Dictionary:

silkworm

  (sĭlk'wûrm')

Any of various caterpillars that produce silk cocoons, especially the larva of a moth (Bombyx mori) native to Asia that spins a cocoon of fine, strong, lustrous fiber that is the source of commercial silk.

Bombyx mori

FAMILY

Bombycidae

TAXONOMY

Phalaena mori Linnaeus, 1758, China.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Silkmoth; French: Ver de la soie, bombyx du mûrier; German: Seidenspinner; Spanish: Gusano de seta; Finnish: Silkkiperhonen.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Caterpillars (1.5 in, or 4 cm) are pale brown, with brown marks on the thorax and a horn on the tail. They pupate in a white to yellow cocoon, the color depending on genetics and diet. The silk forming the cocoon is a single, continuous thread (1,000–3,000 ft, or 300–900 m, long) of a protein secreted from salivary glands. Adults are heavy, rounded, furry, and whitish with pale brown lines. The forewings have a hooked tip, and the wingspan is 1.5–2.5 in (4–6 cm).

DISTRIBUTION

Originally from the north of China, the north of India, Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. Now also bred in Europe and North and South America as a commodity in the textile market.

HABITAT

On mulberry worldwide.

BEHAVIOR

Adults cannot fly. Larvae are so domesticated now that they cannot survive without the assistance of humans.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Caterpillars feed on mulberry leaves; adults have atrophied mouthparts and do not feed.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

The female lays 200–500 lemon-yellow eggs that turn black and hatch in spring. In four to six weeks, larvae undergo four molts and then spin a silk cocoon (in a process taking three or more days) to pupate. Adults emerge in three weeks, reproduce, and die within five days. Univoltine (having one generation per year) under natural conditions.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Bred in captivity for thousands of years; no wild colonies remain.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

Used to make silk and for education and research. Originally domesticated in China. To harvest silk, cocoons are boiled in water to kill pupae and help unravel thread. Dead pupae sometimes are used as cockroach bait or fish food or to fertilize mulberry trees.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: hairless white caterpillar of the Chinese silkworm moth; source of most commercial silk

Meaning #2: larva of a saturniid moth; spins a large amount of strong silk in constructing its cocoon
  Synonyms: giant silkworm, wild wilkworm

Dansk (Danish)
n. - silkeorm

Nederlands (Dutch)
zijderups

Français (French)
n. - ver à soie

Deutsch (German)
n. - (Zool.) Seidenraupe

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - μεταξοσκώληκας

Italiano (Italian)
baco da seta

Português (Portuguese)
n. - bicho-da-seda (m)

Русский (Russian)
тутовый шелкопряд

Español (Spanish)
n. - gusano de seda

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - silkesmask

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
蚕

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 蠶

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 누에, 낙하산병

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 蚕

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) دودة ألقز, دودة ألحرير‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תולעת-המשי‬

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