''Antheraea paphia'', known as the South India small tussore, the tasar silkworm and vanya silkwormKavane, R. P. (2014)
''Syzygium cumini'' L. – A potential new host of tropical tasar silkworm, ''Antheraea mylitta'' Drury (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae).
''Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies'' 2(1) 33-37. is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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 ...

found in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Chakraborty, S., et al. (2015)
Genetic analysis of Indian tasar silkmoth (''Antheraea mylitta'') populations.
''Scientific Reports'' 5 15728. and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. The bulk of the literature on this species uses a junior synonym, ''Antheraea mylitta'', rather than the correct name, ''A. paphia''. It is one of a number of tasar silkworms, species that produce Tussar silk, a kind of wild silk that is made from the products of saturniid silkworms instead of the domesticated

silkworm ''Bombyx mori'', commonly known as the domestic silk moth, is a moth species belonging to the family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of '' Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. Silkworms are the larvae of silk moths. The silkworm is of ...

(''Bombyx mori'').Jolly, M. S., Sen, S. K., and Das, M. G. (1976)
Silk from the forest.
''Unasylva'' 28(114) 20-23. This species is variable, with at least 44 identified ecoraces, populations adapted to varied ecological conditions and food plants. Ten ecoraces are used for silk production and have been studied to obtain data about their life cycles and silk characteristics.Hansda, G, et al. (2008)
''Ex-situ'' stabilization and utility prospects of ''Jata'' ecorace of tropical tasar silkworm ''Antheraea mylitta'' Drury.
''International Journal of Industrial Entomology'' 17(2) 169-172. Some ecoraces are so well differentiated that they do not interbreed in nature, though they are not genetically distinct and can be bred in captivity.

Description

The male is reddish or yellowish. Costal brown and grey fascia of forewings reaching the apex.

Hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from , and . Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is named after its glassy appearance on fresh gross pathology. On light microscopy of H&E stained slides, the extracellula ...

and ocellated spots ( eyespots) are much larger than those of '' A. roylei''. The submarginal line of the hind wings close to the margin. No marginal yellow line is seen. Females may be pinkish-brown or bright-yellowish fawn; their hyaline and ocellated spots are larger than the males. Larvae are green colored with paired dorsal series of yellow humps. White lunulate spots on the fifth and sixth somites have purple borders, whereas a lateral yellow line from seventh somite ends in a dilated brown band on the anal somite. Spiracles are yellow. The cocoon is brownish grey, hard, and oval, attached to the host plant by a silken peduncle. File:Tasar Silk Moth(Antheraea paphia).jpg, Adult male File:Tussar Silk Moth Caterpillar - Antheraea mylitta (8240520369).jpg, Larva File:25-Indian-Insect-Life - Harold Maxwell-Lefroy - Antheraea-paphia.jpg, Illustration of larvae and pupae

Ecology

Larvae of this species feed mainly on ''

Terminalia Terminalia may refer to: * Terminalia (festival) Terminalia () was an ancient Roman festival in honour of the god Terminus, who presided over boundaries. His statue was merely a stone or post stuck in the ground to distinguish between propert ...

'' trees (e.g. '' Terminalia tomentosa'', '' T. arjuna'') and on ''

Shorea robusta ''Shorea robusta'', the sal tree, sāla, shala, sakhua, or sarai, is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The tree is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet and across the Himalayan regions. Evolution Fossil evidence from lig ...

''. It also eats many other kinds of plants, with various ecoraces specializing on certain taxa. Other plants appearing in its diet include Indian jujube (''Ziziphus mauritiana''), axlewood (''Anogeissus latifolia''), jambul (''Syzygium cumini''), '' Madhuca indica'', kumbi (''Careya arborea''), anjan (''Hardwickia binata''), and species of

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

(''Tectona'' spp.) and

crepe myrtle ''Lagerstroemia'' (), commonly known as crape myrtle (also spelled crepe myrtle or crêpe myrtle), is a genus of around 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Australia ...

(''Lagerstroemia'' spp.). Tussar silk from this and related species of wild silkworms is a different color from domesticated silkworm silk, and it is coarser and stronger, making it more favorable in some applications. Like the domesticated silkworm, this species is susceptible to

pébrine Pébrine, or "pepper disease," is a disease of silkworms, which is caused by protozoan microsporidian parasites, mainly ''Nosema bombycis'' and, to a lesser extent, ''Vairimorpha'', ''Pleistophora'' and ''Thelohania'' species. The parasites infect ...

, a disease 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 ...

n fungi in the genus '' Nosema''. It is lethal to the larvae. It is also commonly infected with the ''Antheraea mylitta'' cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus" (AmCPV), a cypovirus which has been reported to destroy around 20% of each silk crop by inducing

diarrhea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

in the larvae, leading to a condition known as grasserie. Natural enemies of this silkworm include the uzi fly (''Blepharipa zebina''), which is a

parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

that uses the silkworm larvae as a food source for its maggots. Many ecoraces are threatened due to extensive deforestation and the collection of cocoons from wild populations.Reddy, R. M. (2010)
Conservation need of tropical tasar silk insect, ''Antheraea mylitta'' Drury (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) – Strategies and impact.
''Journal of Entomology'' 7(3), 152-159.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar , from=Q4280437 Moths described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Sericulture Antheraea Moths of Asia Moths of Sri Lanka