Young silkworms need to be fed chopped mulberry leaves because their jaws aren’t strong enough for whole leaves!
Silkworms - Facts for Kids
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Facts About Silkworms For Kids
A colony of 100 silkworms can eat up to 15–20 kg (33–44 lb) of mulberry leaves in just one day!
Silkworms can tell the difference between mulberry leaves and other types of leaves using special sensors on their antennae!
Silkworms get all the water they need from mulberry leaves and don’t need to drink additional water!
The quality of silk produced depends on the quality of mulberry leaves the silkworm eats!
A silkworm’s appetite increases dramatically just before it’s ready to spin its cocoon!
Silkworms can survive on other plants besides mulberry, but they produce the best silk when eating mulberry leaves!
Conservation & Silk Production
Silkworms make silk to build a safe house (cocoon) around themselves while they change from a caterpillar into a moth — it’s like their own personal bedroom where they can transform!
A single silkworm cocoon can hold a silk thread up to 1,600 m long — that’s as long as 15–17 football fields laid end to end!
It takes about 2,500 silkworm cocoons to make one pound of silk!
Humans raise about 10 to 12 billion silkworms each year for silk production!
The silk thread from one cocoon is strong enough to lift a weight of up to 4 grams!
China produces about 70 to 80% of the world’s silk!
Some people are working to develop more friendly methods of silk production that don’t harm the silkworms!
The silk industry provides jobs for millions of people worldwide!
Silkworms have been bred to produce different colored silk, including golden, pink, green, and even glowing silk — without dye!
Scientists have studied silkworm silk to develop new types of strong, flexible materials!
Special Adaptations
Silkworms have special glands called sericteries (silk glands) in their heads that make liquid silk proteins — which harden into silk threads when they meet the air!
Silkworm silk is super strong — scientists can make it even stronger than spider silk by spinning it in special ways!
The silk protein is called fibroin, and it’s covered in a protective coating called sericin!
Silkworms can produce different types of silk for different purposes, like making their cocoon’s outer and inner layers!
Historical Significance
The secret of silk-making was so valuable that revealing it was once punishable by death in ancient China!
Long ago, silk was more precious than gold — people used it to pay taxes, salaries, and even trade with other countries!
People have been raising silkworms for silk production for over 5,000 years!
The first silk was discovered, according to legend, when a Chinese empress found a cocoon that had fallen into her tea!
Modern Uses
Scientists use silkworms to study genetics because they grow quickly and are easy to raise!
Silkworm silk is used in making everything from clothes to medical supplies!
Some scientists are working on ways to make artificial spider silk using silkworm silk as a base!
Silkworm cocoons are used to make beauty products and medicines in some parts of Asia!
Fun and Unique Facts
If you’re very quiet, you can hear silkworms making soft rustling sounds as they move and chew on mulberry leaves — it almost sounds like falling rain!
If a silkworm were the size of a human, its silk thread would still be super fine — about as thin as a single human hair!
A silkworm usually finishes spinning its cocoon in about 2 to 4 days, working almost nonstop until it’s fully wrapped!
Scientists have discovered that silkworm silk can be used to make artificial skin for medical treatments!
Scientists have added jellyfish glow genes to silkworms — so they now spin silk that glows green under fluorescent light!
Scientists have found ways to make silkworms produce silk in different colors by changing their diet!
Scientists have discovered that silkworm silk can help heal wounds faster!
