Basic Information
The scientific name for the silkworm is Bombyx mori, which means “silkworm of the mulberry tree” in Latin!
Silkworms - Facts for Kids
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Facts About Silkworms For Kids
Silkworms aren’t actually worms at all — they’re caterpillars (baby moths) that belong to the moth family!
A group of silkworms is usually called a brood or batch (like a big family), and they’ve been domesticated (raised by people) by humans for over 5,000 years!
Wild silkworms originally (first) came from China, but today they’re raised in many countries around the world for silk production (making silk)!
A domesticated (raised by people) silkworm can live for about 6–8 weeks, going through several amazing transformations (big changes) during its life!
Baby silkworms are called larvae (babies) or caterpillars, and they’re only about 2–3 millimeters long when they first hatch (come out of their eggs) — that’s smaller than a grain of rice!
Adult (grown-up) female silkmoths are larger than males and can have a wingspan (how wide their wings are) of 4 to 5 centimeters (around 1.6 to 2 inches)!
Silkworms are herbivores (plant eaters), which means they only eat plants – specifically (especially), they love mulberry leaves! A single silkworm can eat up to 20 times its weight in mulberry leaves every day!
Domesticated (raised by people) silkworms have been bred (raised) by humans for so long that they can no longer survive (live) in the wild!
Physical Characteristics
A fully grown silkworm can be as long as your thumb — about 7.5 to 10 centimeters!
Silkworms have 12 simple eyes, but they can only detect (see) light and dark, not detailed (clear) images!
A silkworm’s body is divided (split up) into 13 segments (parts), including three pairs of true legs and five pairs of prolegs (extra legs that help them hold on)!
Silkworms have special glands (body parts) in their heads that produce (make) liquid silk, which hardens (gets solid) when it contacts (touches) air!
A silkworm’s skin is smooth and usually white or cream-colored, sometimes with dark spots or stripes!
Silkworms breathe through tiny holes along their sides called spiracles (breathing holes), which connect to tubes that carry air deep inside their bodies!
A silkworm’s brain is about the size of a pinhead but controls all its complex (hard to understand) silk-making abilities!
Silkworms have powerful jaws called mandibles (strong mouth parts) that help them chew through tough mulberry leaves!
A silkworm’s body is made up of about 65-85% water!
Silkworms can grow to be 10,000 times heavier than when they first hatched (came out of their eggs)!
Behavior & Intelligence
Silkworms communicate (talk to each other) with each other using chemical signals called pheromones (special smells)!
When it’s time to make their cocoons (silk houses), silkworms bob their heads in a figure-eight pattern (move up and down in the shape of the number 8)!
Silkworms spin their heads in a figure-eight motion (movement) thousands upon thousands of times to create their cocoon!
Silkworms prefer (like better) to eat fresh mulberry leaves and can tell the difference between fresh and wilted (old and dried up) leaves!
Silkworms sometimes stay very still and raise their heads when they’re getting ready to molt (shed their old skin) or spin their cocoons!
Silkworms molt (shed or lose) their skin four times as they grow, and each time they do this, they stop eating for about 24 hours!
When silkworms are ready to molt, they attach (stick) themselves to a surface (wall or leaf) with silk threads to stay secure (safe)!
Adult (grown-up) silkmoths don’t eat at all — they live off fat stored (saved up) from their caterpillar stage (when they were babies)!
Silkworms often feed side by side on the same mulberry leaf, especially when many are raised together in the same space!
Habitat & Survival
Domesticated (raised by people) silkworms live in special farms called sericulture (silk-making) farms, where the temperature (how hot or cold it is) is kept between about 23–28 °C!
Silkworms need a humidity level (how much water is in the air) between 65% and 80% to stay healthy!
Wild silkworms originally (first) lived in temperate (not too hot, not too cold) broadleaf (wide-leafed) forests where mulberry trees grow!
Silkworms eat fresh mulberry leaves several times a day — like early morning, midday, evening, and even at night — whenever tasty leaves are available!
A silkworm’s cocoon (silk house) helps protect it from predators (animals that want to eat them) and keeps it at the right temperature while it transforms (changes) into a moth!
Silkworms can survive (live) temperatures between 20-30°C (68-86°F), but they grow best at 25°C (77°F)!
Silkworms need clean, dry conditions (surroundings) to stay healthy — wet leaves can make them sick!
Silkworms can detect (feel) vibrations (shaking) through their feet, which helps them sense (feel) danger!
Each silkworm needs about one square inch of space to grow properly (the right way)!
Life Cycle
A silkworm’s life cycle (life stages) has four stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (sleeping stage in cocoon), and adult moth!
Silkworm eggs are about the size of a pinhead and take about 10 days to hatch (open up with baby silkworms coming out)!
A female silkmoth can lay between 300–500 eggs in her lifetime (the time she’s alive)!
It takes about 25 to 30 days for a silkworm to grow from a tiny caterpillar to being ready to spin its cocoon (silk house)!
A silkworm spends 3–4 days spinning its cocoon, working non-stop (without breaks) until it’s finished!
Inside its cocoon, a silkworm transforms (changes) into a moth in about 2–3 weeks!
The adult (grown-up) silkmoth uses a special fluid (liquid) to dissolve (melt) a hole in the cocoon to emerge (come out)!
Adult silkmoths only live for 5–10 days, just long enough to mate (have babies) and lay eggs!
Silkworm eggs change color from yellow to dark gray just before they’re ready to hatch!
A silkworm increases (grows) its body weight by about 10,000 times during its larval stage (caterpillar time)!
Diet & Feeding
A silkworm munches about 20–25 grams of mulberry leaves in total — enough to grow its body to around 25 times heavier than when it first hatched!
Silkworms eat almost constantly, taking only short breaks to rest!
