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Muga Silkworm
''Antheraea assamensis'', known as the muga silkworm as a larva and Assam silk moth as an adult, is a moth of the family Saturniidae. The species was first described by Johann Wilhelm Helfer in 1837. It is found in Assam in northeast India where 99% of its production occurs. The larva feed on ''Cinnamomum'', ''Laurus'', ''Litsea'', ''Carpinus'', ''Persea'', ''Magnolia'', ''Michelia'', ''Quercus'', ''Sarcostemma'' 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 pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Symphyta) are commonly called caterpillars as well. Both lepidopteran and symphytan larvae have eruciform body shapes. Caterpillars of most species eat plant material ( often leaves), but not all; some (about 1%) eat insects, and some are even cannibalistic. Some feed on other animal products. For example, clothes moths feed on wool, and horn moths feed on the hooves and horns of dead ungulates. Caterpillars are typically voracious feeders and many of them are among the most serious of agricultural pests. In fact, many moth species are best known in their caterpillar stages because of the damage they cause to fruits and other agricultural produce, whereas the moths are obscure and do no direct harm. Conversely, various species of caterpi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quercus
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' Lithocarpus'' (stone oaks), as well as in those of unrelated species such as ''Grevillea robusta'' (silky oaks) and the Casuarinaceae (she-oaks). The genus ''Quercus'' is native to the Northern Hemisphere, and includes deciduous and evergreen species extending from cool temperate to tropical latitudes in the Americas, Asia, Europe, and North Africa. North America has the largest number of oak species, with approximately 160 species in Mexico of which 109 are endemic and about 90 in the United States. The second greatest area of oak diversity is China, with approximately 100 species. Description Oaks have spirally arranged leaves, with lobate margins in many species; some have serrated leaves or entire leaves with smooth margins. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moths Of Asia
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of which have yet to be described. Most species of moth are nocturnal, but there are also crepuscular and diurnal species. Differences between butterflies and moths While the butterflies form a monophyletic group, the moths, comprising the rest of the Lepidoptera, do not. Many attempts have been made to group the superfamilies of the Lepidoptera into natural groups, most of which fail because one of the two groups is not monophyletic: Microlepidoptera and Macrolepidoptera, Heterocera Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ... and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antheraea
''Antheraea'' is a moth genus belonging to the family Saturniidae. The genus was erected by Jacob Hübner in 1819. Several species of this genus have caterpillars which produce wild silk of commercial importance. Commonly called "tussar silk", the moths are named tussar moths after the fabric. Taxonomy Species The genus includes these species: * '' Antheraea alleni'' Holloway, 1987 * ''Antheraea alorensis'' U. Paukstadt & L.h. Paukstadt, 2005 * ''Antheraea andamana'' Moore, 1877 * ''Antheraea angustomarginata'' Brechlin & Meister, 2009 * ''Antheraea assamensis'' Helfer, 1837 * ''Antheraea billitonensis'' Moore, 1878 * '' Antheraea broschi'' Naumann, 2001 * '' Antheraea brunei'' Allen & Holloway, 1986 * ''Antheraea castanea'' Jordan, 1910 (= ''A. mezops'') * ''Antheraea celebensis'' Watson, 1915 * ''Antheraea cernyi'' Brechlin, 2002 * ''Antheraea cihangiri'' Naumann & Naessig, 1998 * ''Antheraea cingalesa'' Moore, 1883 * ''Antheraea compta'' Rothschild, 1899 * ''Antheraea cordif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. They were once considered protozoans or protists, but are now known to be fungi, or a sister group to fungi. These fungal microbes are obligate eukaryotic parasites that use a unique mechanism to infect host cells. They have recently been discovered in a 2017 Cornell study to infect Coleoptera on a large scale. So far, about 1500 of the probably more than one million species are named. Microsporidia are restricted to animal hosts, and all major groups of animals host microsporidia. Most infect insects, but they are also responsible for common diseases of crustaceans and fish. The named species of microsporidia usually infect one host species or a group of closely related taxa. Approximately 10 percent of the species are parasites of vertebrates —several species, most of which are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 area, North Guwahati city, in the state of Assam in India. It is the sixth Indian Institute of Technology established in India. IIT Guwahati is officially recognised as an Institute of National Importance by the government of India. IIT Guwahati has been ranked 7th in Engineering and 8th in Overall category in NIRF India Rankings 2021. History The history of IIT Guwahati traces its roots to the 1985 Assam Accord signed between the All Assam Students Union and the Government of India, which mentions the general improvement in education facilities in Assam and specifically the setting up of an IIT. IIT Guwahati was established in 1994 by an act of parliament and its academic programme commenced in 1995. IIT Guwahati admitted its first batch of students into its Bachelor of Technology programme in 1995. The selection process was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nature (journal)
''Nature'' is a British weekly scientific journal founded and based in London, England. As a multidisciplinary publication, ''Nature'' features peer-reviewed research from a variety of academic disciplines, mainly in science and technology. It has core editorial offices across the United States, continental Europe, and Asia under the international scientific publishing company Springer Nature. ''Nature'' was one of the world's most cited scientific journals by the Science Edition of the 2019 ''Journal Citation Reports'' (with an ascribed impact factor of 42.778), making it one of the world's most-read and most prestigious academic journals. , it claimed an online readership of about three million unique readers per month. Founded in autumn 1869, ''Nature'' was first circulated by Norman Lockyer and Alexander Macmillan as a public forum for scientific innovations. The mid-20th century facilitated an editorial expansion for the journal; ''Nature'' redoubled its efforts in exp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Centre For DNA Fingerprinting And Diagnostics
The Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) is an Indian biotechnology research centre, located in Hyderabad, India, operated by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. CDFD is a Sun Microsystems centre of excellence in medical bio-informatics, supported with a strong bioinformatics facility, and is the India node of the EMBnet. In addition, DNA fingerprinting and diagnostics services provided by the centre support some of the activities. The centre utilises the Combined DNA Index System for DNA profile matching. The CDFD and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation signed a memorandum of understanding in 2014 for the acquisition of ''CODIS''. CDFD receives funding from other agencies like the Wellcome Trust on specific collaborative projects. The centre is recognised by the University of Hyderabad and Manipal University for pursuing a doctor of philosophy in life sciences. Research at CDFD has focused largely on m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tussar Silk
Tussar silk (alternatively spelled as tussah, tushar, tassar, tussore, tasar, tussur, or tusser, and also known as (Sanskrit) ''kosa'' silk) is produced from larvae of several species of silkworms belonging to the moth genus ''Antheraea'', including '' A. assamensis'', '' A. paphia'', '' A. pernyi'', '' A. roylei'', and '' A. yamamai''. These silkworms live in the wild forests in trees belonging to ''Terminalia'' species and ''Shorea robusta'', as well as other food plants such as jamun and oak found in South Asia, eating the leaves of the trees on which they live. Tussar silk is valued for its rich texture and natural, deep-gold colour, and varieties are produced in many countries, including China,Su Jing, Lun Luo, ''Landlord and Labor in Late Imperial China: Case Studies from Shandong'', Harvard University Asia Center, 1978 India, Japan, and Sri Lanka. Process To kill the silkworms, the cocoons are dried in the sun. A variation of the process exists in which the silkworms are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Symplocos
''Symplocos'' is a genus of flowering plants in the order Ericales. It contains about 300 species distributed in Asia and the Americas. Many species grow in humid tropical regions. This is sometimes considered to be the only genus in family Symplocaceae. Plants in this family are shrubs and trees with white or yellow flowers. Selected species * '' Symplocos adenophylla'' * '' Symplocos ampulliformis'' — NE. Qld, Australia * '' Symplocos anamallayana'' * '' Symplocos anomala'' * '' Symplocos austromexicana'' — deciduous shrub up to 2m; narrow endemic, Oaxaca, Mexico * '' Symplocos badia'' * '' Symplocos baehnii'' * '' Symplocos barberi'' * '' Symplocos bauerlenii'' — shrub or small tree up to 7m; eastern Australia * '' Symplocos blancae'' * '' Symplocos bractealis'' * '' Symplocos breedlovei'' * '' Symplocos calycodactylos'' * '' Symplocos candelabrum'' — tree up to 13m; Lord Howe Island * '' Symplocos canescens'' * ''Symplocos carmencitae'' * ''Symplocos chloroleuca'' * ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarcostemma
''Sarcostemma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Apocynum, dogbane family, Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1810. The name is derived from the Greek language, Greek words σαρκὸς (''sarkos''), meaning "flesh," and στέμμα (''stemma''), meaning "garland". Members of the genus are known generally as climbing milkweeds or caustic bushes. They are found across Africa and tropical Asia, in Australia, and in parts of North America. These plants are perennial flowering shrubs with trailing vines or lianas. They are often adapted to heat and/or desert conditions. Some have few or no leaves and photosynthesize in the tissues of the green stems. The soft stems are filled with a milky white latex that is poisonous and corrosive, caustic in some species. The flowers have a ring of thick tissue at the base which extends into hollow spherical appendages within the flower corolla. Taxonomy The taxonomic status of this genus is contested. The genus ''Sarcostemma'' ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
