Hobbies And Interests
Appearance and Size
Silkworms are the caterpillar form of the adult silk moth. As an adult, the moths are about 2 inches across from wing tip to wing tip. The wings are white with brown markings across their wings. Each moth has four wings covered in tiny scales. The caterpillar worms are up to 3 inches long and look like worms with a small horn on the back side of their bodies. Silk worms are white with a hint of green or pink tint to the skin.
Life Cycle
Eggs incubate for about 10 days before hatching into small worms about 1/4 inch long. The worm eats continuously for about six weeks and gains 10,000 times its hatching weight. It begins to spin a cocoon after six weeks, which takes about eight days to complete. After the cocoon is made, the worms transform into moths and emerge from the cocoon after three weeks. After hatching, the moths mate and lay eggs. The moths do not eat, and die soon after mating.
Silk Making
The silk from the silkworms is comprised of the fibers the worms use to create their cocoon before transforming into a moth. The back end of the worm secretes the silk substance used to make the silk. The silk and cocoon making process is known as "spinning," because the worm must spin around about 300,000 times to make the cocoon. The silk fibers are harvested from the harder exterior of the cocoon by heating with steam, which separates the fibers. The fibers are then spun into long threads, which are treated, dyed and woven together to make silk clothing.
Diet
Silk worms eat a diet that mainly consists of mulberry leaves. The worms eat 50,000 times their body weight in leaves throughout their lifetime. There is also a constructed diet that silkworms can eat that contains the nutritional value of mulberry leaves without actually using the leaves, which is advantageous for raising the worms where mulberry trees are nonnative trees. Silk worms also drink water for moisture. Adult silk moths eat and drink nothing at all.