The silk worm is native on two continents, Asia and Africa.
My first encounter with silk worms in person was on a tour
of a silk worm factory in Suzhou, China. The Bombyx mori
larva is the scientific name of the silk worm from Asia which
is the most widely used to make silk worldwide. Silk worm
domestication started in China about 2,000 years ago. Silk
worms feed mainly on mulberry leaves.
At about one month old the silk worm attaches itself
to a twig and begins spinning a cocoon for itself. The
cocoon, which is close to a 1/2 mile long, is what humans
use to make silk. Silk worms do not mature to their
adult moth stage when humans use their cocoons for silk,
most of the time.
Silk worms are also used as a traditional chinese medicine
to lessen phlegm, expel flatulence, and lessen spasms. In
some cultures silk worms are eaten as well. A man by the
name of Pasteur saved the French silk worm in the 18th century
from pebrine which is a protozoan disease affecting insects.
This disease affecting the silk worm is caused by microsporidian
parasites, usually the Nosema bombycis but at times the
Variomorpha, Pleistophora and Thelophania species. The silk
worm is in the phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, order
Lepidoptera, family Bombycidae.
By Clint Harrison
* Pictures taken by myself at the Silk Factory in Suzhou, China
* Pictures taken by myself at the Silk Factory in Suzhou, China
