CATDOLL : CATDOLL: Time schedule for each stage of silkworm rearing (Time schedule for each stage of silkworm rearing)

1. What stages does the silkworm’s life cycle go through?

The growth cycle of silkworms is about 40 days, and its development is related to temperature, humidity, food, etc. Generally, the accelerator period is 10-11 days, and the larval period is about 25 days. Specifically, the first instar period is 4-5 days; the second instar period is 3-4 days; the third instar period is 4 days; the fourth instar period is 6 days; the fifth instar period is 7-9 days; the pupa period is 14-18 days; and the moth period is 3-5 days.

1. Hatching of silkworm eggs: After an 8-9 day accelerator period, the silkworms hatch from the eggs. They are small and black when they first come out, and are commonly known as ant silkworms.

2. First instar: The color of first instar silkworms changes from black to dark brown. They feed on mulberry leaves for 3 to 4 days and do not eat much. They will shed their skin for the first time after entering the dormant period, which lasts for 8 to 12 hours.

3. Second instar: The silkworm grows noticeably bigger and becomes lighter in color. It feeds on mulberry leaves for about 3 days and sleeps for 8 to 12 hours.

4. Third instar: The color of the silkworm body changes to light brown, the appetite begins to increase, and it enters the dormant stage after about 4 days. Silkworms from 1 to 3 instars are generally called young silkworms, and enter the adult stage after 10 to 14 hours.

5. Fourth instar: The silkworms entering the adult silkworm stage develop very quickly and their food intake increases significantly. The fourth instar usually lasts for 5 days, with a long dormancy period, generally called the long dormancy period, which can last up to 30 to 40 hours.

6. Fifth instar: The silkworms eat the most leaves during the first 7 days, accounting for more than 75% of the total leaf intake. After the 7th day, the silkworms begin to shorten and become brighter, and are called mature silkworms. They stop eating and begin to spin silk and make cocoons.

2. The whole process of silkworm rearing?

There are five stages in silkworm rearing: silkworm eggs - larvae - mature silkworms - silk cocoons - silk moths, which takes a total of more than forty days.

Ant silkworm: When the silkworm hatches from the egg, its body is brown or reddish brown, very small, and has many fine hairs, which looks a bit like an ant, so it is called an ant silkworm. The ant silkworm is about 2 mm long and 0.5 mm wide. After it crawls out of the egg shell, it will eat mulberry leaves after 2 to 3 hours.

The sleeping nature of silkworms: Silkworms eat a lot of mulberry, so they grow very fast and their body color gradually fades. But their appetite gradually decreases or even completely stops eating. They spit out a small amount of silk, fix their abdomen and feet on the silkworm seat, raise their head and chest, and stop moving, as if they are asleep. This is called "sleeping". The sleeping silkworms may seem motionless on the outside, but they are preparing to shed their skin inside. After shedding the old skin, the silkworms enter a new age. From ant silkworms to spinning silk cocoons, they shed their skin four times in total. Having the sleep nature is one of the growth characteristics of silkworms. Sleep nature is a genetic trait of silkworms and is also affected by the environment. The silkworms currently raised in my country belong to the four-sleeping varieties.

Silkworm age: also known as age period, which indicates the development stage of the silkworm. From the ant silkworm to the first molt is the first age; after waking up from sleep, it enters the second age; after molting again, it enters the third age; after the third molt, it enters the fourth age, and the fourth molt is also called the long sleep. After the long sleep, it enters the fifth age. The fifth-age silkworm grows very fast, with a body length of 6 to 7 cm and a weight of about 10,000 times the weight of the ant silkworm.

Mature silkworms: When silkworms reach the end of the fifth instar, they gradually show the characteristics of maturity: first, the feces they excrete change from hard to soft, and from dark green to leaf green; their appetite decreases, and the amount of food they eat decreases; the front digestive tract is empty, and the chest becomes transparent; then they stop eating completely, their bodies shorten, and their abdomens tend to be transparent; their head and chest are raised, they spit out silk threads from their mouths, and they swing left and right and up and down to find a place to build their cocoons. Such silkworms are called mature silkworms.

Cocooning during the adult stage: People put mature silkworms in special containers or on cocoons, and the silkworms will spin silk and make cocoons.

3. Introduction to the four stages of a silkworm’s life?

The life cycle of a silkworm consists of four stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult.

Silkworm eggs:

Silkworms reproduce by laying eggs. Silkworm eggs look like fine sesame seeds, about 1 mm wide and 0.5 mm thick. A female moth can lay 400 to 500 silkworm eggs. 1700 to 2000 silkworm eggs weigh about 1 gram and have a diameter of 0.2 cm. The color of silkworm eggs is light yellow or yellow when they are first laid, and changes to light red bean color or red bean color after 1 to 2 days, and then turns to gray-green or purple after 3 to 4 days. It no longer changes and is called a fixed color.

The outer layer of the silkworm egg is a hard eggshell, and inside is yolk and serous membrane. The embryo in the fertilized egg continuously absorbs nutrients during the development process and gradually develops into a silkworm. It crawls out of the eggshell, and the eggshell becomes white or light yellow after it is empty.

The first instar is four to five days; the second instar is three to four days; the third instar is four days; the fourth instar is six days; the fifth instar is seven to nine days; the pupal stage is fourteen to eighteen days; and the moth stage is three to five days.

larva:

When the silkworm hatches from the egg, its body is brown or black, very small, and covered with fine hairs, and it looks a bit like an ant, so it is called ant silkworm. The ant silkworm is about 2 mm long and 0.5 mm wide. After it crawls out of the egg shell, it will eat mulberry leaves after 2 to 3 hours.

silkworm chrysalis:

After the silkworms spin cocoons on the cocoon nest, they will turn into pupae after about 4 days. The body shape of the silkworm pupa is like a spindle, with three body sections: head, thorax and abdomen. The head is very small, with compound eyes and antennae; the thorax has thoracic legs and wings; the bulging abdomen has 9 body segments. Professional workers can distinguish the sex of silkworms from the lines and brown dots on the abdomen of the silkworm pupa. When the silkworms first pupate, their body color is light yellow and the pupa body is tender and soft. Gradually, it will turn into yellow, yellow-brown or brown, and the pupa skin will also harden. After about 12 to 15 days, when the pupa body begins to soften again and the pupa skin is a little wrinkled and earthy brown, it will turn into a moth.

4. Organize your observation records and write down how long it takes for each growth stage of the silkworm to last.

The silkworm's life cycle goes through four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The time taken for each developmental stage of the silkworm is: Spring period: 10 to 11 days Silkworm period: 1st instar: 4 to 5 days / 2nd instar: 3 to 4 days / 3rd instar: 4 days / 4th instar: 6 days / 5th instar: 7 to 9 days / Pupa period: 14 to 18 days

5. What are the four stages of a silkworm's life? How many days does a silkworm's life cycle last?

After the four stages of egg-larva-pupa-adult, its development is incomplete metamorphosis. How long does it take for silkworms to go through each stage: The growth and development of silkworms are related to temperature, humidity, food, etc., and the accelerator period is generally ten to eleven days. The larval stage is about twenty-five days (specifically, the first instar is four to five days; the second instar is three to four days; the third instar is four days; the fourth instar is six days; the fifth instar is seven to nine days.) The pupal stage is fourteen to eighteen days. The moth stage is three to five days. After the silkworm moth emerges, it no longer eats, and its wings will harden after about an hour. After the wings harden, it will mate. Each female moth will lay about 300 to 400 eggs. The purpose of silkworms emerging into moths is to mate and lay eggs.

6. What is the whole process of silkworm rearing?

There are no mulberry leaves in Liaoning, so silkworms are raised mainly on oak leaves, which are called oak silkworms. In spring, silkworms emerge from their cocoons. After mating, they lay eggs, which become small silkworms after a period of time. Silkworm farmers put the small silkworms on oak trees, which is called releasing them into the wild. There must be someone to guard the release to prevent birds from eating the larvae. After more than ten days, the larvae have become mature silkworms. They become silkworms in about two months. When autumn comes, the silkworms spin silk and become pupae, and then enter the next stage of reincarnation.

7. What is the sequence of changes during a silkworm’s life?

The life of a silkworm: eggs laid by silkworm moths → hatching → cocoons and pupae → moths, completing the cycle of a new generation. This is the life history of a silkworm.

Silkworm eggs: Silkworm eggs look smaller than sesame seeds, and are round and flat. A female moth can lay 400 to 500 eggs. Silkworm eggs are light yellow when they are first laid, and turn into light red bean or red bean color after 1 to 2 days, and then turn into gray-green or purple after 3 to 4 days, and then they will not change again. Hatching silkworms is a bit like hatching chicks. When we were young, we usually put silkworm eggs in the pockets of our clothes and use our body temperature to accelerate the hatching. We would take them out and have a look when we had nothing to do. Silkworm eggs are like chicken eggs, with a hard shell on the outside, and yolk and serosal membrane inside. The embryo in the fertilized egg continuously absorbs nutrients during the development process, and gradually develops into an ant silkworm, which breaks out of the egg shell.

Ant silkworm: When the silkworm emerges from the eggshell, it is very thin and looks a bit like an ant, so it is called an ant silkworm. The ant silkworm is about 2 mm long and 0.5 mm thick. It will eat mulberry leaves 2 to 3 hours after crawling out of the eggshell.

Silkworm sleep: Silkworms eat a lot of mulberry, and the faster they eat, the faster they grow. When their body color gradually fades and their appetite gradually decreases until they completely fast, they will spit out a small amount of silk, fix their abdominal feet on the silkworm seat, raise their head and chest, and stop moving, as if they are asleep. This is silkworm sleep. The sleeping silkworm may seem motionless on the outside, but it is preparing to shed its skin inside. After shedding the old skin, the silkworm's growth enters a new stage, and it sheds four times from ant silkworm to spinning silk cocoon. Having a dormant nature is one of the growth characteristics of silkworms.

Silkworm age: from the first molt to the first molt is the first age; after waking up from sleep, it enters the second age; after molting again, it enters the third age; after the third molt, it enters the fourth age, and the fourth molt is the long sleep. After the long sleep, it enters the fifth age. The fifth-age silkworms grow very fast. The longest silkworm we raised this time reached 8 cm.

Mature silkworms: When silkworms reach the end of the fifth instar, they gradually show the characteristics of maturity: first, the feces they excrete clearly change from dark green to leaf green; their appetite decreases, and the amount of mulberry food they eat drops significantly; their chest becomes transparent; their bodies turn a little yellow, and then they stop eating completely. Their bodies shorten, and their abdomens tend to be transparent. Their head and chest are raised, they spit out silk threads from their mouths, and they swing left and right and up and down to find a place to build their cocoons. These silkworms are called mature silkworms.

Cocooning: After the silkworms are mature, they are placed in a special container or on a cocooning device, and the silkworms will spin silk and spin cocoons. (The cocooning device is the place for making cocoons. Some branches or chopsticks can be used to make a #-shaped or trident frame.) The process of silkworm cocooning is roughly as follows: the mature silkworms find a good place to make cocoons, first spin out silk, and stick it on the cocooning device to form a cocooning frame, that is, a cocooning net. Continue to spin out messy silk circles to thicken the inner layer of the cocoon net, and then spin silk in an 8-shaped manner, and the outline of the cocoon begins to appear, forming a cocoon coat. After the cocoon coat is formed, the cocoon cavity gradually becomes smaller, and the silk continues to be spun to thicken, which begins the process of forming a cocoon layer. When the silkworm's body is greatly reduced due to spinning a large amount of silk, a loose and soft cocoon silk layer is finally formed, which is called the pupa lining.

Silkworm pupa: About 4 days after the silkworm makes a cocoon, it will turn into a pupa. After about 12 to 15 days, when the pupa body begins to soften again and the pupa skin is a little wrinkled and earthy brown, it will turn into a moth.

Silkworm moth: The silkworm moth that emerges from the cocoon loses its ability to fly because of its two pairs of small wings. The female moth is large and crawls slowly. The male moth is small and crawls faster, with its wings vibrating rapidly, looking for a mate. Generally, after mating for half a day, the female moth can lay fertilized eggs. After mating, the male dies, and the female moth can lay about 500 eggs in one night, and then slowly dies.

8. What are the feeding stages of silkworm farming?

1. Temperature and humidity adjustment: 1-3 years old are called young silkworms, and they require a high temperature and high humidity environment. The suitable temperature for 1-2 years old is 26-27 degrees and the relative humidity is 90%; therefore, 1-2 years old silkworms are fully dry-reared, that is, covered with plastic film and padded with plastic film; 3 years old silkworms are semi-dry-reared, that is, only covered without plastic film, and the temperature is kept at 26-27 degrees and the relative humidity is 85%.

2. Leaves for young silkworms: For 1-year-old silkworms, use the 3rd leaf from the top bud of the mulberry tree. The leaf color is yellow with green. For one silkworm of silkworm larvae, 1 kg of leaves are used; for 2-year-old silkworms, use the 4th leaf from the top bud. The leaf color is green with yellow. For one silkworm of silkworm larvae, 3 kg of leaves are used; for 3-year-old silkworms, use the 5th to 6th leaves from the top bud. The leaf color is light green and shiny. For one silkworm of silkworm larvae, 10 to 12 kg of leaves are used. For 1st and 2nd instar silkworms, cut the mulberry leaves into small cubes 1.5 times the length of the silkworm body. For 3rd instar silkworms, cut the mulberry leaves into triangles for feeding. The amount of mulberry leaves fed each time should be appropriate, leaving a small amount of residual mulberry leaves on the silkworm seat before the next feeding.

3. Frequency and time of feeding mulberry: Feed 4 times a day, at 7 a.m., 11 a.m., 4 p.m., and 10 p.m. respectively. Young silkworms grow and develop quickly, so each feeding should be combined with expanding the seat.

4. Treatment before sleeping: (1) Desanding before sleeping: When the body color of young silkworms turns white, their bodies shorten, their bodies become tense and shiny, and part of the bodies of first-instar silkworms are covered with silkworm feces, and second- and third-instar silkworms are carrying silkworms, you can add nets to the mulberry trees to remove sand before sleeping. (2) Raising silkworms: If some silkworms have already fallen asleep and some have not, you should add nets to the mulberry trees again to lure up the silkworms that have not fallen asleep and move them to another winnowing basket to continue feeding until they fall asleep.

5. Protection during dormancy: In the early stage of dormancy, the silkworm seats should be dry. Lime powder should be sprinkled on the seats to maintain a relative humidity of 80%. When the silkworms begin to hatch, the room should be humid and the relative humidity should be maintained at 85%. If the humidity is not enough, water can be sprinkled on the ground to supplement moisture.

6. Feeding after waking up: When more than 95% of the sleeping silkworms have shed their skins, their heads have turned from grayish white to brown and have become noticeably larger. The young silkworms are crawling around looking for food. At this time, they can be fed. The mulberry leaves used as food should be slightly tender, and the amount of mulberry leaves given should be relatively small.

Silkworm breeding:

1. Rearing method: 4-5-year-old silkworms are in the adult stage, and the suitable growth temperature is 25 degrees. Silkworms have weak resistance to high temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide, eat a lot of mulberry leaves and excrete a lot. They can be raised on the ground indoors or on outdoor sheds.

2. Move the silkworms to the ground: Clean the silkworm room, disinfect it with 1% bleaching powder, and after it is dry, sprinkle a layer of lime powder on the ground. After feeding the silkworms a meal of leaves, move them to the ground for feeding.

3. Reasonable mulberry feeding: The 4th instar silkworm is the transition period from the growth of the silkworm body to the growth of the silk gland. If the silkworm is malnourished, it will affect the yield and quality. The mulberry leaves should be fresh and of good quality. Select 7-15 leaves under the top bud for feeding to achieve the purpose of good mulberry. The amount of mulberry used by the 5th instar silkworm accounts for about 85% of the total amount of mulberry. This period is the key period for reasonable use of mulberry and improving the efficiency of mulberry leaves. The feeding method of tight at both ends and loose in the middle is adopted: on the 1st to 2nd day or the 5th to 7th day of the 5th instar, the amount of leaves should be strictly controlled until the silkworms have just finished eating the mulberry leaves next time. On the 3rd to 6th day, the silkworms should be fully fed with good mulberry. Each time the silkworms are fed with leaves, the silkworms are moved and the seats are expanded to keep the silkworm heads even.

4. Keep the silkworm seats clean: Use fresh lime powder to disinfect the silkworm bodies and seats every morning during the growing period. On rainy days when the humidity is high, sprinkle lime powder twice a day to keep the room ventilated and dry.

5. Collecting cocoons on the cluster: After 6-7 days, the fifth-instar silkworms stop eating mulberry and excrete a lot of green soft feces. Their chests are transparent, their bodies are slightly soft and waxy yellow, and their heads swing left and right. At this time, select 3-4 square clusters and place them horizontally in alternating overlaps. Sprinkle the mature silkworms evenly on the clusters, and hang the clusters on hooks after the silkworms crawl. During the clustering period, good ventilation should be maintained, and the temperature in the cluster should be maintained at 24 degrees and the humidity at 85%. Generally, the cocoons can be collected and sold 6 days after the spring silkworms are on the clusters, and 4-5 days after the summer and autumn silkworms are on the clusters.