Laying eggs

Females lay about 300 to 500 eggs, which hatch within roughly 7 to 14 days.

The female moths faithfully and carefully lay their eggs.

The eggs become darker as they develop.

Macro shows development of the tiny silkworms inside the eggs. (This is described fully in the first post.)  And so the cycle of the life of the silkworm continues.

Finding a mate

Mature moths exist to reproduce - they typically do not even eat during their short lifetimes - and successful reproduction begins by locating a partner of the opposite sex.

After emerging from the cocoon, the female "calls" and waits patiently.

Female moths ‘call’ potential mates by releasing volatile sex pheromones. A male moth senses chemical signals with his antennae, which are covered with olfactory ‘hairs’ called sensilla. A male silkworm moth’s antennae contain 15,000–20,000 sensilla, half of which are specialized for the detection of bombykol.   -Ref. sciencedirect.com

 Lots of fluttering of wings!
When the male silkworm moth emerges from his cocoon, he detects the signals of the female.  This causes him to become very active, fluttering his wings and moving around the area continuing to flutter as he searches.

Male and female remain joined for hours, (approx. 24 hours)  as fertilization of her eggs takes place.

Female (left) & male silkworm moths.

Fulfilling their "reason for being".

A Miracle of Metamorphosis!

 The cocoons were carefully placed in a new box, lined with soft paper. For twenty-three days nothing appeared to be happening.

Then, on the twenty-fourth day after the first cocoon was spun ...

...and with a courageous and determined effort the first silkworm moth emerged from its cocoon.

The moth secretes a fluid which dissolves the silk to make a way out.

The old skin of the mature caterpillar is left behind inside the cocoon.

It takes a little while for the moth to "dry out".  The feelers lift up and the wings begin to spread out. The female at this time doesn't want to be bothered.

 The silkworm moth is a beautful, gentle creature. The moths don't eat or drink, but have one purpose, to mate and to lay eggs.

I love these beautiful gentle moths...

Wings now fully extended.

A few more photos of emerging moths

Now the moths, both male and female are ready and waiting to find a mate...

Spinning Cocoons Photoshoot

What a fascinating event! The silkworm releases liquid silk from the two silk glands near the lower jaw which then flows through the "spinneret".  The two silk glands constitute approximately one-quarter of the silkworm larva's mass. The fluid hardens into fine silk threads as soon as it contacts the air. At first, the caterpillar fixes supportive threads of silk that will hold the cocoon in place. Then it swings its head from side to side in a figure-eight movement, encasing its body in silk. For about three days the caterpillar spins the continuous silk thread until it is fully encased in its beautiful protective cocoon of silk. It can spin from about 600 to 900 metres of continuous silk thread! The silk is beautiful and shines in the light (lustrous).  It is amazing how the silkworm "stands" on the silk thread and then maneuvers within the cocoon to produce the perfect cocoon shape. 

 

Click on the photo to enlarge. You can see the spinneret and the silk thread.

A video worth watching to see the silkworms spinning is entitled 

"Silk Pavilion"  https://vimeo.com/67177328