silkworm rearing phase, hygiene is paramount.
Basically, excrement accumulation plus old leaves equals potential disease. And except for those single cases of less healthy individuals that won't make it naturally, when a disease appears, it affects a big portion of the population.
When you’re raising a few silkworms in a shoebox, maybe this issue isn’t that important: once in a while you clean the box and that’s that. That’s why silkworms are so appreciated as pets. But when you’re raising a few thousands, that’s a different scale and care must be taken.
We don’t have thousands, only a few hundreds, but the photos I’ve seen of sick silkworms were more than enough to make me a little paranoid and try to make sure that the trays are always clean and dry.
For the same reason, it’s important to wash your hands before handling them, and, of course, afterwards.

At this stage, we have been feeding them once a day with fresh cut leaves from the black mulberry trees. It’s importante to guarantee that the leaves are fresh, but not wet - no dew or rain drops.
They should be fed every day without exception, so, during the weekend, Carlota leaves a fresh batch of leaves in the fridge for them to be fed by whoever was around. Keeping leaves in the fridge for some time might be a good solution if you want  to raise silkworms, but don’t have a mulberry tree in you backyard.

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[20.04.2015 / Silkworm breeding for the Saber Fazer em Serralves program]