How are silk fibres obtained from cocoons?
A pile of cocoons is used for obtaining silk fibres and the cocoons are kept under the sun or boiled or exposed to steam and the silk fibres separate out. The process of taking out threads from the cocoon for use as silk is called reeling the silk.
What are the steps involved in silk production?
Production of Silk 1 (1) Rearing of Silkworms to Obtain Cocoons A female silk moth lays hundreds of eggs at a time. ... 2 (2) Processing of Cocoons to Obtain Silk Fibres All the cocoons are collected at one place. The pile of cocoons is used for obtaining silk fibres. ... 3 (3) Converting Silk Fibres into Silk Cloth
What is the process of obtaining silk from the silk moth?
Icsepapers Process of obtaining silk from the silk moth. Process of obtaining silk from the silk moth. For obtaining silk, moths are reared and their cocoons are collected to get silk threads. The cocoons are boiled to separate out silk fibres from cocoon.
What happens to the developing silkworm inside the cocoon?
In order to produce silk, the silkworm developing inside the cocoon (as pupa) is not allowed to mature into an adult silk moth. As soon as the cocoon is formed it is used to obtain silk fibres and the developing silkworm (as pupa) gets killed.
Q.1. How to obtain silk from the cocoon
Ans: The breeding and management of silk moths for the production of silk involve the following steps: 1. Silk moth eggs are preserved on cloth or...
Q.2. How to spin silk from a cocoon
Ans: The process of “spinning” silk is similar to the spinning of cotton yarn. The silk yarn is given desired twists to obtain silk of desired stre...
Q.3. How to remove silk from cocoons
Ans: The process of taking out threads from the cocoon is called reeling the silk. This is done by special machines. The fibres of the cocoon are t...
Q.4. Why are cocoons killed to get silk?
Ans: The cocoons are first boiled in hot water to kill the larvae inside. The hot water softens the silk gum sericin to allow the unwinding of silk...
Q.5. What are the properties of silk?
Ans: The few properties of silk are 1. It is a bad conductor of heat. 2. It is very elastic, thus resists creasing. 3. It is resistant to dust. 4....
Q.6 What are the uses of silk?
Ans: Silk is commonly used to make expensive dresses for men and women, which are worn on special occasions. In India, most of the silk is used in...
What is the cocoon of a silkmoth?
After this, the caterpillar completely covers itself by the fibre and turns into pupa. This covering is known as the cocoon. The silkmoth further develops in the covering called a cocoon. The silk fibre is obtained from this silkmoth’s cocoon.
What are the different types of silk?
Few examples are kosa, tassar, mooga, etc. They are produced by various types of silkmoths. One of the common types is the mulberry silkmoth .
How are silkworms born?
Silkworms are not actually born as worms rather as larvae and caterpillar hatched from the eggs of silkmoth. In the beginning, the female silk moth lays eggs and then the larvae are hatched out of the eggs and are known as the caterpillars. They grow up in size and before they enter in the second stage which is called as pupa the caterpillar swings their head from sides and makes the shape of eight every time. During all these times they secrete fibre made up of protein which when comes in contact of air and it hardens to become a silk fibre. After this, the caterpillar completely covers itself by the fibre and turns into pupa. This covering is known as the cocoon. The silkmoth further develops in the covering called a cocoon. The silk fibre is obtained from this silkmoth’s cocoon.
What is silk fiber?
Silk is a natural protein fibre which can be used as a textile fibre. It is one of the important animal fibres obtained from silkworm.
Where was silk made?
The route through which it used to travel was known as the ‘Silk route’. According to historians, silk was made in India as well. During the Indus valley civilization, its uses were noticed.
What is the second stage of a caterpillar?
They grow up in size and before they enter in the second stage which is called as pupa the caterpillar swings their head from sides and makes the shape of eight every time. During all these times they secrete fibre made up of protein which when comes in contact of air and it hardens to become a silk fibre.
How to get silk from cocoons?
To obtain silk from cocoons, they are first boiled. The boiling kills the worms inside the cocoon and also soften the cocoon. The silk fibres are then obtained. The fibres thus obtained are of varied length which are twisted together to form a yarn.
How many cocoons are needed to make 1 KG of silk?
To get 1KG raw silk you need almost 8 - 9.5 kg of fine cocoons, and for 1KG cocoons, we need around 700 - 800 cocoons, if we calculate then we get less than 1gm silk from 1 cocoon.
How are cocoons made?
To put it simply, the Cocoon is in fact made from one continuous silk filament that is ejected from the silkworm and is then harvested by workers employed for this first process. The cocoons are then put into hot water which melts the glue-like liquid which the silkworm ejects from its own body to keep the cocoon stuck together. This washed and cleaned filament is then spun together with other filaments to produce a yarn of a predetermined thickness. The yarns are then woven into cloth or knitted into cloth. That’s how it is done !!!
How long do silk worms eat?
Raising silk worms is a very delicate operation. The silk worm needs to eat mulberry leaves and eats for 35 days non stop until they increase their weight over 10,000 times. Any loud noise or temperature change can stop them from eating. They need to eat massive amounts of mulberry leaves to form a cocoon. After eating, the silk worm spins a cocoon on a twig. When a chemical that is emitted from their mouth interacts with air, silk is formed. Each silk worm can emit on
How to get good quality silk?
For obtaining good quality silk that is filament fibres it requires killing of worms by boiling. Its a cruel act actually thats why they object. Artificial silk do not possess all the amazing features as in natural silk. The alternative is production of 'ahimnsa silk' (non violent) or wild silk, in which insects fly out of the cocoon by cutting it. The only drawback is that it will result in short or staple fibres.
Where are silkworms grown?
Silk worms were originally raised in China. Although the Chinese tried to keep the process a secret, eventually sericulture was established in Korea, Japan and India. Later it was successfully transfered to Italy and today Uzbekistan, Romania and Brazil make it on to the list of top 10 producers. China is still by far the main producer of silk fibre today, producing 300 million kg
Can silkworms be raised in captivity?
Yes, cultivating silkworms is sustainable. Silkworms are quite easy to raise in captivity. They require mulberry leaves for food, but mulberries are an easy crop to grow and are themselves not very demanding.
How is silk formed?
Silk is formed in liquid form in the two glands in the silkworms’s head. (3) When the silkworm (or caterpillar) is ready to enter the next stage of its development called pupa, it first weaves a net to hold itself. Then it swings its head from side to side in the form of figure of eight.
Where does silk come from?
Natural silk is obtained from the cocoons of silkworms and it is made of a ‘protein’. Natural silk is an animal fibre. Artificial silk (called rayon) is obtained from wood pulp and it is made of modified plant material ‘cellulose. (Paper is also made of cellulose obtained from wood pulp).
How are cocoons collected?
All the cocoons are collected at one place. The pile of cocoons is used for obtaining silk fibres. The pile of cocoons is placed in hot water. Hot water makes the silk fibres of cocoons to separate out. The long silk fibres are obtained by unwinding the threads from cocoons.
How does a silkworm develop?
The silkworm continues to develop in the form of pupa inside the cocoon to form the silk moth. (4) When the pupa (encased in cocoon) develops fully to form an adult silk moth, then the cocoon splits up and a beautiful silk moth comes out. The adult female silk moth then lays more eggs.
How does a silkworm's head work?
During these movements of head, the silkworm secretes silk in liquid form through the tiny opening in its head which solidifies on exposure to air and becomes a silk fibre (or silk thread). Soon the silkworm (or caterpillar) covers itself completely by silk fibres. The silky covering spun by the silkworm ...
Why does a silkworm get killed?
This is because if the silkworm (as pupa) is allowed to mature into a silk moth, then the fully formed silk moth secretes a liquid to dissolve a part of silk of the cocoon to break it so as to come out of it and fly away.
Why is cocoon made?
The cocoon is made by silkworm to protect its development as pupa. Pupa is a stage in the life history of silk moth when the caterpillar (or silkworm) becomes ‘encased’ in a hard shell of silk fibres called cocoon. The silkworm continues to develop in the form of pupa inside the cocoon to form the silk moth.
