Your Intrepid Reporter
Added 2023-10-06 17:05:36 +0000 UTCHere's Elliot, back again with an update on how the worms are doing. (It's not quite as polished as last time, but he's a one-take sort of performer. ) I wasn't sure what was going to happen with the worms last week - if they'd moulted for the last time and were going to settle in and spin, or if there was another moult - turns out they did all moult again, and quite dramatically since they're so big now. For sure we're now in the home stretch - and things are out of control in the eating department. I'm feeding them three times a day now, and I think they'd like it if I simply stood in that room and made it continuous.
Here's a picture of the way things are today - on the bottom is a two week old worm, and above them, one at a month of age.
The day of hatching they were 1mm, that smaller worm is in it's 3rd instar (I think) about 120x the size of a hatchling. The big worm is definitely in it's 5th instar, and about 5000x it's original size. Still, it's going to get bigger. This instar lasts about a week, and by the time they're ready to spin they'll be 10 000x the size of the hatchling. Of all the food they eat in their lives, 80% of it is in this last instar.
They get noticeably bigger in the course of a single day - but not much cuter.
I am starting to think about how to handle their spinning phase - but I'll tell you about that next time.
Be well, be safe,
Stephanie
