Explain the rearing of silkworms.

REARING OF SILKWORMS 1) Egg stage A Female silk moth lays 500 eggs at a time. B Eggs are stored on strips of papaer or stored. C Then eggs are sold to the farmer and he keeps them under hygienic conditions and suitable conditions of temperature and humidity for best hatching percentage. 2) Larva stage (Active stage) A egg hatch into black worms also called larvae or caterpillars. B they are fed on freshly chopped the Mulberry trees kept in clean bamboo trees. C after sometime the Caterpillar stops eating and move into tiny Chambers into the bamboo Tray. D the Caterpillar swings it head from side to side in the form of figure eight. E during this moment the Caterpillar secret for fibre made of a protein which on exposure to air hardens and becomes the Silk fibre. 3) Pupa stage (Resting Stage) A the Caterpillar completely covers itself by Silk fibres and form cocoon and for the development of the worm to moth continues inside the cocoon. B Racks and twigs are provided in the tray to get the cocoons attached. C Pupa stage lasts for 29-30 days. 4) Adult stage The pupa gets transformed into the moth.

Rearing of Silkworm: In the beginning, the female silk moth lays hundreds of eggs. These eggs are stored over a clean paper or piece of cloth. These eggs are then sold to the silkworm farmers. The farmers then keep the eggs under the accurate temperature and humidity at a clean place. They are warmed to the most appropriate temperature to hatch eggs to produce larvae or caterpillar. This process is done when the mulberry trees have fresh crop of leaves. The caterpillar eats this mulberry leaves day and night and it grows in size.

Bamboo trays are used to keep these caterpillars and some freshly chopped mulberry leaves are kept in the tray. After 30-40 days approximately the caterpillars stop eating the leaves and then it moves inside the small chambers in the bamboo trays to spin cocoons. These are produce by the secretion of liquid protein from their salivary glands. Small racks are given in the trays so that the cocoons get attached to those racks. Silk moths are developed inside the cocoons.

Processing Silk from Cocoons: These cocoons are used to obtain silk threads. When the cocoons are exposed to the sun or steam or boiled, the silk fib gets separated. This process of getting silk threads from the cocoons to use it as a silk fabric is known as reeling of the silk. Reeling of the silk is carried out by special machines. These machines unwind the fibers of silk or threads from the cocoon. Silk fibers are then converted into silk threads to make different kinds of silk fabrics like silk sarees, etc. by the weavers.