Silk in the City

Just one week ago I visited Terra Nova farm in Richmond and met with Chef and urban agriculture proponent Ian Lai. When I left I carried with me something ancient, precious and alive! Silk worm cocoons!

These bright white cocoons hold silk worms in the process of transforming into silk moths (Bombyx mori - the domesticated "true" silk moth). The life cycle of these creatures is complex, and I've been trying to wrap my head around all the different stages so I can provide these little guys with what they need to live and reproduce. Turns out, at this stage, they don't need much!
When I came into the office today, six of the eight moths had emerged, and there is one pair that is clearly coupled together and mating!


This is very exciting, as it means the female will likely lay 300 to 600 fertilized eggs, which, after a period of cold "winter" (in the fridge) will hatch into silk worms (big, soft long caterpillars...) that will eat, eat, eat and then spin another cocoon and begin the process all over again.

When the moths emerge they have no mouth parts, so they cannot eat or drink. They have just enough energy to walk around (they cannot fly due to intensive domestication by the Chinese), mate, lay eggs and die, all in about a week. Which makes them really easy to care for!

These moths (and their progeny) will hopefully live in the EYA office. More updates to come!