The adventures of the bathtub guy etc will continue tomorrow, as I have some work to finish tonight as well as a pressing question that must be asked! And must be asked now because I keep forgetting to ask it here!
I used to study with a girl from the US and we used to talk about being children in our respective countries and the things that she found strange in south africa. There were the usual – we have no IKEA, raspberry-flavoured things aren’t blue here, they’re red. we call things by different names, our MacDonalds can’t make a latte yet… and so on. And our Smarties and their Smarties are totally different! Oh, and you know when you were a kid and you filled some old tight with soil and grass seeds and stuck eyes on it so that the grass would grow out the top and look like hair? Well apparently she used to have them, but they bought a kit, rather than making them themselves…
Anyway, moving along before I go on for days, the thing that really freaked me out: apparently kids in other countries don’t keep pet silkworms.
She actually freaked out at the idea of raising caterpillars and earning about metamorphosis in a real life situation! And I freaked out at the idea of kids growing up without learning to care for a pet that was slightly simpler than a hamster (or is that dancer?) and spending hours tracking down mulberry leaves and counting cocoons… keeping their eggs in the fridge to prevent an early hatching, trading stripy for plain on the playground and generally wreaking havoc while caring desperately for he little guys…
so the big question: Did you have silkworms as a kid?
7 comments:
OMG silkworms! I had them almost every year. Sometimes off other kids, but otherwise I think they sold them for 50c at the pet shop. We had a mulberry tree down the road. My friend got them to weave silk shapes for her and everything. I never mastered anything near that. My silkworms were delinquents.
My strongest memory is of the sound when they ate, sheesh those things were chomping machines.
AAAh yes good old silk worms.
I had them.... i even went on a mission to try feed mine beetroot leaves to see if they would make red silk. Of course, as I quickly found out, beetroots are less abundant in the gardens and streets of Greytown than Mulberries.
The pet shop here was selling them for 25c each last week po. It seems like the recession has even given silk work farmers a tough time :)
"slightly simpler than a hamster (or is that dancer?)"
You see? Po has scarred us for life ;-)
Of course I had silkworms. Drove my mother mad. Fed them beetroot leaves to make them produce pink silk. I smiled the other day because my friend's four-year old girl just brought home her first batch from school and they were traipsing around the neighbourhood looking for mulberry leaves. Memories...
Yes, I think silkworms are a msut for anyone who plans to become an adult...or not for that matter. Just think of all the life-skills that those Americans have lost out on because of the fact that they never kept small invertebrates for their own amusment!
Yip! I had silkworms. Then they got out one year and I spent the next three trying to find out where they were getting enough food to survive and reproduce... I eventually found the silkworm 'source', and my room is now silkworm free!
I didn't ever raise them but I loved/still love them. I always thought it would be cool to try, but I get so attached to things I'd probably cry if one died. I was the kid that made sure nobody hurt bugs, worms, caterpillars etc. I'm still like that. I'm not a fan of spiders but I still try to capture them and set them free. I even have a few in corners that I will name now and then. Maybe I will have to try raising some with the kids next year...now is not the best time since it's freezing!
Po: I always got mine off other kids, I don't remember buying them, although the vet I work for said there was a kid at hs daughters school who was breeding and selling them! Entrepeneurship starts early! I remember trying to get shpes as well, but they weren't too cooperative!
EEbEE: I always wanted to feed mine lettuce to get white cocoons, but my mother refused to go shopoping for silkworm food when we had a mulberry tree in the garden!
Tamara: I know, I can't wait to sing along about hamsters at the Killers concert! ddi you get pink silk? I always heard the stories, but I never knew anyone who had actually tried.
Luke: I agree! No child should have to grow up without pet insects!
Suvvygirl: So Americans DO keep slkworms! I'm so glad! They're an awesome first pet as they pretty low-maintenance! Just make sure you have a decent supply of mulberry leves nearby, they eat like maniacs!
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