How long can silkworms be kept?

Silkworms will cocoon when they are mature. A silkworm's life goes through more than 50 days: silkworm eggs, ant silkworms, mature silkworms, cocoons and moths.

Silkworm survival time: four to five days from the first instar; Two years old for three to four days; Three years and four days; Four years and six days; Five years and seven to nine days;

Once skinned, it is the second instar larva. Even if it is peeled once, it will increase by one year, and the larvae will be peeled four times to become fifth instar larvae. After eating mulberry leaves for 8 days, they will become mature silkworms and start spinning and cocooning.

Extended data:

Bombyx mori (scientific name: bombyx mori) is an insect of Lepidoptera, which is the main raw material source of silk and occupies an important position in human economic life and cultural history. Originated in China, South China and Taiwan Province Province, commonly known as silkworm baby or silkworm girl.

The English name of silkworm is "silkworm" (meaning "filariasis") because it weaves cocoons with silk. Cocoons are made of 300-900 meters long silk.

Some physical characteristics of silkworm eggs, larvae (silkworm babies), pupae and moths can be used to identify males and females. But the most widely used is to identify the sex of old silkworm, silkworm chrysalis and silkworm moth.

The most reliable characteristics to distinguish female silkworm from male silkworm are the eighth and ninth abdominal nodes: there are four transparent points on the ventral surface of the eighth and ninth abdominal nodes of female silkworm; There is a transparent point in the center of the ventral surface of the ninth section of the male silkworm. But generally speaking, the silkworm in larval stage is the most difficult to distinguish sex, and it is often difficult for ordinary silkworm farmers to distinguish sex except senior technicians.

As for the difference between male and female moths, apart from identifying the characteristics such as antenna and abdominal size, the most reliable thing is to identify the external genitalia of male and female moths. For example, there is a black bone plate near the mating hole of the female moth, and the male moth has a pair of grippers. Generally, the identification of male and female silkworm moths after hatching and mating by themselves is the simplest.

References:

Encyclopedia-Silkworm