The silkworm (lat. Bombyx mori) is the only domesticated insect. The silkworm is an insect. The lifestyle and habitat of the silkworm. The silkworm is an order of insects.

Butterflies, thanks to which people have the opportunity to wear silk things, appeared on the planet a long time ago. Back in the fifth millennium BC new era Silkworm cocoons were used by people.

The wild silkworm, without knowing it, played a big role in the history of states ancient world. You can learn about this from the video.

Nowadays, the range of insect uses is very wide. Fried larvae and pupae are considered a delicacy in Korea. delicious dish, which they rush to feed guests, although Europeans do not consider them a delicacy. The larvae contain a large number of protein, which is why they are so popular among gourmets.

In addition, larvae are used to obtain medicines, in cosmetology, medicine, and the list goes on.

The leaders in silk production are India and China; the mulberry tree is found almost everywhere here, so the silkworm has all the conditions for its growth. Unfortunately, there are many more silk connoisseurs than those who are interested in this inconspicuous, but very hardworking insect.

Let's look at the features, characteristics of the insect, the reproduction process and try to answer the question - what role does the silkworm play in human life.

What does an insect look like?

The mulberry tree, or mulberry, is the only habitat for the silkworm. Caterpillars are so voracious that a tree can be left without leaves in one night, so gardening farms pay special attention to preserving trees from insect invasion. Silkworm breeding enterprises are always surrounded by hectares of mulberry plantations. IN industrial scale This tree is grown in compliance with all norms and requirements to provide the insects with adequate nutrition.

We owe the appearance of silk to caterpillars and butterflies, but to understand how an insect lives, we need to consider the entire process of its development.

The life cycle of an insect consists of the following stages:

• adult moths mate, after which the female lays many small eggs (larvae);
• small dark caterpillars emerge from the eggs;
• the caterpillar lives on the mulberry tree, eats its leaves and grows quickly;
• caterpillars create silkworm cocoons, after a while the caterpillar finds itself in the center of a cocoon of silk threads;
• a pupa appears inside a skein of thread;
• the pupa becomes a moth that flies out of the cocoon.

This process is interesting and continuous, like many other natural cycles.

You can learn interesting facts from the life of an ancient insect, which for many centuries was equal in value to gold, by watching the video.

The butterfly is white, with dark spots on the wings, large, its wingspan is 6 centimeters. In females the mustache is almost invisible, in males it is larger.

Ability to fly for long years the butterflies have lost, and besides, they can easily do without food. They have become so “lazy” thanks to man that their life is unthinkable without human care and care. Caterpillars, for example, are unable to find their own food.

Varieties of silkworm

Modern science knows two types of silkworms.

The first type is called monovoltine . The larvae appear only once.

The second type is called multivoltine. More than one offspring appears.
Butterfly

Hybrids have external differences. They differ in the color of the wings, the shape of the body, the size of the pupa and butterflies. Caterpillars also have different colors and size. The possibilities of genetics have no limits; there is even a breed of silkworm with striped caterpillars.

What indicators are used to determine productivity?

Productivity indicators are:

• number of cocoons, mostly dry;
• do they unwind easily?
• how much silk can be obtained from them;
• quality and other characteristics of silk threads.

Let's talk about green

Grena is nothing more than silkworm eggs. They are small, oval in shape, slightly flattened on the sides, covered with an elastic shell. The color of the grena changes from light yellow to dark purple; if the color does not change, this indicates that they have lost their vitality.

Grena takes a long time to ripen, somewhere from mid-summer until spring. In winter, metabolic processes occur much slower, which allows her to survive the winter safely. The caterpillar should not hatch ahead of schedule, otherwise, due to the lack of mulberry leaves, it is in danger of death. Eggs can overwinter in the refrigerator, at temperatures from 0 to -2C.

Meet the silkworm caterpillar

Caterpillars, or as they were previously called, silk worms (photo below) look like this:

• elongated, like all worms, body;
• the head, abdomen and chest are clearly defined;
• small horns on the head;
• chitinous covers protect the body and are muscles.

The caterpillar appears small, but viable, its appetite grows, so its size quickly increases. She eats around the clock, even at night. Walking near mulberry trees, you can hear a peculiar rustling sound - this is the work of the small jaws of voracious caterpillars. But their weight is not constant, because they lose it four times in their lives. A huge number of muscles allows the caterpillars to demonstrate real acrobatic tricks.

Watch the video and see for yourself.

In forty days, the body of the caterpillars increases significantly, they stop eating and molt, clinging to the leaf with their paws, they become motionless.

Photo of a caterpillar sleeping. Touching the caterpillar can interfere with the natural cycle and it will die, so you should not touch them. By molting four times, they change color four times. Silk is produced in the silk gland of caterpillars.

There was a chrysalis, and a butterfly appeared

It does not take much time for the cocoons to form. The caterpillar flies out of it like a butterfly. After molting, the caterpillar becomes a pupa, after which it becomes a butterfly.

You can learn how caterpillars turn into butterflies from the video.

Before the butterfly flies, the cocoons begin to move, a slight noise is heard inside, this is the rustling of the pupa’s skin, which the butterfly has no use for. They appear only in the morning hours - from five to six in the morning. Using a special adhesive substance, they dissolve part of the cocoon and get out of it.

No one considers them beauties, which cannot be said about their domestic relatives.

Butterflies have a short life - no more than 20 days, but sometimes they live for a whole month. Mating and laying eggs are their main occupation; they neglect food, since they do not have the opportunity to absorb and digest food. But there is no doubt about the strength of gluing of grain to a tree or leaf.

That's the whole short life of a worker - a silkworm, which has been useful to humans for almost five thousand years.

Information for the curious!

• In addition to the fact that the insect cannot fly, it is also blind.
• It only takes three to four days to create a cocoon, but during this time a silk thread 600-900 meters long is obtained. There are known cases when the unwinding thread was 1500 meters long. In terms of strength, a silk thread can be compared with steel, their diameter is the same, and it is not so easy to break the thread.
• The quality of a silk product can be assessed by its color; the lighter it is, the better the quality. Silk items cannot be bleached.
• Moths and mites, which can ruin clothes, do not pose a threat to silk fabrics. And the explanation for this is a substance that is in insect saliva, it is called sericin. To this we should add that silk has another advantage - its hypoallergenic properties. Elastic and durable threads have found application not only in textile industry. They are used in medicine, aviation and aeronautics.

The history of breeding such an insect as the silkworm is extremely interesting. The technology was developed a long time ago, in Ancient China. The first mention of this production in Chinese chronicles dates back to 2600 BC, and silkworm cocoons found by archaeologists date back to 2000 BC. e. The Chinese elevated silk production to the status of a state secret, and for many centuries it was a clear priority for the country.

Much later, in the 13th century, Italy, Spain, the countries of North Africa, and in the 16th century, Russia began to engage in the breeding and production of such worms. What kind of insect is this - the silkworm?

Silkworm butterfly and its offspring

The domesticated silkworm butterfly is not found in wildlife and is bred in special factories to produce natural thread. An adult is a fairly large light-colored insect, reaching 6 cm in length with a wingspan of up to 5-6 cm. Hatching various breeds this interesting butterfly Breeders from many countries are engaged in this. After all, optimal adaptation to the characteristics of different areas is the basis for profitable production and obtaining maximum income. Many breeds of silkworm have been developed. Some produce one generation per year, others two, and there are also species that produce several broods per year.

Despite its size, the silkworm butterfly has long ago lost this ability. She lives only 12 days and during this time she does not even eat, having an undeveloped oral cavity. With the coming mating season silkworm breeders deposit pairs in separate bags. After mating, the female spends 3-4 days laying eggs in the amount of 300-800 pieces in a grain, which has an oval shape with significantly varying sizes, which are directly dependent on the breed of the insect. The breeding period of the worm also depends on the species - it could be in the same year, or maybe next year.

Caterpillar - the next stage of development

The silkworm caterpillar hatches from eggs at a temperature of 23-25 ​​°C. In factory conditions, this occurs in incubators at a certain humidity and temperature. The eggs develop within 8-10 days, then a small brown silkworm larva, up to 3 mm long, pubescent with hairs, appears from the grena. Small caterpillars are placed in special trays and transferred to a well-ventilated, warm room. These containers are a structure like a bookcase, consisting of several shelves covered with mesh and having a specific purpose - here the caterpillars eat constantly. They feed exclusively fresh leaves mulberries, and the proverb “appetite comes with eating” is absolutely accurate in determining the gluttony of caterpillars. Their need for food increases and already on the second day they eat twice as much food as on the first.

Shedding

By the fifth day of life, the larva stops, freezes and begins to wait for its first molt. She sleeps for about a day, wrapping her legs around a leaf, then, when suddenly straightened, the skin bursts, freeing the caterpillar and giving it the opportunity to rest and resume satisfying its hunger. For the next four days, she eats leaves with an enviable appetite, until the next molt comes.

Caterpillar transformations

During the entire period of development (about a month), the caterpillar molts four times. The last moult turns it into a fairly large individual of a magnificent light pearl shade: the body length reaches 8 cm, the width is up to 1 cm, and the weight is 3-5 g. It stands out on the body with two pairs of well-developed jaws, especially the upper ones, called “mandibles”. ". But the most important quality that is important for the production of silk is the presence in an adult caterpillar of a tubercle under the lip, from which a special substance oozes, which hardens when it comes into contact with air and turns into silk thread.

Silk thread formation

This tubercle ends with two silk-secreting glands, which are long tubes with a middle part transformed in the caterpillar’s ​​body into a kind of reservoir that accumulates an adhesive substance, which subsequently forms a silk thread. If necessary, the caterpillar releases a stream of liquid through a hole under the lower lip, which solidifies and turns into a thin but quite strong thread. The latter plays a big role in the life of an insect and is used, as a rule, as a safety rope, since at the slightest danger it hangs on it like a spider, without fear of falling. In an adult caterpillar, silk-secreting glands occupy 2/5 of the total body weight.

Stages of cocoon construction

Having reached adulthood after the 4th moult, the caterpillar begins to lose appetite and gradually stops eating. By this time, the silk-secreting glands are filled with liquid so that a long thread constantly trails behind the larva. This means the caterpillar is ready to pupate. She begins to look for a suitable place and finds it on the cocoon rods, timely placed by the silkworm breeders along the side walls of the aft “shelves”.

Having settled on the twig, the caterpillar begins to work intensively: it alternately turns its head, applying the tubercle with the hole for the silk gland to different places on the cocoon, thereby forming a very strong network of silk thread. It turns out to be a kind of frame for future construction. Next, the caterpillar crawls to the center of its frame, holding itself in the air by threads, and begins to spin the cocoon itself.

Cocoon and pupation

When building a cocoon, the caterpillar turns its head very quickly, releasing up to 3 cm of thread for each turn. Its length to create the entire cocoon is from 0.8 to 1.5 km, and the time spent on it takes four or more days. Having finished its work, the caterpillar falls asleep in a cocoon, turning into a pupa.

The weight of the cocoon together with the pupa does not exceed 3-4 g. Silkworm cocoons come in a wide variety of sizes (from 1 to 6 cm), shape (round, oval, with bars) and color (from snow-white to golden and purple). Experts have noticed that male silkworms are more diligent in weaving cocoons. Their pupal homes differ in the density of the thread wound and its length.

And again the butterfly

After three weeks, a butterfly emerges from the pupa and needs to get out of the cocoon. This is difficult, since it is completely devoid of the jaws that adorn the caterpillar. But wise nature solved this problem: the butterfly is equipped with a special gland that produces alkaline saliva, the use of which softens the wall of the cocoon and facilitates the release of the newly formed butterfly. This is how the silkworm completes the circle of its own transformations.

However, industrial breeding of silkworms interrupts the reproduction of butterflies. The bulk of cocoons are used to obtain raw silk. After all, this is already a finished product; all that remains is to unwind the cocoons on special machines, having previously killed the pupae and treated the cocoons with steam and water.

So, the silkworm, the breeding of which on an industrial scale will probably never lose its relevance, is an excellent example of a domesticated insect that brings in quite a lot of income.

The silkworm (lat. Bombyx mori) is an inconspicuous little butterfly with off-white wings that cannot fly at all. But it is thanks to her efforts that fashionistas around the world have been able to enjoy outfits made from beautiful soft fabric, the shine and colorful shimmer of which fascinates at first sight, for more than 5,000 years.

flickr/c o l o r e s s

Silk has always been a valuable commodity. The ancient Chinese, the first producers of silk fabric, kept their secret securely. For its disclosure there was an immediate and terrible death penalty. They domesticated silkworms back in the 3rd millennium BC, and to this day these small insects work to satisfy the whims of modern fashion.

flickr/Gustavo r..

There are monovoltine, bivoltine and multivoltine breeds of silkworm in the world. The first give only one generation per year, the second - two, and the third - several generations per year. An adult butterfly has a wingspan of 40-60 mm, it has an underdeveloped mouthparts, so it does not feed throughout its short life. The wings of the silkworm are dirty white, with brownish bands clearly visible on them.

flickr/janofonsagrada

Immediately after mating, the female lays eggs, the number of which varies from 500 to 700 pieces. The clutch of the silkworm (like all other representatives of the peacock-eye family) is called grena. It has an elliptical shape, flattened on the sides, with one side slightly larger than the other. On the thin pole there is a depression with a tubercle and a hole in the center, which is necessary for the passage of the seed thread. The size of the grenades depends on the breed - in general, Chinese and Japanese silkworms have smaller grenades than European and Persian silkworms.

flickr/basajauntxo

Silkworms (caterpillars) emerge from the eggs, and all the attention of silk producers is focused on them. They grow in size very quickly, molting four times during their lifetime. The entire cycle of growth and development lasts from 26 to 32 days, depending on the conditions of detention: temperature, humidity, food quality, etc.

flickr/Rerlins

Silkworms feed on the leaves of the mulberry tree (mulberry), so silk production is possible only in places where it grows. When the time comes for pupation, the caterpillar weaves itself into a cocoon consisting of a continuous silk thread ranging from three hundred to one and a half thousand meters long. Inside the cocoon, the caterpillar transforms into a pupa. In this case, the color of the cocoon can be very different: yellowish, greenish, pinkish or some other. True, only silkworms with white cocoons are bred for industrial needs.

flickr/JoseDelgar

Ideally, the butterfly should emerge from the cocoon on days 15-18, however, unfortunately, it is not destined to survive until this time: the cocoon is placed in a special oven and kept for about two to two and a half hours at a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius. Of course, the pupa dies, and the process of unwinding the cocoon is greatly simplified. In China and Korea, fried dolls are eaten; in all other countries they are considered just “production waste.”

flickr/Roger Wasley

Sericulture has long been an important industry in China, Korea, Russia, France, Japan, Brazil, India and Italy. Moreover, about 60% of all silk production occurs in India and China.

History of silkworm breeding

The history of breeding this butterfly, which belongs to the family of true silkworms (Bombycidae), is associated with ancient China, a country that for many years kept the secret of making an amazing fabric - silk. In ancient Chinese manuscripts, the silkworm was first mentioned in 2600 BC, and when archaeological excavations In the southwest of Shanxi province, silkworm cocoons were found dating back to 2000 BC. The Chinese knew how to keep their secrets - any attempt to export butterflies, caterpillars or silkworm eggs was punishable by death.

But all secrets are revealed someday. This happened with silk production. First, a certain selfless Chinese princess in the 4th century. AD, having married the king of Little Bukhara, she brought him silkworm eggs as a gift, hiding them in her hair. About 200 years later, in 552, two monks came to the Byzantine emperor Justinian, who offered to deliver silkworm eggs from distant China for a good reward. Justinian agreed. The monks set out on a dangerous journey and returned the same year, bringing silkworm eggs in their hollow staves. Justinian was fully aware of the importance of his purchase and by a special decree ordered the breeding of silkworms in the eastern regions of the empire. However, sericulture soon fell into decline and only after the Arab conquests flourished again in Asia Minor, and later throughout North Africa, in Spain.

After IV crusade(1203–1204), silkworm eggs came from Constantinople to Venice, and since then silkworms have been quite successfully bred in the Po Valley. In the XIV century. Sericulture began in the south of France. And in 1596, silkworms began to be bred for the first time in Russia - first near Moscow, in the village of Izmailovo, and over time - in the southern provinces of the empire that were more suitable for this.

However, even after Europeans learned to breed silkworms and unwind cocoons, most of the silk continued to be delivered from China. For a long time, this material was worth its weight in gold and was available exclusively to the rich. Only in the twentieth century did artificial silk somewhat replace natural silk on the market, and even then, I think, not for long - after all, the properties natural silk truly unique.
Silk fabrics are incredibly durable and last a very long time. Silk is lightweight and retains heat well. Finally, natural silk is very beautiful and can be dyed evenly.

Used sources.

Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia

Description

Relatively large butterfly with a wingspan of 40-60 mm. The color of the wings is dirty white with more or less distinct brownish bands. Front fenders with notch outer edge behind the top. The male's antennae are strongly combed, while the female's are combed. Silkworm butterflies have essentially lost the ability to fly. Females are especially inactive. Butterflies have an underdeveloped mouthparts and do not feed throughout their lives (aphagia).

Life cycle

The silkworm is represented by monovoltine (produce one generation per year), bivoltine (produce two generations per year) and polyvoltine (produce several generations per year) breeds.

Egg

After mating, the female lays eggs (on average from 500 to 700 pieces), the so-called eggs. Grena has an oval (elliptical) shape, flattened on the sides, and is somewhat thicker at one pole; soon after its deposition, one impression appears on both flattened sides. On the thinner pole there is a rather significant depression, in the middle of which there is a tubercle, and in its center there is a hole - a micropyle, intended for the passage of the seed thread. The size of the grain is about 1 mm in length and 0.5 mm in width, but it varies significantly between breeds. In general, European, Asian Minor, Central Asian and Persian breeds produce larger grains than Chinese and Japanese ones. Egg laying can last up to three days. Diapause in the silkworm occurs during the egg stage. Diapausing eggs develop in the spring of the following year, while non-diapausing eggs develop in the same year.

Caterpillar

A caterpillar emerges from an egg (called silkworm), which grows quickly and moults four times. After the caterpillar has gone through four molts, its body turns slightly yellow. The caterpillar develops within 26-32 days. The duration of development depends on the temperature and humidity of the air, the quantity and quality of food, etc. The caterpillar feeds exclusively on mulberry (mulberry) leaves. Therefore, the spread of sericulture is associated with the places where this tree grows.

Pupating, the caterpillar weaves a cocoon, the shell of which consists of a continuous silk thread ranging in length from 300-900 meters to 1500 m in the largest cocoons. In the cocoon, the caterpillar turns into a pupa. The color of the cocoon can be different: pinkish, greenish, yellow, etc. But for industrial needs, currently only silkworm breeds with white cocoons are bred.

The emergence of butterflies from cocoons usually occurs 15-18 days after pupation. But the silkworm is not allowed to survive to this stage - the cocoons are kept for 2-2.5 hours at a temperature of about 100 °C, which kills the pupa and makes it easier to unwind the cocoon.

Human use

Sericulture

Sericulture- breeding silkworms to produce silk. According to Confucian texts, silk production using the silkworm began around the 27th century BC. e. , although archaeological research suggests the cultivation of silkworms as early as the Yangshao period (5000 BC). In the first half of the 1st century AD. e. sericulture came to ancient Khotan, and at the end of the 3rd century - to India. Later it was introduced in other Asian countries, in Europe, in the Mediterranean. Sericulture has become an important industry in the economies of a number of countries, such as China, Republic of Korea, Japan, India, Brazil, Russia, Italy and France. Today, China and India are the two main producers of silk, accounting for about 60% of the world's annual production.

Other uses

In China and Korea, fried silkworm pupae are eaten.

Dried caterpillars infected with fungus Beauveria bassiana, used in Chinese folk medicine.

Silkworm in art

• In 2004, the famous multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and leader of his own group Oleg Sakmarov wrote a song called “Silkworm”.
• In 2006, the group Flëur released a song called “Silkworm”.
• In 2007, Oleg Sakmarov released the album “Silkworm”.
• In 2009, the group Melnitsa released the album “Wild Herbs”, which contains a song called “Silkworm”.
• In the second episode of the animated series "Atomic Forest" there are intelligent silkworms.
• In 2014, Robert Galbraith released his second Cormoran Strike novel, The Silkworm.

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing the silkworm

The silkworm is very interesting insect, which has been known to man since ancient times as silk source. According to some data mentioned in Chinese chronicles, the insect became known as early as 2600 BC. The process of obtaining silk was a state secret for centuries in China, and silk became one of the clear trade advantages.

Starting from the 13th century, other countries, including Spain, Italy, and North African countries, mastered the technology of silk production. In the 16th century, technology reached Russia.

Nowadays, the silkworm is actively bred in many countries, and in Korea and China it is used not only to produce silk, but also for food. The exotic dishes that are prepared from it are distinguished by their originality, and silkworm larvae are used for the needs of traditional medicine.

India and China are leaders in silk production and it is in these countries that the number of silkworms is greatest.

What does a silkworm look like?

Yours unusual name this insect has earned it thanks to the tree on which it feeds. Mulberry, a tree also called mulberry, is the only source of food for the silkworm.

Silkworm caterpillar eats a tree day and night, which can even lead to its death if the caterpillars occupy such trees on the farm. To produce silk on an industrial scale, these trees are grown specifically to feed insects.

The silkworm goes through the following life cycles:

The silkworm butterfly is a large insect, and its wingspan reaches 6 centimeters. It has a white color with black spots; there are notches on the wings, in the front part of them. Pronounced comb mustache distinguish males from females, in whom this effect is almost invisible.

The butterfly has practically lost the ability to fly and modern individuals spend their entire lives without rising into the sky. This was caused by their very long detention in unnatural living conditions. Moreover, according to available facts, insects stop eating food after turning into butterflies.

The silkworm acquired such strange features because it was kept at home for many centuries. This has now led to the insect cannot survive without human guardianship.

Over the years of its breeding, the silkworm has managed to degenerate into two main species: monovoltine and multivoltine. The first species lays larvae once a year, and the second - up to several times a year.

Hybrid silkworms can have many differences in characteristics such as:

• body shape;
• wing color;
• dimensions and general shape of the butterfly;
• dimensions of the pupa;
• color and shape of caterpillars.

The larvae or eggs of this butterfly are scientifically called grena. They have a laterally flattened oval shape, with elastic transparent film. The dimensions of one egg are so small that per gram of weight their number can reach two thousand.

Immediately after the butterfly lays its eggs, they have a light milky or yellowish color. As time passes, changes occur, leading to the appearance of a pink tint in the larvae, and then to a complete change in color to purple. If the color of the eggs does not change over time, it means the larvae have died.

Silkworm eggs have a fairly long maturation period. He puts them in summer months: in July and August, and then they hibernate until spring. The processes occurring in them at this time slow down significantly in order to survive the effects of low winter temperatures.

If the grena overwinters at temperatures not lower than +15 degrees, then there is a risk poor development in future caterpillars, therefore in winter period need to provide for grains optimal temperature regime. Caterpillars appear before leaves have time to grow on the trees, so grena is stored in refrigeration units at temperatures from 0 to -2 degrees throughout this period.

The caterpillars of this butterfly are also called silkworms, which cannot be considered a scientific name. Externally, silkworm caterpillars look like this:

Immediately after birth, the caterpillar has a very small size and a weight not exceeding half of one milligram. Despite this size, all biological processes in the caterpillar proceed normally, and it begins to actively develop and grow.

The caterpillar has very developed jaws, pharynx and esophagus, due to which all consumed food is absorbed very quickly and well. Each of these little caterpillars has more than 8,000 muscles, allowing them to bend into intricate poses.

In forty days, the caterpillar grows to more than thirty times its original size. During the period of growth, she sheds her skin, which for natural reasons becomes small for her. This is called molting.

During molting, the silkworm caterpillar stops eating tree leaves and finds a separate place for itself, usually under the leaves, where it tightly attaches itself to them with its legs and freezes for some period. I also call this period the caterpillar's sleep.

As time passes, the head of a renewed caterpillar begins to emerge from the old skin, and then it comes out entirely. At this time you cannot touch them. This can lead to the fact that the caterpillar simply does not have time to shed its old skin and dies. During its life, the caterpillar molts four times.

The intermediate stage in the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly is the cocoon. Caterpillar creates a cocoon around itself and inside it turns into a butterfly. These cocoons are of greatest interest to humans.

The moment when a butterfly should be born and leave its cocoon is very easy to determine - it begins to move literally a day before, and you can hear light tapping sounds inside. This knocking appears because at this time the already mature butterfly is trying to free itself from the skin of the caterpillar. A curious fact is that the time of birth of the silkworm butterfly is always the same - from five to six in the morning.

A special liquid, similar in consistency to glue, which is secreted by butterflies, helps them free themselves from the cocoon by splitting it.

The lifespan of a moth is limited to only twenty days, and sometimes they do not even live up to 18 days. In this case it is possible meet long-livers among them who live for 25 and even 30 days.

Due to the fact that the jaws and mouth of butterflies are not sufficiently developed, they cannot feed. The main task of the butterfly is to procreate and for its short life they manage to lay many eggs. In one clutch, a female silkworm can lay up to a thousand of them.

It is noteworthy that even if an insect loses its head, egg laying process will not be interrupted. The butterfly body has several nervous systems which allows her for a long time continue laying and live, even in the absence of such a significant part of the body as the head.