Sericulture

Stages of production

The stages of production are as follows:

1. The silk moth lays thousands of eggs.
2. The silk moth eggs hatch to form larvae or caterpillars, known as silkworms.
3. The larvae feed on mulberry leaves.
4. Having grown and moulted several times, the silkworm pushes out silk fibers to make a net to hold itself.
5. It swings its head from side to side in a figure '8' distributing the saliva that will form silk.
6. The silk solidifies when it contacts the air.
7. The silkworm spins approximately one mile of filament (fiber) and completely encloses itself in a cocoon. This takes about two or three days.
8. The whole cocoons are picked and boiled, killing the silkworm pupa.
9. The silk is obtained by brushing the undamaged cocoon to find the outside end of the filament.
10. The silk filaments are then wound on a reel.

The amount of usable quality silk in each cocoon is small. As a result, about 2500 silkworms are required to produce a pound of raw silk.

One cocoon contains approximately 1,000 yards of silk filament. The silk at the winding stage is known as "raw" silk. One thread is made up of as many as 48 individual silk filaments.

Areas of production

Ancient China began producing silk cloth by 3000 B.C., and was the only major producer of silk until medieval times, when sericulture spread across Asia and Europe. China and India produce the most silk in modern times, followed by Uzbekistan and Thailand.