Silk spinners provide the raw material from which the finest silk is woven. In earlier times it came to Europe via the Silk Road from Asia. Are silk moths native to us today? Or is the (misleading) name used for another native insect?
What is the silkworm moth?
The silk moth is abutterfly speciesfrom China whose larvae produce the sought-after silk threads. Nowadays he lives in Asia, Brazil and southern Europe, exclusively on silk farms. In this country,web mothsand oak processionary moths are sometimes incorrectly referred toas silk moths,because they also spin webs.
What is the silk moth and what does it look like?
The silk moth (Bombyx mori), also known as the mulberry moth, is aspecies of butterflyfrom the family ofReal spinners.
- Butterfly is up to 38 mm wide (wingspan)
- mealy white with yellow-brown horizontal stripes
- inconspicuous, resembles a moth
- the eggs hatch into silkworms
- they are initially 5-7 mm long
- Her body is gray in color, rough, wrinkled
- they only eat mulberry leaves
- about 30 days later they are ready to spin
- pupate in a cocoon
- with an approx. 900 m long silk thread
Some other species of butterflies that are also used for silk production are also known as silk moths.
Where are silk moths common?
The original home of the silk moth is China. The domesticated insects are now also kept in otherAsian countries, Braziland even inSouthern Europe.
What do we mean by silk moth in this country?
Since silk moths no longer live in the wild, but only on silk farms, they cannot be found in the garden. But there are other native insect species that spin fine webs. These include thevarious web moths (Yponomeuta) such as apple tree web moth, plum web moth or the Pfaffenhütchen web moth. The oak processionary moth also spins fine webs. That's why laypeople sometimes refer to them as silk moths.
Are web moths dangerous and do I have to fight them?
Web moths are harmless to humans. The trees also recover well even after a severe infestation by using the St. John's shoot to compensate for the loss of leaves. However, fruit trees with spider moths can result in crop failure. Since an infestation is usually discovered comparatively late through damage to the leaves or a large number of webs, it can no longer be combated. In the early stages you can cut off individual infected shoots and collect the caterpillars. A spray with neem oil in April disrupts the development of the larvae.
Tip
Stay away from oak processionary moth caterpillars
The oak processionary moth caterpillars have a lot of poisonous stinging hairs. They can irritate the skin. The fine hairs can also be inhaled, for example when staying under an oak tree, and cause breathing problems.
