The silkworm is an order of insects. Silkworm or silkworm

Silkworm(lat. Bombyx mori) is a nondescript little butterfly with dirty white wings that cannot fly at all. But it is thanks to her efforts that fashionistas around the world have been able to enjoy outfits made from beautiful soft fabric, the shine and colorful shimmer of which fascinates at first sight, for more than 5,000 years.

Silk has always been a valuable commodity. The ancient Chinese, the first producers of silk fabric, kept their secret securely. For its disclosure there was an immediate and terrible death penalty. They domesticated silkworms back in the 3rd millennium BC, and to this day these small insects work to satisfy the whims of modern fashion.

There are monovoltine, bivoltine and multivoltine breeds of silkworm in the world. The first give only one generation per year, the second - two, and the third - several generations per year. An adult butterfly has a wingspan of 40-60 mm, but it has an underdeveloped oral apparatus, so she does not feed throughout her short life. The wings of the silkworm are dirty white, brownish bands are clearly visible on them.

Immediately after mating, the female lays eggs, the number of which varies from 500 to 700 pieces. The clutch of the silkworm (like all other representatives of the peacock-eye family) is called grena. It has an elliptical shape, flattened on the sides, with one side slightly larger than the other. On the thin pole there is a depression with a tubercle and a hole in the center, which is necessary for the passage of the seed thread. The size of the grenades depends on the breed - in general, Chinese and Japanese silkworms have smaller grenades than European and Persian ones.

They come out of the egg silkworms(caterpillars), to which all the eyes of silk producers are riveted. They grow in size very quickly, molting four times during their lifetime. The entire cycle of growth and development lasts from 26 to 32 days, depending on the conditions of detention: temperature, humidity, food quality, etc.

Silkworms feed on the leaves of the mulberry tree (mulberry), so silk production is possible only in places where it grows. When the time comes for pupation, the caterpillar weaves itself into a cocoon consisting of a continuous silk thread ranging from three hundred to one and a half thousand meters long. Inside the cocoon, the caterpillar transforms into a pupa. In this case, the color of the cocoon can be very different: yellowish, greenish, pinkish or some other. True, only silkworms with white cocoons are bred for industrial needs.

Ideally, the butterfly should emerge from the cocoon on days 15-18, however, unfortunately, it is not destined to survive until this time: the cocoon is placed in a special oven and kept for about two to two and a half hours at a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius. Of course, the pupa dies, and the process of unwinding the cocoon is greatly simplified. In China and Korea, fried dolls are eaten; in all other countries they are considered just “production waste.”

Sericulture has long been an important industry in China, Korea, Russia, France, Japan, Brazil, India and Italy. Moreover, about 60% of all silk production occurs in India and China.

Niramin - Feb 23rd, 2017

The silkworm lives almost nowhere in the wild. The ancient Chinese domesticated this beneficial insect 4.5 thousand years ago. Despite the fact that the Chinese kept the process of producing natural silk a closely guarded secret for a long time, it became known in other countries where there are optimal conditions for growing silkworm larvae.

Ancient legend says that the Chinese princess, having married an Indian rajah, secretly took with her a clutch of silkworm eggs when she left China. It is worth noting that such an act was considered a state crime, and the princess faced the death penalty in her homeland. Nowadays, silkworm breeding is carried out on special farms in Asian countries: China, Japan, India, Pakistan, North and South Korea, Uzbekistan and Turkey. In addition, similar farms exist in Italy and France.

Like most insects, the silkworm looks different during its life, as it goes through several stages of development:

Grena stage - laying eggs.

Photo: Silkworm laying eggs.

Caterpillar (larval) stage.

Photo: Silkworm caterpillars.

Pupation (cocoon formation).

Photo: Silkworm cocoons.

The adult stage is a butterfly.

Photo: Silkworm - butterfly.

The white butterfly is quite large in size with a wingspan of about 6 cm. During the process of natural selection, the silkworm butterfly lost the ability to fly. During its short existence of about 20 days, the butterfly does not feed. Its main function is mating and laying up to 1000 eggs in one clutch, after which the butterfly dies.

Depending on a certain temperature, black, hairy larvae emerge from the eggs. During its development, the larva molts several times and becomes a smooth white caterpillar.

It is the caterpillar that feeds exclusively on mulberry leaves.

Photo: Mulberry tree with fruits.

Any other plant food is not suitable for her. Hence the name of the insect. After 5 weeks of intensive calorie consumption, the caterpillar attaches itself to a suitable branch and forms a cocoon of silk thread, which it produces thanks to the presence of a special gland. The transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly occurs in the cocoon. To obtain silk thread, farmers do not allow the butterfly to emerge from the cocoon. But a certain number of cocoons are still left for butterflies as successors to the next generation of silkworms.

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Description

Relatively large butterfly with a wingspan of 40 - 60 mm. The wings are dirty white with more or less distinct brownish bands. Fore wings with a notch on the outer edge behind the apex. The antennae of the male are strongly combed, the females are combed. Silkworm butterflies have essentially lost their ability to fly. Females are especially sedentary. Butterflies have an underdeveloped mouthparts and do not feed throughout their lives (aphagia).

Life cycle

The silkworm is represented by monovoltine (produces one generation per year), bivoltine (produces two generations per year) and polyvoltine (produces several generations per year) breeds.

Egg

After mating, the female lays eggs (on average from 500 to 700 pieces), the so-called eggs. Grena has an oval (elliptical) shape, flattened on the sides, and is somewhat thicker at one pole; soon after its deposition, one impression appears on both flattened sides. On the thinner pole there is a rather significant depression, in the middle of which there is a tubercle, and in its center there is a hole - a micropyle, intended for the passage of the seed thread. The size of the grain is about 1 mm in length and 0.5 mm in width, but it varies significantly depending on the breed. In general, European, Asia Minor, Central Asian and Persian breeds produce larger grains than Chinese and Japanese ones. Egg laying can last up to three days. Diapause in the silkworm occurs during the egg stage. Diapausing eggs develop in the spring of the following year, while non-diapausing eggs develop in the same year.

Caterpillar

A caterpillar emerges from an egg (called silkworm), which grows quickly and moults four times. After the caterpillar has gone through four moults, its body turns slightly yellow. The caterpillar develops within 26 - 32 days. The duration of development depends on the temperature and humidity of the air, the quantity and quality of food, etc. The caterpillar feeds exclusively on mulberry (tree) leaves. Therefore, the spread of sericulture is associated with the places where the mulberry tree (mulberry) grows.

Pupating, the caterpillar weaves a cocoon, the shell of which consists of a continuous silk thread ranging in length from 300-900 meters to 1,500 m in the largest cocoons. In the cocoon, the caterpillar turns into a pupa. The color of the cocoon can be different: pinkish, greenish, yellow, etc. But for industrial needs, currently only silkworm breeds with white cocoons are bred.

The emergence of butterflies from cocoons usually occurs 15-18 days after pupation. But the silkworm is not allowed to survive to this stage - the cocoons are kept for 2-2.5 hours at a temperature of about 100 °C, which kills the caterpillar and simplifies the unwinding of the cocoon.

Human use

Sericulture

Sericulture- breeding silkworms to produce silk. According to Confucian texts, silk production using the silkworm began around the 27th century BC. e. , although archaeological research allows us to talk about the Yangshao period (5000 BC). In the first half of the 1st century AD. e. Sericulture came to ancient Khotan, and at the end of the 3rd century it came to India. It was later introduced in Europe, the Mediterranean and other Asian countries. Sericulture has become important in a number of countries such as China, Republic of Korea, Japan, India, Brazil, Russia, Italy and France. Today, China and India are the two main producers of silk, accounting for about 60% of the world's annual production.

Other uses

In China and Korea, fried silkworm pupae are eaten.

Dried caterpillars infected with fungus Beauveria bassiana, used in Chinese folk medicine.

Silkworm in art

• In 2004, the famous multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and leader of his own group Oleg Sakmarov wrote a song called “Silkworm”.
• In 2006, the group Flëur released a song called “Silkworm”.
• In 2007, Oleg Sakmarov released the album “Silkworm”.
• In 2009, the group Melnitsa released the album “Wild Herbs”, which contains a song called “Silkworm”.

Notes

Domesticated animals
Homemade
Exhibition
Farm animals
Mammals
Birds
Insects

Categories:

• Animals in alphabetical order
• Animals described in 1758
• Real silkworms
• Farm animals
• Pets

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Synonyms:

See what “Mulberry moth” is in other dictionaries:

- (Both mori), butterfly of the family. true silkworms (Bombycidae). Wingspan 40-60 mm, whitish. The body is massive. The number of generations per year distinguishes between monovoltine (one), bivoltine (two) and multivoltine (many) breeds of T. sh. Wintering... ... Biological encyclopedic dictionary

Silkworm, silkworm Dictionary of Russian synonyms. silkworm noun, number of synonyms: 2 silkworm (2) ... Dictionary of synonyms

A butterfly of the true silkworm family. Not known in the wild; domesticated in China ca. 3 thousand years BC e. to obtain silk. Bred in many countries, mainly in the East, Middle. and Yuzh. Asia. A closely related species, the wild silkworm, lives in... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Butterfly. Caterpillar T. sh. called a silkworm, it feeds on mulberry leaves, curls a silk-rich cocoon, and is bred for its production. Silkworm (: 21/2): 1 caterpillar; 2 dolls; 3 cocoon; 4 female laying eggs... ... Agricultural dictionary-reference book

A butterfly of the true silkworm family. The wingspan is 4-6 cm, the body is massive. The caterpillar feeds on mulberry leaves. Unknown in the wild; domesticated in China around 3 thousand years BC. e. to obtain silk. Bred in many countries... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Bombyx mori) butterfly of the Bombycidae family. Wingspan 4-6 cm; has an underdeveloped mouthparts and does not feed. Caterpillar G. sh. feeds on mulberry (or mulberry) leaves; inferior substitutes for it... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Bombyx mori (silkworm, silk moth) Insect of the order Lepidoptera , one of the first domesticated species (domesticated in China over 4000 years ago as a producer of valuable silk fiber... ... Molecular biology and genetics. Explanatory dictionary.

- (Bombyx s. Sericaria mori) a butterfly belonging to the silkworm family (Bombycidae) and bred for the silk that is obtained from its cocoons. The body of this butterfly is covered with thick fluff, the antennae are rather short, comb-shaped; the wings are small... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Ephron

Class: Insecta = Insects

Order: Lepidoptera = Lepidoptera, butterflies

Family: Bombycidae Latreille, 1802 = True silkworms

Silkworm or Silkworm

The silkworm is the name given to the silkworm caterpillar. He is from the family of true silkworms, of which there are about a hundred species. Their caterpillars weave a cocoon from silk: in it the transformation of the pupa into a butterfly occurs. Some people have so much silk in their cocoon that by skillfully unwinding it, you can get threads suitable for making fabrics. Coarse varieties of silk are obtained from the cocoons of the Chinese oak peacock eye and some other silkworms (Philosamia, Telea). However, the best silk is produced by the silkworm. This butterfly is a real pet, it is completely dependent on humans. Not like bees, which even without people wildlife they can live well.

Where does the silkworm come from and who is its wild ancestor?

Many researchers believe that its homeland is the Western Himalayas, some regions of Persia and China. Theophylla mandarin butterfly lives there, darker in color than the silkworm, but generally similar to it, and most importantly, can interbreed with it, producing hybrid offspring. Perhaps the Chinese began to breed this butterfly in ancient times, and after thousands of years of skillful selection, the silkworm was obtained - in the human economy the most useful insect after the bee. Artificial silk today successfully competes with natural silk, and yet the annual world production of silk obtained from silkworms amounts to hundreds of millions of kilograms.

When and how long ago did they start breeding silkworms? The legend says: 3400 years ago a certain Fu Gi made musical instruments with strings made of silk threads. But the real breeding of the silkworm and the constant use of its silk for the production of fabrics began later: approximately four and a half thousand years ago. As if Empress Xi Ling Chi was the initiator of this useful work (for which she was elevated to the rank of deity, and every year this significant event celebrated with ritual holidays).

At first, only empresses and high-ranking women were engaged in silk production. They kept the secrets of this matter secret. “For more than 20 centuries, the Chinese jealously guarded the monopoly of silk and protected it with laws punishing with death or torture anyone who sought to take abroad the eggs of the wonderful silkworm or divulge the secret of breeding and unwinding cocoons” (J. Rostand).

Twenty centuries is a very long time; hardly any other secrets have been kept for so long. But sooner or later the secret ceases to be secret. This is what happened with sericulture. Whether it's true or false, ancient texts say that in the 4th century AD, a Chinese princess brought her husband, the ruler of Bukhara, a priceless marriage gift - silkworm eggs. She hid them in her elaborate hairstyle.

In the same century, sericulture began to develop in some parts of India. From here, apparently (this story is probably known to many), Christian monks carried silkworm eggs and mulberry seeds in hollow staves, the leaves of which feed the caterpillars that produce precious silk. The eggs brought by the monks to Byzantium did not die; caterpillars hatched from them and cocoons were obtained. But later, sericulture, which began here, died out and only in the 8th century flourished again in the vast territory captured by the Arabs - from Central Asia to Spain.

“Our main centers of sericulture are located in Central Asia and Transcaucasia. Their position is determined by the distribution of the host plant, which is the mulberry tree. The advancement of sericulture further north is hampered by the lack of cold-resistant mulberry varieties” (Professor F.N. Pravdin).

Silkworms eat the leaves of this tree with a loud crunch, which Pasteur compared to “the sound of rain falling on trees during a thunderstorm.” This is when there are a lot of worms and they all eat. And towards the end of their larval life they eat continuously - day and night! And in any position: squeezed by neighbors, lying on their backs, on their sides and eating and eating - in a day they eat as much greenery as they themselves weigh.

They eat and grow. A tiny caterpillar emerges from the egg, about three millimeters long. And after 30-80 days, the silkworm, which has completed its development, is already 8 centimeters long and a centimeter thick. It is whitish, pearly or ivory. On its head it has six pairs of simple eyes, tactile antennae and, most importantly, what made it so valuable in the human economy - a small tubercle under the lower lip. An adhesive substance oozes from the hole at its end, which upon contact with air immediately turns into a silk thread. Later, when he weaves a cocoon, we will see how this natural silk spinning machine works.

Silkworms, strictly speaking, only eat mulberry leaves. We tried feeding it with other plants: blackberry leaves, for example, or lettuce. He ate them, but he grew worse, and the cocoons were not of the first quality.

So, first eating the soft parts of the leaves, and then, when they mature, the veins, even the petioles, the silkworm grows quickly. In the first days, it doubles its weight every day, and during its entire larval life it increases it 6-10 thousand times: before pupation it weighs 3-5 grams - more than the smallest mammals, some shrews and bats.

Frozen and hard as glass, the worm does not die. If you warm it up, it comes to life, eats again calmly, and later weaves a cocoon. But in general he is thermophilic. The most favorable temperature for him is 20-25 degrees. Then it grows quickly: its larval life, if there is enough food, is 30-35 days. When it's colder (15 degrees) - 50 days. You can make it complete all the processes necessary for the caterpillar to grow and prepare for transformation in 14 days, if you feed it abundantly and keep it at 45 degrees.

10 days after the last, fourth molt, the worm’s appetite is no longer the same as before. Soon he stops eating altogether and begins to crawl around restlessly...

The silkworm is very interesting insect, which has been known to man since ancient times as silk source. According to some data mentioned in Chinese chronicles, the insect became known as early as 2600 BC. The process of obtaining silk was a state secret for centuries in China, and silk became one of the clear trade advantages.

Starting from the 13th century, other countries, including Spain, Italy, and North African countries, mastered the technology of silk production. In the 16th century, technology reached Russia.

Nowadays, the silkworm is actively bred in many countries, and in Korea and China it is used not only to produce silk, but also for food. The exotic dishes that are prepared from it are distinguished by their originality, and silkworm larvae are used for the needs of traditional medicine.

India and China are leaders in silk production and it is in these countries that the number of silkworms is greatest.

What does a silkworm look like?

Yours unusual name this insect has earned it thanks to the tree on which it feeds. Mulberry, a tree also called mulberry, is the only source of food for the silkworm.

Silkworm caterpillar eats a tree day and night, which can even lead to its death if the caterpillars occupy such trees on the farm. For silk production in industrial scale These trees are grown specifically to feed insects.

The silkworm goes through the following life cycles:

The silkworm butterfly is a large insect, and its wingspan reaches 6 centimeters. It has a white color with black spots; there are notches on the wings, in the front part of them. Pronounced comb mustache distinguish males from females, in whom this effect is almost invisible.

The butterfly has practically lost the ability to fly and modern individuals spend their entire lives without rising into the sky. This was caused by their very long detention in unnatural living conditions. Moreover, according to available facts, insects stop eating food after turning into butterflies.

The silkworm acquired such strange features because it was kept at home for many centuries. This has now led to the insect cannot survive without human guardianship.

Over the years of its breeding, the silkworm has managed to degenerate into two main species: monovoltine and multivoltine. The first species lays larvae once a year, and the second - up to several times a year.

Hybrid silkworms can have many differences in characteristics such as:

• body shape;
• wing color;
• dimensions and general shape butterflies;
• dimensions of the pupa;
• color and shape of caterpillars.

The larvae or eggs of this butterfly are scientifically called grena. They have a laterally flattened oval shape, with elastic transparent film. The dimensions of one egg are so small that per gram of weight their number can reach two thousand.

Immediately after the butterfly lays its eggs, they have a light milky or yellowish color. As time passes, changes occur, leading to the appearance of a pink tint in the larvae, and then to a complete change in color to purple. If the color of the eggs does not change over time, it means the larvae have died.

Silkworm eggs have a fairly long maturation period. He puts them in summer months: in July and August, and then they hibernate until spring. The processes occurring in them at this time slow down significantly in order to survive the effects of low winter temperatures.

If the grena overwinters at temperatures not lower than +15 degrees, then there is a risk of poor development in future caterpillars, therefore winter period need to provide for grains optimal temperature regime. Caterpillars appear before leaves have time to grow on the trees, so grena is stored in refrigeration units at temperatures from 0 to -2 degrees throughout this period.

The caterpillars of this butterfly are also called silkworms, which cannot be considered a scientific name. Externally, silkworm caterpillars look like this:

Immediately after birth, the caterpillar has a very small size and weight, not exceeding half of one milligram. Despite these sizes, everything biological processes the caterpillar's growths proceed normally, and it begins to actively develop and grow.

The caterpillar has Very developed jaws , pharynx and esophagus, due to which all consumed food is absorbed very quickly and well. Each of these little caterpillars has more than 8,000 muscles, allowing them to bend into intricate poses.

In forty days, the caterpillar grows to more than thirty times its original size. During the period of growth, she sheds her skin, which for natural reasons becomes small for her. This is called molting.

During molting, the silkworm caterpillar stops eating tree leaves and finds a separate place for itself, usually under the leaves, where it tightly attaches itself to them with its legs and freezes for some period. I also call this period the caterpillar's sleep.

As time passes, the head of a renewed caterpillar begins to emerge from the old skin, and then it comes out entirely. At this time you cannot touch them. This can lead to the fact that the caterpillar simply does not have time to shed its old skin and dies. During its life, the caterpillar molts four times.

The intermediate stage in the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly is the cocoon. Caterpillar creates a cocoon around itself and inside it turns into a butterfly. These cocoons are of greatest interest to humans.

The moment when the butterfly should be born and leave its cocoon is very easy to determine - it begins to move literally a day before, and you can hear light tapping sounds inside. This knocking appears because at this time the already mature butterfly is trying to free itself from the skin of the caterpillar. A curious fact is that the time of birth of the silkworm butterfly is always the same - from five to six in the morning.

A special liquid, similar in consistency to glue, which is secreted by butterflies, helps them free themselves from the cocoon by splitting it.

The lifespan of a moth is limited to only twenty days, and sometimes they do not even live up to 18 days. In this case it is possible meet long-livers among them who live for 25 and even 30 days.

Due to the fact that the jaws and mouth of butterflies are not sufficiently developed, they cannot feed. The main task of the butterfly is to procreate and for its short life they manage to lay many eggs. In one clutch, a female silkworm can lay up to a thousand of them.

It is noteworthy that even if an insect loses its head, egg laying process will not be interrupted. The butterfly body has several nervous systems which allows her for a long time continue laying and live, even in the absence of such a significant part of the body as the head.