year 1 school project

The size and colour of a sherbert lemon these are silkworm cocoons. There have been boxes of silkworms in junior's classroom, munching their way through trees of mulberry leaves until after molting four times they spin the cocoon.

Each cocoon is made up of ONE thread of raw silk which may be up to 90o metres long! If the cocoon is to be used for silk production it's boiled killing off the pupa inside and making the silk easier to unravel. Needless to say no such fate awaits these and they have developed to the stage that moths have just started to emerge.

It's been quite an education watching the silk worms grow, spin the cocoons and finally emerge.
Have just discovered the pupa may be eaten after the cocoon is boiled and the silk removed, roasted or fried with salt and chilli.
Don't think I'll mention this to junior. Getting him to eat carrot is hard enough.