Mulberry trees and silkworms

CLSU’s Mulberry trees and silkworms

The Central Luzon State University (CLSU) in Munoz, Neuva Ecija hs launched its own sericulture project.

Supervised by Filomena F. Campos, CLSU director of research, the project complements research being  undertaken by the Philippine Textile Research Institute and U.P. Los Banos. At CLSU, concentration is on mulberry production and silkworm culture. At UP Los Banos, the stress is on breeding work.

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Sericulture: Silk Production – part 2

 

Continuation…..

almost resist complete unwinding. Depending on sex and species, the cocoons measure from one to 1.5 inches long and 0.5 to one inch in diameter.

Harvested cocoons are sorted; all thin-shelled and unreelable ones are artificially heated overnight at 86 degrees centrigrade to kill the pupae.

A dried cocoon produces a light throbbing sound when shaken and weighs only half of the 2.5 gram weight of a fresh cocoon.

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Sericulture: Silk Production – part 1

Sericulture in the Philippines

By Loreto H. Matienzo, Jr. and Rizal A. Gatica

Silk, the cloth of royalty, represents luxury in textiles. But this “most beautiful of all fabrics” is spun by no human hand. Silk threads or filaments are produced by silkworms when they construct cocoons that encase their pupae – a stage in the metamorphosis of caterpillars into moths. Weaving enough silk cloth to make one dress would require unraveling 1,700 to 2,000 cocoons.

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Butterfly farming

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Butterfly farming

Butterfly farming is only one of the few businesses that is eco-friendly. To be able to establish such business one needs to plant trees and flowers that would attract or would serve as food for the butterfly.

Dome or Enclosure:
A big dome or enclosure is needed to start this business. This dome would encloses the trees and butterflies. It could be as simple as huge fishnet/mosquito net that will enclose the whole vicinity. The plant inside the dome is depends on the butterfly that one wants to breed. Every butterfly have a specific plant that it use as a host or use as their food.

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