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| The female moths faithfully and carefully lay their eggs. |
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| The eggs become darker as they develop. |
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| 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. |
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| 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 |
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| 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. |
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| Male and female remain joined for hours, (approx. 24 hours) as fertilization of her eggs takes place. |
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| Female (left) & male silkworm moths. |
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| Fulfilling their "reason for being". |
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| Then, on the twenty-fourth day after the first cocoon was spun ... |
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...and with a courageous and determined effort the first silkworm moth emerged from its cocoon. |
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| The moth secretes a fluid which dissolves the silk to make a way out. |
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| The old skin of the mature caterpillar is left behind inside the cocoon. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| I love these beautiful gentle moths... |
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| Wings now fully extended. |
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| A few more photos of emerging moths |
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| Now the moths, both male and female are ready and waiting to find a mate... |
