''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 of moth of the family Saturniidae found in IndiaChakraborty, S., et al. (2015)
Genetic analysis of Indian tasar silkmoth (''Antheraea mylitta'') populations.
Scientific Reports'' 5 15728. and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. 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 The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically imp ...

(''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 el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

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'' trees (e.g. '' Terminalia tomentosa'', ''

T. arjuna T is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet. (For the same letterform in the Cyrillic and Greek alphabets, see Te (Cyrillic), Te and Tau respectively). T may also refer to: Codes and units * T, Tera- as in one trillion * T, the symbol for ...

'') and on '' Shorea robusta''. 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'', also known as Indian jujube, Indian plum, Chinese date, Chinese apple, ber, and dunks is a tropical fruit tree species belonging to the family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused with the closely related Chinese jujube ...

(''Ziziphus mauritiana''), axlewood (''Anogeissus latifolia''),

jambul ''Syzygium cumini'', commonly known as Malabar plum, Java plum, black plum, jamun, jaman, jambul, or jambolan, is an evergreen tropical tree in the flowering plant family Myrtaceae, and favored for its fruit, timber, and ornamental value. It is ...

(''Syzygium cumini''), '' Madhuca indica'', kumbi (''Careya arborea''), anjan (''Hardwickia binata''), and species of teak (''Tectona'' spp.) and crepe myrtle (''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, a disease caused by microsporidian 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 in the larvae, leading to a condition known as grasserie. Natural enemies of this silkworm include the

uzi fly Uzi fly or uji fly is a common name for several flies that parasitize silkworms and may refer to: *''Blepharipa zebina ''Blepharipa'' is a genus of flies in the family Tachinidae. Species *'' B. albocinta'' (Mesnil, 1956) *'' B. carbonata'' (M ...

(''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