Artse

Date of Photo: December 2000

Description:

These cultivated silkworms are native to China and come from eggs laid by the Bombyx Mori moth. Cultivated silkworms feed on Mulberry leaves and create yellow or gray cocoons which make a finer silk than the brown cocoons of the wild silkworm.

A silkworm farmer must cultivate Mulberry leaves for the silkworms and have a place safe from any disturbances such as noise or vibrations. Any such disturbance will keep the silkworms from spinning their cocoons.

Moth eggs are gathered from the moths and kept cold for about 6 weeks. After this period, they are bathed in warm water and air dried. They are then placed in a warm place to hatch.

Tiny worms measuring about ¼ inch long emerge from the moth eggs. These newly hatched worms are placed in bamboo trays laid with shredded mulberry leaves. The worms eat vigorously and will eat about 30,000 times their intial weight and become about seventy times their original size. During its larvae feeding stage, the silk farmers Change the trays daily with fresh mulberry leaves. A worm will molt 4 times and become about the size of a human fiNge’ (Kriang) r when full grown. Higher temperatures encourage faster growth, but the average period of growth between hatching and cocoon-spinning is 25-30 days.

When the silkworms are ready to spin their cocoons, they stop eating and raise themselves on their back legs. The silkworm farmer then places them onto bamboo racks so the silkworms can attach themselves and start spinning their cocoons. The silkworms create a cocoon by spinning itself and binding one thread with a natural gLu(e) called sericin.

Author: NA

Equipment: NA A95

All documentation on these pages was collected by the Ethnographic data bank of Laos through the Institute of Cultural Research, Laos P.D.R.