Features

• Silkworms hatch from eggs and go through larval and pupa stages of life before spinning a cocoon. The worm feasts on white mulberry leaves, although other forms of plant matter are used in the industry of silkworm raising. Once it has gorged enough, the silkworm spins a cocoon of silk.
  
  Humans raise silkworms strictly for this silk. The cocoon is unraveled and the worm is boiled for food or otherwise disposed of. The silk trade today is worth nearly half a billion dollars annually.
  
  

History

• Ancient records of both China and Rome indicate the importance of silk.Anicent Chinese Calligraphy image by Da Vynci from Fotolia.com
  
  The silkworm has had a significant impact on history. During the time of the Roman Empire, the Silk Road encouraged trade and travel between East and West. Silk proved a valuable and much-desired commodity for Europe, and the Silk Road (really a number of different overland routes) brought about cultural cross-pollinations and the spread of language, religion and technology and increased civilization's knowledge of the larger world. Embassies were eventually established along this route.
  
  Rome's fascination with silk caused exorbitant amounts of gold to be spent, causing Roman politicians and writers to complain that the Roman economy was flowing to Seres (China.) In later centuries, silk remained a symbol of luxury and wealth.
  
  

Potential

• Silkworms are proving improtant to genetic research.dna image by Allyson Ricketts from Fotolia.com
  
  Because the silkworm is thoroughly domesticated, scientists have recently found it to be an important organism in the study of genetics. The silk industry makes use of controlled breeding programs, creating a finite list of genetic lines that geneticists are learning to make use of in the study of mutations, inherited traits and other facets of genetic research. Few animals are so well-regulated that such known parameters of breeding lines exist.
  
  

Effects

• Europe's demand for silk helped encourage technological innovation like the loom.hand weaving loom image by green308 from Fotolia.com
  
  The European fascination with silk encouraged technological innovations to speed its production, such as the Jacquard loom. Since this loom was among the very first machines to use punch-cards, it was an important cog in the eventual development of the difference engine and then the computer.
  
  The high demand and limited supply of silkworms (at least in the West) impelled the Industrial Revolution's core philosophy of automation, mass production and mechanization which would spread to nearly every field of human endeavor and change the course of history.
  
  

The Silkworm Today

• Silk is a highly prized product today.silk color image by coff47 from Fotolia.com
  
  Silk is a multimillion dollar business and one of the most important exports from Asia, especially China and India (and to a lesser extent, Japan and Korea.) The lowly silkworm is at the heart of this coveted material, and as a result, cannot be overstated in its importance to commerce, industry and fashion. Some concerns from animal rights activists have been raised concerning the mass harvesting and destruction of the silkworm.