Hey guys, Ive just got a question on silkworm cocoons. I had silkworms a while back and 8 of them cocooned. I cant remember when they did that but its been like 2-3 weeks at least i think. Ive read that they emerge around 10 days after cocooning at 85 degrees or something. I didnt have a heat lamp on them or anything so i think that they were sitting at around 70-75 degrees. My friend told me to put some heat on them and they should emerge soon, so thats what i did they have a heat lamp on them now. So the question is do you think the cocoons are still viable or do you think the contents are dead?
Silkworm Cocoon question
- Thread starter Jamelon
- Start date
jr andrade
New Member
I didnt apply heat on mines either i still have them they havent hatched so a few days ago i cut through the cocoon and took it out and sure enough it was still alive not much of it was developed really, so what im saying is take a chance and take one out and kind of play with it to see if it shows any signs of life, it should wiggle
ladysilkworm
Established Member
thanks guys, ill let you know how things go with heat addedhopefully ill have good results to share haha
when you shake the cocoons, you can hear a nice clear rattling sound. That means it is live. If it is muted, or light and crisp it is probably dead.
In general, cocoons on chow don't have a very emergence rate. Chow introduces too much pathogens into the silkworms, that if they dont die off, they end up dying inside the cocoons.. try to keep the rearing enviornment and chow as sterile as possible to ensure best success.
