''Antheraea assamensis'', known as the muga silkworm as a

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

and Assam silk moth as an adult, is a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

of the family

Saturniidae Saturniidae, members of which are commonly named the saturniids, is a family of Lepidoptera with an estimated 2,300 described species. The family contains some of the largest species of moths in the world. Notable members include the emperor m ...

. The species was first described by Johann Wilhelm Helfer in 1837. It is found in

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

in northeast India where 99% of its production occurs. The larvae feed on ''

Cinnamomum ''Cinnamomum'' is a genus of evergreen aromatic trees and shrubs belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The species of ''Cinnamomum'' have aromatic oils in their leaves and bark. The genus contains approximately 234 species, distributed in ...

'', '' Funastrum'' (including former ''Sarcostemma'' species), '' Laurus'', '' Litsea'', ''

Carpinus Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives from the hard ...

'', '' Persea'', ''

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...

'', '' Michelia'', ''

Quercus An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

'' and '' Symplocos''. Its silk, one of the varieties of tussar silk, has a glossy golden hue which improves with age and washing. It is never bleached or dyed and is stain resistant. It was reserved for the exclusive use of elites in Assam. Like other silk moths, the female has a larger abdomen and slender antennae when compared to males. The larvae are vibrantly coloured and are monophagous as other silk moths. In 2015, Adarsh Gupta K of Nagaraju's research team at Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad, India, discovered the complete sequence and the protein structure of muga silk fibroin and published it in ''

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

'' Scientific Reports. In 2009, Utpal Bora and his team at the

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati The Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT Guwahati) is a public technical university established by the Government of India, located in Amingaon, North Guwahati, in the state of Assam in India. It is the sixth Indian Institute of Tech ...

in Assam reported the potential of using muga silk fibroin as a promising biomaterial for tissue engineering applications. The disease known as pebrine is caused by

Microsporidia Microsporidia are a group of spore-forming unicellular parasites. These spores contain an extrusion apparatus that has a coiled polar tube ending in an anchoring disc at the apical part of the spore.Franzen, C. (2005). How do Microsporidia inva ...

(intercellular, fungal parasites), and affects ''Antheraea assamensis''. This destructive disease obstructs the developmental processes of the Muga silkworm. An article that was published in 2020 talks about a study that was conducted about the moths. The study was that aimed at the cocoons, which were to be collected from 11 different regions of North East Indian regions where they are found. Researchers looked at the weight and silk quality of these cocoons.

References

Antheraea Moths of Asia Moths described in 1837 Sericulture {{Saturniidae-stub