How Mulberry Silk Is Made and Its Benefits

Moths and butterflies start out as little larvae placed by their parents upon a specific plant. This plant hosts the larvae until they grow enough to pupate. Not every plant can host butterflies or moths though as some have defenses that inhibit the growth or otherwise harm the newly born insect larvae. 

                For the Bombyx mori, or otherwise known as the domesticated Silk moth, its traditional host plant is the Mulberry. Actually, the only food that Silkworms eat are Mulberry leaves. They have a long term co evolution with each other leading to specific adaptations from both species. One thing to note though, Silkworms can eat beetroot leaves and lettuce but they can’t thrive on these. Mulberry twigs cut up into fine strips can also be used as a substitute but still it won’t help the Silkworms to thrive.

                On to the main point, Mulberry Silk simply means Silk from Silkworms fed by the leaves of the Mulberry. With Mulberry leaves being the one and only food source for the domesticated Silk moth, calling its Silk “Mulberry Silk” sounds pretty redundant. However, that is far from the actual truth. Silk is made by lots and lots of different bugs. Spiders, ants, and other insect larvae all have the ability to spin their own Silk. Furthermore, other moths and butterflies are capable of spinning their own cocoons made of Silk. Domesticated Silkworms don’t have the monopoly on Silk; however, they do have the crown for the best quality of Silk. As all masters of art say, it is all about technique and precision. Unlike other bugs, the domesticated Silk moth spins only one strand of Silk to create their cocoon. This single strand is strong enough to withstand pulling tension which makes it easier to harvest it from the Silkworm’s cocoon. Mulberry Silk is also uniform in color and texture which makes it easier to make fabrics out of it.

                Mulberry Silk is one of the hallmarks of mankind’s resourcefulness. The fabrics made from this type of Silk is odorless and hypoallergenic which is very suitable to use for just about anyone. Plus, it is naturally made which means it is pretty much a guilt-free extravagance we can all enjoy.