Which Leaves Do Silkworms Eat?

There are many species of silkworms, although the domesticated species is called Bombyx mori. Anyone hoping to raise silkworms at home needs to have a greenhouse to reproduce the climate needed for them and for their main food: mulberry leaves.

Silkworms only feed from the leaves of mulberry trees, preferring white mulberry. They also will eat lettuce and the leaves of two other tree species: the osage orange leaves, Oclura pomifera; and Tree of Heaven, Ailanthus altissima.

In order to feed the millions of silkworms in the silk industry, a commercial silkworm diet is often used instead of fresh leaves. It is made of powdered, dried mulberry leaves.

Silkworms also given Kenyan royal jelly, or the honey made to rear queen bees of the species Apis mellifera scutellata became heavier and produced more silk, according to a 2007 article in "Journal of Applied Science and Environmental Management."

Various species of moths come from the larvae known as silkworms. They depend on humans for their reproduction. They eat only the leaves of mulberry trees. A silkworm’s cocoon consists of a single thread of silk that stretches to a length of 1,000 to 3,000 feet when unraveled. Typically, the cocoons get boiled both to kill the larvae and to make the cocoons unravel more easily. They also use them in studies on genetics and genetic engineering. Some of these studies aim to produce silkworms that can feed on substances other than mulberry leaves. Members of some cultures eat the silkworm pupae. This creates a food called beondegi.