Which Leaves Are the Preferred Food of the Silk Worm?

The Bombyx mori moth lives its entire life without flight or sight; its soul purpose is to lay eggs. During a period of four to six days, the moth lays about 500 eggs, and shortly thereafter passes away. The 500 eggs, collectively weighing about 2 ounces, produce Bombyx mori larvae, commonly referred to as silkworms. Silkworms are harvested by humans for their cocoons, which are spun from threads that can be woven into silk. It takes about 30,000 silkworms to produce 12 pounds of raw silk.

  1. Mulberry Leaves

    • Before silkworms became principally domesticated, they fed on mulberry leaves in the wild. Mulberry trees are native to Asia and grow in California. They are deciduous and bloom only in late spring, summer and early fall. Once plucked, the leaves will remain fresh in a refrigerator for about five days. To feed silkworms, extract a few leaves from a tree and place them inside the silkworm habitat. If you place the worms directly on the tree, you risk them being eaten by birds and other predators.

    Osage Orange Leaves

    • The Osage orange tree is distantly related to the mulberry and the fig, and can be fed to silkworms if mulberry leaves are not available. The tree, native to Arkansas and parts of Texas, blooms an orange-colored fruit and was named after the Osage Indians who once inhabited the Arkansas River region. The tree can grow up to 50 feet tall. Like the mulberry plant, the safest method of feeding it to silkworms is to remove the leaves from the tree and place them in a man-made habitat.

    Synthetic Food

    • Synthetic silkworm food is made from ground mulberry leaves and is available for purchase in areas where plants may not grow naturally and during the months when the plants are not in bloom. The food comes in powder form. To feed it to silkworms, water is added to the mixture which can be heated in the microwave. The food can be stored in the refrigerator after water is added for about a month. Synthetic food can also contain dye, which produces colored thread from the worms.

    Breeding Silkworms

    • When breeding silkworms, feed them as little or often as you are able -- the worms can live for about a week without eating. The more often you feed the worms, the larger they will grow and the more silk they will produce. Wash your hands thoroughly before touching silkworms and their food to prevent bacterial complications. Keep the worm habitat at about 77 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit, and remove the lid if condensation forms either at the top or throughout the food pile.