Egg Watch Day 5
Added 2023-09-04 20:34:09 +0000 UTCTechnically - though I only posted that video yesterday, today is the 5th day that the eggs have been in their takeaway home at warm room temperature, and that means that they could hatch anytime, though I don't think they will. They still look the same as when I settled them in there, and usually they will change colour a bit before hatching, going from dark grey to a lighter grey/blue colour in the day or so before they make a move, and these still look the same to me, how about you?
It turns out that the idea I had that I would just peek at them each morning to see if how things were and then go on about my day is rather mad. I'm checking them all the time, obsessing about the temperature and humidity, and looking at them with a really focused squint. Yesterday we went to the museum and I thought about them all day.
Bombyx Mori have very short - fast lives. Once they hatch the little caterpillars will only live about thirty days before they spin a cocoon and pupate. They stay inside for about two weeks, and then emerge as a moth. Once they're out, they have only one job. They don't eat, don't drink (they actually don't have any mouthparts) and they can't fly. As a matter of fact there's really only one thing they can do, and that's mate. The female lays her eggs right away, and then they die. Those eggs go in the fridge for "winter" (about 3 months) and then you take them out and the whole thing starts again.
Claiming their cocoon for silk usually interrupts that, depending on what's happening with the silk, but we'll talk about that later.
And you know - now that I look at these again, they do look a little lighter, don't they? I'm going to go stare at them for a while. I'm sure that helps.
Fondly,
Stephanie
