Silkworm substitute diet?

[Defalt]

Hey guys, I am going to be buying some silkworms soon and I was wondering if there was an economical way to feed them without constantly spending money on chow and mulberry leaves. I do have a mulberry tree but I am afraid to pluck it as I am afraid that this will kill it since it is small. If anyone could give me some advice on how to make my mulberry plant grow into a dense, mature bush I would also appreciate it.

 

[pannaking22]

It'll take time to get it to really grow, but you can try giving it some fertilizer and see if that helps kickstart it.

 

[PidderPeets]

As far as I'm aware, they won't eat anything that isn't in the Moraceae plant family (preferably the Morus genus), or the artificial food made specifically for them. So I think those would really be your only options.

As for your mulberry plant, as long as you don't take more than a third of the plant at one time (and then give it a chance to grow back), usually it's not enough to kill the plant. It would also encourage the plant to grow bushier, which might benefit you in the longrun if you continue to raise silkworms. You could try a fertilizer too. I use kelp meal as a fertilizer for most of my plants and it seems to work well enough.

 

[Defalt]

my mulberry plant recently shed a bunch of its leaves but they have started to grow back, is this ordinary behavior for the plant?

 

[pannaking22]

I wouldn't be worried about the leaves falling as long as they look like they're growing back in again.

 

[The Snark]

One of the biologist aggravation of the ages. Getting caterpillars to eat substitute diets. Sorry folks. The genes write the diet menu. That's how the Lepidoptera have established and maintained themselves down through the evolution of the planet.