Husk–my collaboration with Jeff Hutchison–is working on a new project. It involves the Samia cynthia, otherwise known as the Ailanthus Silkworm. This particular silkworm feeds on a diet of Ailanthus leaves. We are thinking about raising Samia cynthia to help us transform the Ailanthus tree, which is considered a weed tree, into something useful and desirable. In theory, by creating desire for the local silk produced by the NYC-based Ailanthus silkworms we could thin out the unwanted population of the Ailanthus trees in NYC. This, we think, is an elegant, ironic twist to the ravages of desire and consumption — a case where depleting the natural resource happens to have a beneficial impact.
To see what we might be in for, Jeff ordered a dozen Samia cynthia eggs. They hatched on Thursday last week. And for a few exciting days Stephanie, Huck and I watched them nibble on leaves. We examined them through a magnifying glass. Huck and I refreshed the container with Ailanthus leaves from an empty, over-grown lot on Hicks street. But, let’s face it, despite reading up on silkworm rearing on the internet, I’m an amateur. And sadly the survival rate was not good.
By Sunday there were three confirmed alive. I was still hopeful. They had grown slightly bigger and were whitish with little spots (Huck argued they were striped). But by Sunday evening I counted only one. And on Monday, I did not see any as I carefully turned over the leaves. However, before leaving for work, I did add fresh leaves to the container… just in case.
Not sure where this project will go next. Is it the beginning of a silken thread of an idea, or just another crackpot silkworm scheme? Stay tuned.