The rearing of silk worm for commercial purpose is called Sericulture. It is SILK FARMING.
- Silk Moth belongs to
- Family: Bombycidae
- Order: Lepidoptera
LIFE CYCLE OF SILK MOTH
- The life cycle is complete and consist of 4 stages
- Egg
- Larva
- Pupa
- Adult.
- The eggs hatch to form larvae.
- The larvae of silk moth are called caterpillars or silkworms.
- The larva (or caterpillar) of a silk moth which produces silk is called silkworm.
- A cocoon is the silk casing that caterpillar spins around it before it turns into a pupa.
- The Adult form of silk worm is called Silk Moth.
TYPES OF SILK
- Silk are of main 2 types:
- MULBERRY SILK
- NON-MULBERRY SILK
MULBERRY SILK
- Also known as Cultivated Silk.
- It is made by Moth Larvae that feed on Mulberry leaves.
- These are of 2 types
- Univoltine Moth
- Multivoltine Moth
UNIVOLTINE MOTH
- One crop of silk in a year is produced by Univoltine moths.
- For hatching, the eggs require Low temperature.
- The Cocoons have firm close consistency.
- The silk is reared in Jammu & Kashmir due to the hatching condition of the egg and also the temperature.
MULTIVOLTINE MOTHS
- Give upto 8 crops per year.
- Eggs do not require exposure to cold for hatching.
- The cocoons contain small amount of Silk.
NON MULBERRY SILK
- These are obtained from oak feeding larvae of silk moth.
- Example: Tussar Silk
MULBERRY SPECIALLY GROWN FOR SILKWORM IS CALLED MORICULTURE