How do we get silk from a silk worm? What do they eat & what is their life span?
The first stage of silk production is the hatching of the silkworm eggs, in a controlled environment such as an aluminium box, which are then examined to ensure they are free from disease. The female deposits 300 to 400 eggs at a time. In an area the size of this page around 50 moths would deposit more than 20,000 eggs, each about the size of a pinhead. The female dies almost immediately after depositing the eggs and the male lives only a short time after. The adult possesses rudimentary mouthparts and does not eat during the short period of its mature existence. These disease-tested eggs are raised in temperature and disease-controlled conditions. They are fastened to a flat surface by a gummy substance secreted by the female. The larvae hatch in about 10 days and are about 0.6cm long. Once hatched, they are placed under a layer of gauze and fed huge amounts of chopped mulberry leaves during which time they shed their skin four times. The larvae may also feed on Osage orange or lettuc
