ladysilkworm
New member
challenges/mysteries of breeding silkworms
No one can truly call oneself a silkworm breeder here in the US.
1. the strains used here are not self-perpetuating. That means, their eggs do not hatch on their own without winterization, in general.
2. the strains used here are hybrid univoltine and bivoltine strains, which is why sometimes the eggs laid by the moths raised by you will hatch (only at right conditions) and sometimes they never will. It also depends on temperature, humidity, diurnal length, length of darkness etc etc which are hard to control if you do not know the steps (first challenge is, you do not even know what strain you have on hand). The silkworm eggs do hatch in the spring, as the diapause is broken and leaves are ample. That's their queue. The ability to hatch (or rather, the diapause signal) is produced by a certain hormone in the mother silkmoth. This is genetics. However, that hormone can also change during the rearing process, and that is simply a reaction to the environmental factors.
3. You can' t become a breeder and a supplier of silkworms if you do not have continuous supply of silkworms. To get a continuous production, you need to BUY your eggs from MF/CS. The hatch rate of your own eggs is also unpredictable. This is why the smaller suppliers ran out of business, they can't get their own supplies without going through MF. But MF prices are n't cheap enough for them to make a good profit, so they close shop.
4. Only hybrid worms, are available commercially. All the pure breeds are kept in the science labs for research. The pure breeds are proprietary and are only exchangeable inter-country with permission. Once they are hybridized and more generations are subsequently produced, the genetics do become separate and more apparent, but the worm still carries genomes of the 'other' species, and their voltinity aspect is STILL hard to predict. Which is why, you get hit or miss when hatching your own eggs. You HAVE to winterize. Or just keep on buying eggs!
5. There are strains that can breed as much as 7 generations out of a year because these particular strains are polyvoltine. They come from a climate where mulberry leaves NEVER drop. They are also particularly hardy and tolerates high heat and humidity. But they are not available here for an obvious purpose. It's not that we don't have mulberry leaves around, we do have chow, right? (but hey, free eggs and worms 6 out of 12 months ain't so bad)
So, you cannot be a breeder. I think we have all learned it the hard way.
How do the 'experts' do it?
MF/CS are one of the same, just under different owners: a business collaboration, NOT competitors as most may think.
MF would love it if you buy from CS, which is why they have cut down their production substantially. Let CS do the hard work!
They buy eggs by the bulk from overseas every season. These eggs come acid washed from the supplier. This insures that all eggs will hatch, (diapause has been broken- not matter how long they were subjected to cold).. With acid wash, the eggs WILL hatch at any season.. provided that you follow the right steps. By the time you receive your purchased eggs, MF/CS will have slowly begun the hatching process for you before you placed your order. However, to get the silkworms to hatch uniformly and even at higher rate, there is another step you need to do, but they don't tell you, to uncomplicate things. Your purchased eggs will hatch, but they will hatch at different rates, at any day. Hatching eggs artificially is an exact science. A 'technician' can dictate when he wants the eggs to hatch, all uniformly on the day he wants, at the exact hour....
You can try acid wash yourself. The steps are published if you google. But I don't recommend it. I certainly do not do it. I have two boys in diapers!
There are other tricks to break the diapause, very very simply, without winterization or acid wash.
The rural cocoon farmers used to do this trick but it requires EXACT timing at a certain time when the eggs are hatched. And you can't control the time of hatch when it happens. So, now they just get acid washed eggs((where timing can be controlled) from the suppliers and raise them on leaves.. They then take the cocoons and resell it back to the suppliers as raw silk. Who has time to raise moths and lay eggs and hatch them? The process will require at least 2 months.
I have discovered that old wives tale trick.. I don't know if it will work because that secret was never documented anywhere in detail and very very difficult to find, but I have in my possession, a test group and a control group. Let's see how it goes
Imagine if I have actually proven the old wive's tale to be valid, what could happen to the industry?
Imagine if I can actually import in a hardier strain from a hotter climate and all summer logistics issued eradicated, what could happen to the industry? MF has exclusive rights on chow, but NOT on eggs. His white worms die off even in my possession and can't sustain shipping.
Imagine if I can get chow in and bypass MF what could happen to the industry? They are just like ma bell AT&T 15 yrs ago! Broken down to little bells and now you pay 1 penny to make international calls instead of $1 (yes, that much 15 yrs ago)
Imagine if YOU go ahead and PLANT a tree what good it would do for our planet and for YOUR pocket???
******
I hope I dont get cited for posting in the wrong place, who knows!
No one can truly call oneself a silkworm breeder here in the US.
1. the strains used here are not self-perpetuating. That means, their eggs do not hatch on their own without winterization, in general.
2. the strains used here are hybrid univoltine and bivoltine strains, which is why sometimes the eggs laid by the moths raised by you will hatch (only at right conditions) and sometimes they never will. It also depends on temperature, humidity, diurnal length, length of darkness etc etc which are hard to control if you do not know the steps (first challenge is, you do not even know what strain you have on hand). The silkworm eggs do hatch in the spring, as the diapause is broken and leaves are ample. That's their queue. The ability to hatch (or rather, the diapause signal) is produced by a certain hormone in the mother silkmoth. This is genetics. However, that hormone can also change during the rearing process, and that is simply a reaction to the environmental factors.
3. You can' t become a breeder and a supplier of silkworms if you do not have continuous supply of silkworms. To get a continuous production, you need to BUY your eggs from MF/CS. The hatch rate of your own eggs is also unpredictable. This is why the smaller suppliers ran out of business, they can't get their own supplies without going through MF. But MF prices are n't cheap enough for them to make a good profit, so they close shop.
4. Only hybrid worms, are available commercially. All the pure breeds are kept in the science labs for research. The pure breeds are proprietary and are only exchangeable inter-country with permission. Once they are hybridized and more generations are subsequently produced, the genetics do become separate and more apparent, but the worm still carries genomes of the 'other' species, and their voltinity aspect is STILL hard to predict. Which is why, you get hit or miss when hatching your own eggs. You HAVE to winterize. Or just keep on buying eggs!
5. There are strains that can breed as much as 7 generations out of a year because these particular strains are polyvoltine. They come from a climate where mulberry leaves NEVER drop. They are also particularly hardy and tolerates high heat and humidity. But they are not available here for an obvious purpose. It's not that we don't have mulberry leaves around, we do have chow, right? (but hey, free eggs and worms 6 out of 12 months ain't so bad)
So, you cannot be a breeder. I think we have all learned it the hard way.
How do the 'experts' do it?
MF/CS are one of the same, just under different owners: a business collaboration, NOT competitors as most may think.
MF would love it if you buy from CS, which is why they have cut down their production substantially. Let CS do the hard work!
They buy eggs by the bulk from overseas every season. These eggs come acid washed from the supplier. This insures that all eggs will hatch, (diapause has been broken- not matter how long they were subjected to cold).. With acid wash, the eggs WILL hatch at any season.. provided that you follow the right steps. By the time you receive your purchased eggs, MF/CS will have slowly begun the hatching process for you before you placed your order. However, to get the silkworms to hatch uniformly and even at higher rate, there is another step you need to do, but they don't tell you, to uncomplicate things. Your purchased eggs will hatch, but they will hatch at different rates, at any day. Hatching eggs artificially is an exact science. A 'technician' can dictate when he wants the eggs to hatch, all uniformly on the day he wants, at the exact hour....
You can try acid wash yourself. The steps are published if you google. But I don't recommend it. I certainly do not do it. I have two boys in diapers!
There are other tricks to break the diapause, very very simply, without winterization or acid wash.
The rural cocoon farmers used to do this trick but it requires EXACT timing at a certain time when the eggs are hatched. And you can't control the time of hatch when it happens. So, now they just get acid washed eggs((where timing can be controlled) from the suppliers and raise them on leaves.. They then take the cocoons and resell it back to the suppliers as raw silk. Who has time to raise moths and lay eggs and hatch them? The process will require at least 2 months.
I have discovered that old wives tale trick.. I don't know if it will work because that secret was never documented anywhere in detail and very very difficult to find, but I have in my possession, a test group and a control group. Let's see how it goes
Imagine if I have actually proven the old wive's tale to be valid, what could happen to the industry?
Imagine if I can actually import in a hardier strain from a hotter climate and all summer logistics issued eradicated, what could happen to the industry? MF has exclusive rights on chow, but NOT on eggs. His white worms die off even in my possession and can't sustain shipping.
Imagine if I can get chow in and bypass MF what could happen to the industry? They are just like ma bell AT&T 15 yrs ago! Broken down to little bells and now you pay 1 penny to make international calls instead of $1 (yes, that much 15 yrs ago)
Imagine if YOU go ahead and PLANT a tree what good it would do for our planet and for YOUR pocket???
******
I hope I dont get cited for posting in the wrong place, who knows!