Hello ,

I have started to keep silkworms again in the last week and it got me thinking; Why do we as humans feel sorry for some insects but not for others?

The question arose as I explained that the plan for the silkworms are not just to keep them, but to use them as feed for all the other insects and spiders in my collection. Most people feel that this is not a good way to treat silkworms.

On the other hand if people are told you use cockroaches, mealworms and flies as feed, they have no problem and even often they encourage it.

I believe that the "love" for silkworms can be explained by mainly two factors. Firstly the memories of childhood pet silkworms (which is very big in South Africa) and secondly the long time domestication of silkworms. Many children in South Africa, will at some point have a cardboard box filled with mulberry leaves and silkworms, often to the frustration of their parents! This experience of a full life cycle, from egg to adult moth and eggs again, requires only simple care and maintenance. I believe that this simple care and observation is what changes peoples minds towards silkworms.

Even though people know that less that 0.1% of cockroaches are pests, they will always see them as dirty and disgusting. However, most cockroaches are simple decomposers helping to clean up the environment from unwanted debris.

The difference between a silkworm and a cockroach in peoples minds are thus a taught one. From experience we see silkworms as pets and cockroaches as pests. The real question at hand though is how do we teach people to love all insects and not only some?

Weekly Top Shot:

The latest Video: The Backdoor wasps!

The Backdoor wasps - Episode 1 — www.youtube.com

We start following the journey of the Paper wasps at my backdoor! A short introduction and a look at what they have been up! We also discuss some of the nest...