LIFE CYCLE OF SILKWORM

TABLE OF CONTENT:
HISTORY ABOUT MULBERRY SILKWORM CLASSIFICATION OF MULBERRY SILKWORM LIFE CYCLE STAGES OF LIFE CYCLE OF SILKWORM REFRENCES

HISTORY OF SERICULTURE
In ancient time LOTZU empress of Kwang-Ti discovered the fancy origin of beautiful silk in the form of the threads in 2697 B.C. The egg of silkworm and sericulture technique smuggled by two monks sent as spies to china so sericulture introduced in Europe. The scientific method of sericulture was started in Japan in 1979 after establishing the national sericulture experiment in Tokyo. In India first of all Lafroy(1905-1906) carried out studies on the silkworm and sericulture at Pusa Institute, New Delhi. He set up a sericulture stall in an All India Exhibition organized by the government of UP at Allahabad in 1901-1910.

Bombyx mori
It belongs to family bombycidae. China is the native place of the silkworm. Its natural food is mulberry leaf thus called a mulberry silkworm. It has been successfully domesticated in countries like Japan, India, Italy, France and Russia. The silk produced by this moth is white in colour. From commercial point of view, it is considered as the most important insect in the world.

Classification of Mulberry Silkworm

Phylum Class Sub-class Division Order Family Genus Species : Arthropodia : Hexapoda/insecta : Pterygota : Endopterygota : Lepidoptera : Bombycidae : Bombyx :Mori

LIFE CYCLE
As in the case of a typical Butterfly (Lepidoptera) insect, the silkworm passes through 4 distinct stages.
1. 2. 3. 4. EGG (INCUBATION DAYS) PUPA (14 DAYS) ADULT MOTH (7 DAYS) 10-14

LARVA (27 DAYS 5 INSTAR)

The duration may last for 6-8 weeks depending on the prevailing climatic conditions.

STAGE 1: EGG
After copulation female lays 400-500 eggs in 24 hours. The egg is in form of clusters and creamy-white in colour small smooth and rounded in shape.

STAGE 2: CATERPILLARLARVA
The egg after 10 days of incubation, hatch into a larva called as caterpillar. The length is about 0.3 cm and colour is pale-yellow.

STAGE 3:

PUPA

The silkworm will spin a silk cocoon as protection for the pupa.
Cocoons are shades of white, cream and yellow. After a final molt inside the cocoon, the larva change into the brown pupa. Further changes inside the pupa result in an emerging moth

COCOON
The thread is spun around the body of caterpillar in the form of covering called as cocoon .
Cocoon is the white colour bed of pupa whose outer thread are irregular while the inner are regular. The length of continuous thread of cocoon is 1000 to 1200 m. About 2500 cocoon provide 1 pound of silk.

Stage 4: ADULT MOTH/EMERGENCE OF IMAGO

An adult silk moth emerges from the cocoon about two weeks after completion. This is the adult stage of the silkworm, Bombyx mori.

REFERENCES:
DR. H. N.BAIJAL:ZOOLOGY ARUN PRAKASHAN DR. S.M.SAXENA :R.P UNIFIED RAMPRASHAD & SONS PUBLICATION INTERNET

THANKS