Life cycle of silk moth
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the rearing of silkworms for the production of raw silk.
Life cycle of a silk moth:
- Egg →2.First stage of larvae→3.Second stage of larvae→4.final stage of larvae→ 5.Pupa →6.Adult
The female silk moth lays eggs, from which hatch larvae which are called caterpillars or silkworms.
They grow in size and when the caterpillar is ready to enter the next stage of its life history called pupa, it first weaves a net to hold itself. Then it swings its head from the side to side and secrets fibre made of a protein which hardens on exposure to air and becomes silk fibre. Soon the caterpillar completely covers itself by silk fibres and turns into pupa. This covering is known as cocoon. The further development of the pupa into moth continues inside the cocoon.