SILK-WORMS. 



345 



large a proportion of honey has been taken from them, 

 or when the winter is very long, they are usually fed a 

 mixture of sugar, water, and honey. 



The silk-worm is the larva or caterpillar of the mul- 

 berry silk-worm, a species of lepidoptera whose scientific 

 name is sericaria mori. It is a nocturnal moth, having 

 white wings with a few black rays ; the body is velvety, 

 covered with a white fur ; the antennae have the form 

 of foliated palm branches. The larva is at first a little 



FIG. 309. 



MOTH AND EGGS OP THE SILK- 

 WORM (Sericaria mori). 



SILK-WORM (Sericaria mori) (about twice natu- 

 ral size). 



black worm somewhat over a quarter of an inch long, 

 but towards the end of its development it may attain a 

 length of three-quarters of an inch. Its skin is almost 

 without hairs, of a light lead-gray color with black spots 

 on the dorsal surface. There are eight pair of legs. The 

 head is scaly and armed with jaws. The glands that 

 secrete the substance of silk are placed in the interior 

 of the body on each side of the median line, and com- 

 municate with a tubercle on the lower lip by means of 



