Brookvale Public School

By Tara

At our school we enjoy and look after silkworms. At the start of Spring the silkworms hatch out of the eggs and become baby silkworms. They are just tiny little black dots.

Some kids bring in some mulberry leaves because that is what the silkworms eat.

The cycle of the silkworm is quick. A silkworm hatches out of their egg and becomes a baby silkworm. The baby silkworms eat like mad and grow up. They spin and make a cocoon out of silk that's how the get their name. When the silkworms come out of their cocoon they are moths. Then the moths lay eggs and next year it starts all over again.

In China people unravel the silk cocoons and make beautiful clothes out of it.

I really enjoy looking after the silkworms and learning the way the silkworms live.

By Mimi

In Brookvale Public School, we breed silkworms. Silkworms are white caterpillars, some have black stripes.

As the silkworms grow bigger all of them would shed skins. When they have grown very big, they would start to make their cocoons out of silk. After a few weeks, they would come out of their cocoons as moths, and start breeding again.

Silkworms eat Mulberry leaves, and it usually depends on how big and how many you have, on how much Mulberry Leaves you need to put in. It is best to put silkworms in a small box. Before they start their cocoons, it is best to put in tree twigs, because it is more easier to build the cocoon.

Chinese people breed them to get the silk from their cocoons. Many people still do now, keeping them as pets or keeping them for their silk from the silkworm's cocoons, but all the same, they are looked after very well.

Class 5/6T of Brookvale Public School keep and feed Silkworms.

In case you don't know what silkworms are, I will tell you now. Silkworms are a type of caterpillar and they have black and white stripes all down their body. When they are ready, silkworms will weave a cocoon out of silk, so that they can turn into moths. You would need to keep silkworms in a safe box and you would need to put a lid on the box as well, otherwise they will escape and if you don't keep them in a box, they won't be able to weave their cocoons.

You have to feed them Mulberry leaves only, because if you feed them any other sort of leaves, they will die. You also have to put new leaves in the box each day. The way to keep the mulberry leaves fresh is, you rinse the leaves and then you put them in the fridge.

The Chinese people breed many silkworms for pets and they also make silk out of the cocoons, but they can't make silk out of the cocoons when the moth has already come out of the cocoon, they have to use the cocoon when the silkworm is still inside.

Before the silkworms starts weaving their cocoons, it is good to put twigs or stems in the box because it is a lot easier for the silkworms to weave their cocoons.
 

We keep the eggs until next year then the whole breeding cycle begins again.