Friday April 13, 2007
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Friday April 13, 2007 | Murderous Ants | Life |
It was a sad day here at our house. The little silkworms we were raising were attacked and eaten by ants!
Last spring my daughter's teacher gave out little silkworms to anyone who could take care of them (you need access to mulberry leaves). For most of the summer she had fun watching her own "very hungry caterpillars" eat leaves and get bigger. It was exciting to watch them make cocoons and even more exciting when the white silk moths emerged (they don't fly away). Within a week the moths had all laid hundreds of eggs and then lay down to die next to their offspring. The eggs either hatch quickly, or they remain dormant until spring if it's late in the cycle.
Fast forward to last week. The eggs lay dormant all winter so I put the box outside so the eggs could detect whatever natural triggers there are for "spring." It worked because just as the new mulberry leaves started growing, the little eggs hatched. Hundreds of tiny, tiny silkworms everywhere. I tossed in some new leaves and within minutes the leaves were covered with worms. Again, it was incredibly exciting for my daughter to see the eggs hatch.
A few days later I went to transfer the eggs to a new box and noticed that there wasn't a single worm in the box! In their place were a bunch of ants. I can only assume that the ants considered the worms food, or a threat, and killed them. So sad. My daughter doesn't know yet. 
Tags: ants | death | silkworms
Tags: ants death murder silkworms
April 13, 2007 10:52 AM PDT Permalink | Comments [1] |
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Kevin Chu, Some Rights Reserved.
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