How much does a colored silkworm cost? Silk-spitting colors and how to raise white silkworms into colored ones
“Colored silkworm” is the latest scientific research achievement introduced and absorbed by the Sericulture Research Institute from the latest scientific research results at home and abroad, and developed through years of research and innovation. Using the most advanced sausage-type artificial feed (no mulberry leaves needed) and colored silkworm and colored cocoon (the colored silkworm and colored cocoon technology is provided by the Sericulture Research Institute of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences) technology, by raising the “science popularization silkworm baby”, you can completely observe the whole life process of the silkworm baby, including growth and development, spinning silk, cocoon spinning, pupation, moth emergence, and egg laying.
1. Colored silkworm price
50 colored silkworm eggs cost about 10 yuan, twice the price of white silkworms. Silkworms have six instars, and the price of colored silkworms varies at different instars.
2. Colored silkworms spinning silk
Colored silkworms have relatively high temperature requirements. Silkworm babies are suitable for surviving in an environment of 20-30°C. They can be raised with the matching special artificial feed in whole sheets or cut into small pieces, and can also be raised with fresh mulberry leaves.
1. Raise them with the matching special artificial feed in whole sheets or cut into small pieces, and fresh mulberry leaves can also be used. However, after raising them with mulberry leaves, artificial feed can no longer be used.
2. Please store the artificial feed sealed and refrigerated in a 5°C refrigerator. After opening, it can be refrigerated for about 15 days.
3. Avoid contact with harmful gases, especially insecticides and mosquito and fly repellents, perfume, camphor, etc.
4. The young silkworm stage (1st-3rd instar) has an optimal temperature of 26~29°C and a suitable humidity above 85%. First spread a small piece of feed on the bottom of the rearing box, then move the young silkworms onto the feed layer. When the feed dries and the silkworms can no longer bite it, it must be replaced, so it is best to put out a little more feed each time, so that the feed does not need to be changed frequently. Generally, replace the feed once per instar during the 1st-3rd instars. The best tool for picking up young silkworms is a writing brush or soft-bristled brush. Never use your hands. At the same time, soak gauze in water every day and cover the ventilation holes of the rearing box with it slightly wet, which can prevent the feed from drying out too quickly, but there must be no dripping water.
5. The large silkworm stage (4th-5th instar) has an optimal temperature of 25°C. The surrounding environment requires fresh air and ventilation. At this time, the silkworms' food intake begins to increase, so feed should be supplemented in time, and silkworm droppings and leftover feed and other debris in the rearing box should be cleaned up in time to keep it clean.
6. When the silkworm baby's whole body becomes transparent and it looks about to spin silk, put it into a box with individual compartments, one in each compartment, with no need to feed artificial feed or mulberry leaves, and it will begin to spin a cocoon by itself.
7. About one week after spinning silk and forming a cocoon, it can pupate. If you need to observe pupation, 2~3 days after cocoon formation, use a small knife to cut open one end of the cocoon, pour out the silkworm that has not yet pupated, and gently place it on clean, soft paper. By observing frequently, you can see the process of changing into a pupa and emerging as a moth.
3. Can white silkworms be raised into colored silkworms?
Colored silkworm breeding is technically similar to ordinary silkworm breeding, but colored silkworms have relatively strong disease resistance, and they can adapt even if the weather changes somewhat. In the spring of 2011, Tongliang County took the lead in trial-raising 6 sheets of colored silkworms in Damiao Town, harvesting more than 200 kilograms of orange-colored cocoons, which were made into natural colored silk quilts and were well received by consumers.
Colored silkworm cocoons are produced by transforming the silkworm's genes, causing the silkworm to spin colored silk in multiple colors, such as orange, pink, light yellow, light green, and rust. The natural colored silk extracted from colored silkworm cocoons has soft and gorgeous luster. Using this pure natural colored silk to make textiles is as environmentally friendly as natural colored cotton and does not fade, eliminating the dyeing process, reducing pollution from silk dyeing, and avoiding the harm to the human body from various chemical residues in fabric processing. The products are favored by high-end consumers at home and abroad and have strong competitiveness in the market.
The colored silkworm is not a new species. It is only a form achieved by scientific feeding on the basis of the domestic silkworm, so during growth the colored silkworm still looks like a white silkworm. The silk it spins is colored, and it is only colored when it forms a cocoon and pupates.