A Review on Vanya - The Wild Silkworms

Kritika SharmaPG Scholar, Division of Sericulture, SKUAST-JAMMU, Main Campus Chatha, Jammu and Kashmir India. Pin Code:-180009

AbstractLivelihood generation is one of the major potentials of sericulture and silk industry. Sericulture has emerged as the most important cash crop with minimum investment, low gestation period, high employment potential and highly remunerative return. It is an agro-based industry which plays a vital role in the improvement of the rural economy. Silk insects other than mulberry silk insects are called non-mulberry silk insects. As they are reared outdoors in wild, they are also known as wild silk insects. India has the unique distinction of being only country in the world producing all the five commercially exploited silk varieties, namely, mulberry and non- mulberry viz., tropical tasar, oak tasar, eri and muga. The vanya silk cultivation is an eco friendly and women friendly occupation that provides high employment, vibrancy to village economies and ideal for weaker section of society. Among the four varieties of silk produced in 2019-20, Mulberry accounted for 70.21% (25,384 MT), Tasar 9.3% (3,370 MT), Eri 19.80% (7,157 MT) and Muga 0.66% (240 MT) of the total raw silk production of 36,152 MT. During the year 2018-19, vanya silk production in the country is 10124 MTs which has achieved 2.9% growth over the previous year. Globally, India is the second largest producer of silk and contributes about 15.5 % to the total world raw silk production and generates employment to 6.8 million rural people mostly women folk. Key Words: Vanya silkworms, sustainable livelihood, wild silk insetcs, non-mulberry, employment generation.

IntroductionLivelihood generation is one of the major potentials of sericulture and silk industry. Sericulture has emerged as the most important cash crop with minimum investment, low gestation period, high employment potential and highly remunerative return. It is an agro-based industry which plays a vital role in the improvement of the rural economy. India produces all four varieties of natural silks viz., Mulberry silk, Tasar silk, Muga silk and Eri silk. The Tasar, Eri and Muga silk are non mulberry silks which are wild silks and also known as Vanya Silks. Mulberry silk is quite famous but other wild silks are not very popular, although Chinese tasar (Antheraea pernyi G.M), Indian tasar (Antheraea mylitta D), Eri silk (Samia cynthia ricini Hutt), Muga silk (Antheraea assama Ww) and Tensan (Antheraea yamamai G.M) have long been used for characteristic silk textiles, forming a small segment of the market. It has been observed through research that wild silks possess some physiological significance in activities like controlling cholesterol in human body, antibacterial functions and in UV absorption effect, etc. These newly recognized properties may greatly increase the popularity and utilization of wild silks at global scenario as world is facing the problems related to global warming. The International Society for Wild Silkmoths (ISWSM), Japan has started research work on wild silkmoths and silks (Akai, 2005).In India, Non-mulberry sericulture is an age old tradition, practiced mainly by the tribal people. When they do not have any work in agriculture and other allied pursuits, non mulberry sericulture provides them moderate earnings in different lean seasons of the year. Wild sericulture remained obscure as an exclusive craft of tribal and hill folks inhabiting the forests of central India, Sub-Himalayan region and north-eastern India for long time. However, in recent years, this traditional craft of tribal has gained tremendous importance. Due to its rich production potential, eco-friendly nature of the activities and steady demand for hand made textile products within and outside the country, wild sericulture is commercially exploitated from traditional craft into an industry of high potential. As a industry it has an advantage of rich natural resources like food plants and tribal manpower. Utilising them to bring a balanced development without disturbing the existing ecological system is the great socioeconomic challenge in sericulture (Shetty and Samson, 1998). India is the second largest producer of silk in the world. Among the four varieties of silk produced in 2019-20, Mulberry accounted for 70.21% (25,384 MT), Tasar 9.3% (3,370 MT), Eri 19.80% (7,157 MT) and Muga 0.66% (240 MT) of the total raw silk production of 36,152 MT. During the year 2018-19, vanya silk

production in the country is 10124 MTs which has achieved 2.9% growth over the previous year (CSB,2020).

Present status of SericultureParticulars 2015-16

Achmnt.2016-17Achmnt.

2017-18Achmnt.

2018-19Achmnt.

2019-20(P)

Target Achmnt.Mulberry Plantation(Lakh

ha.)2.09 2.17 2.24 2.35 2.57 2.40

Raw Silk ProductionMulberry (Bivoltine) 4613 5266 5874 6987 8500 6993

Mulberry (Cross breed) 15865 16007 16192 18358 18865 18391Sub Total (Mulberry) 20478 21273 22066 25345 27365 25384

VanyaTasar 2819 3268 2988 2981 3515 3370Eri 5060 5637 6661 6910 7370 7157

Muga 166 170 192 233 280 240Sub Total(Vanya) 8045 9075 9840 10124 11165 10768GRAND TOTAL 28523 30348 31906 35468 38530 36152

P: provisional Source: CSB

HistoryVanya silks have been commercially exploited way back in 17th Century. The Western World gained an appetite for these alien shaded silks in mid-1800 when a rampant silkworm disease destroyed the European sericulture industry. Asia could not supply enough mulberry silk to cater to the needs of Europe and North America, thus creating a market for vanya silks. Non-mulberry sericulture remained obscure for a long time as an exclusive craft of tribal and hill folks inhabiting the Central and North Eastern India. TANTALISING TASAR: Though there is no recorded document available regarding the origin of tasar in India, one can find the mention of tasar silk in ancient epic Ramayana "Ram’s nuptial gift to Sita includes tasar silk". Temperate tasar is of recent origin and was introduced during mid 1960'sMAGNEFICIENT MUGA: The silk of Assam (Muga) was made known to the World during 1662 through a famous European traveller Jean Joseph Tavenier. Sericulture was exempted from payment of land revenue as the Kings of Assam patronised the development of sericulture. Around 1950, there was a great earth quake in Upper Assam and the large number of muga plantations was destroyed, which hampered the growth of muga industryIRRESISTIBLE ERI: The word eri means castor plant, is derived from the word "eranda" of Sanskrit origin. The advent of Ericulture is lost into the antiquity but, the fact remains that Assam was the original home of eri silk from time immemorial, with the earliest reference documented in 1779. The eri silk was woven into heavy clothes known as "Bar Kapoor". Captain Jenkins (1771) remarked that eri silk was of incredible durability. Sericigenous insect have been object of research since many centuries as they produce commercial silk. There are over 1500 sericigenous species belonging to the family Saturniidae. Indian subcontinent contains over 50 species in Saturniidae (Nassig et al., 1996). Jolly et al., (1975) reported near about 80 species of silk producing moths from Africa and Asia. According to Lemaire and Minet (1998) Saturniidae is the major family of the superfamily Bombycoidea which includes number of impressive species of sericigenous lepidoptera. They are univoltine to multivoline depending up on the climatic conditions and scattered in both the temperate and tropical region (Regier et al., 2008; Kakati & Chutia, 2009).Tribes have strong spiritual, cultural and socioeconomic affinity to the forest and to the wild silk moth farming (Goel & Rao, 2004). The natural forest is well protected where wild silk moth farming is practiced. The pruned branches of the host plants are used as firewood, which suppress the need for illegal felling of trees for fire wood purpose, a practice common in the country sides. The share of silk in the world wide production of textile fibres remains less than 1%, the demand continues to grow at the rate of 2.5% per annum. More importantly, silk consumption in developed world is on the rise (Thangavelu, 2004). Reason for this seems to be the growing popularity of natural fibres, which have their own distinct and timeless appeal

(Verma, 2005). Germany is the major importer of tasar silk goods from India. U.S.A., France, Hong Kong, and U.A.E. are the major consumers of the Indian tasar silk goods (Shetty and Samson,1998).

Wild moth Sericulture in the World.About 25 species of wild silk moths have been exploited for wild silk production in the world. A large number of species (400-500) are used in the production of non-mulberry silks (Bhattacharya and Teotia, 2004). But only eight have been commercially exploited in Asia and Africa tribal communities. They are Tasar silk, Muga silk, Eri silk, Anaphe silk, Fagara Silk, Coan silk, Mussel silk and Spider silk. Non mulberry silks are commercially produced mainly in China and India. However major share of production (80%) goes to China. Climate and vegetation provide India with an abundance of non-mulberry sericigenous fauna. Wild silkmoths cocoons are collected from the wild population and in some cases, rearing is done outdoors with little or no protection of larvae (Peigler, 1993; Kioko et al., 2000). Non-mulberry sericulture holds great promise for the world’s forestry and can help arrest forest destruction, as it permits gainful utilization of its natural wealth (Jolly et al., 1975; Fening et al., 2008). According to Peigler (1993), India is the foremost country in the production of wild silk (Eri, Muga and Tasar) mainly for reasons being historical, cultural and economic. Wild silk varieties obtained globally include the Asian wild silk (Muga, Tasar, Fagara and Eri), the European silk (Coan) and the African wild silk obtained from indigenous wild silkmoths belonging to the genera Anaphe, Gonometa, Argema and Epiphora (Singh and Suryanarayan ., 2005; Fening et al., 2008; Frankel, 1982).

Name of species Family DistributionAntheraea mylitta Drury Saturniidae IndiaAntheraea roylei Moore Saturniidae India, China

Antheraea yamamai G & M Saturniidae Japan,TaiwanAntheraea pernyi G & M Saturniidae China, India

Antheraea assamensis Helfer Saturniidae Assam(India)Samia cynthia ricini Drury Saturniidae China, India, Japan, Cuba,

Egypt, France, Italy Source: Peigler, 1993

Distribution in IndiaName of species Distribution

Tropical Tasar Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and touching the fringes of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar

Pradesh and MaharashtraOak Tasar Extends from the sub-Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir in

the West to Manipur in the East covering Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

Muga Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal

Eri Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa

Silk Industry as an EnterpriseSilk is the most elegant textile in the world with unparalleled grandeur, natural sheen, and inherent affinity for dyes, high absorbance, light weight, soft touch and high in durability. Because of these unique features silk is known as the “Queen of Textiles” the world over. On the other hand, it stands for livelihood opportunity for millions, owing to its high employment potential, low capital requirement and remunerative nature of its production (Sharma and Bali, 2019). The very nature of this industry with its rural based on-farm and off-farm activities and enormous employment generation potential has attracted the attention of the planners and policy makers to recognize the industry among one of the most appropriate avenues for socio-economic development of a largely agrarian economy of India. Silk has been intermingled with the life and culture of the Indians. India has a rich and complex history in silk production and its silk trade which dates back to 15th century. Sericulture industry provides employment to approximately 9.18 million persons in rural and semi-urban areas in India (CSB, 2020). Of these, a sizeable number of workers belong to the economically weaker sections of society, including women. India’s traditional and culture bound domestic

market and an amazing diversity of silk garments that reflect geographic specificity has helped the country to achieve a leading position in silk industry. India has the unique distinction of being the only country producing all the five known commercial silks, namely, Mulberry, Tropical Tasar, Oak Tasar, Eri and Muga, of which Muga which is produced only in India with its golden yellow glitter is a prerogative of India. The CSB has a chain of Basic Seed Farms supplying basic seeds to the States. Its commercial seed production centers augment efforts of the States in supplying commercial silkworm seed to farmers. The Table below indicates the total quantity of seed production during the year 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 (CSB, 2020).

Unit: DflsParticulars 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20

Target Achievement. Target Achievement. Target Achievement.Mulberry 440.00 388.35 440.00 483.04 470 399.87

Tasar 50.11 52.34 51.02 51.08 51.17 55.53Oak Tasar 0.99 0.47 0.64 0.78 1.48 0.44

Muga 8.07 7.08 8.16 5.33 5.65 5.71Eri 6.00 6.88 6.00 7.22 6.30 6.64

Total 505.17 455.12 505.82 547.45 534.60 468.19 CSB, 2020

State-wise Production of mulberry and vanya silk during 2018-19 During 2018-19, the total raw silk production in the country was 35,468 MT, which is an increase of 14.9% more during 2018-19 over the previous year. The bivoltine raw silk achieved a record production of 6,987 MT during 2018-19 by registering 18.9% growth over earlier year. Similarly, Vanya silk, which includes Tasar, Eri and Muga silks, has achieved 2.9% growth during 2018-19 over 2017-18. The area under mulberry during 2018-19 was up by 4.9%. The area under mulberry during 2016-17(P) is up by 6.0 %. The State-wise production of Raw silk of mulberry and vanya silk during 2000-01 to 2018-19 is given as:

State-wise Production of mulberry and vanya silk during 2018-19Mulberry and Vanya Raw silk production Statistics

(Unit: Metric Tonnes)Years Mulberry Tasar Eri Muga Total

2000-01 14,432 237 1,089 99 15,8572001-02 15,842 249 1,160 100 17,3512002-03 14,617 284 1,316 102 16,3192003-04 13,970 315 1,352 105 15,7422004-05 14,620 322 1,448 110 16,5002005-06 15,445 308 1,442 110 17,3052006-07 16,525 350 1,485 115 18,4752007-08 16,245 428 1,530 117 18,3202008-09 15,610 603 2,038 119 18,3702009-10 16,322 803 2,460 105 19,6902010-11 16,360 1,166 2,760 124 20,4102011-12 18,272 1,590 3,072 126 23,0602012-13 18,715 1,729 3,116 119 23,6792013-14 19,476 2,619 4,237 148 26,4802014-15 21,390 2,434 4,726 158 28,7082015-16 20,478 2,819 5,060 166 28,5232016-17 21,273 3,268 5,637 170 30,3482017-18 22,066 2,988 6,661 192 31,9062018-19 25,344 2,981 6,910 233 35,468

Source: Central Silk Board, BengaluruDevelopment of Sericulture in North-Eastern StatesNorth East has the unique distinction of being the only region producing four varieties of silk viz., Mulberry, Oke Tasar, Muga and Eri. Overall NE region contributes 20% of India's total silk production . The North-Eastern region of India makes ideal home for a number of wild sericigenous insects and is centre of wild silk

culture including muga (Antheraea assamensis Helfer), eri (Samia ricini Donovan), oak tasar (Antheraea proylei Jolly ) and mulberry silk (Bombyx mori Linn.) (Peigler & Naumann 2003).

Production of diff. varieties of Silks in N. E. Region (in MTs)Mulberry 333

Tasar 5Eri 5,578

Muga 171Total 6,087

CSB,2017The North Eastern region of India being a non-traditional area for Sericulture, Govt. of India has given special emphasis for consolidation and expansion of Sericulture in all the North Eastern States with critical interventions from host plantation development to finished products with value addition at every stage of production chain. As a part of this, under NERTPS - an Umbrella scheme of Ministry of Textiles, the Govt. of India has approved 38 Sericulture projects implementing in all North Eastern States in the identified potential districts under four broad categories viz., Integrated Sericulture Development Project (ISDP), Intensive Bivoltine Sericulture Development Project (IBSDP), Eri Spun Silk Mills (ESSM) and Aspirational Districts. The Objective of these projects is to establish sericulture as viable commercial activity in NER by creating necessary infrastructure and imparting training skills to the locals for silkworm rearing and allied activities in the value chain (CSB,2020).

Knowing Wild Silkworms Tasar Silkworm: Tasar cocoons are reported to be largest among the silk producing in the world. It is also known as Kosa silk in Sanskrit. Tasar silk fibre has its own distinctive color, is coarse to feel but has higher tensile strength, elongation than mulberry silk fibre. India is the second largest producer of Tasar silk and the exclusive producer of Indian Tasar, which is largely tended to by tribals. In recent years, Jharkhand state has emerged as the biggest producer of Tasar silk (Wikipedia, 2019).These are reared in the tropical and temperate zones. Four species of the genus Antherea(Hubner) are used for commercial production. They are: Tropical tasar silkworm: A. mylitta, D (India), Oak Tasar: A. proyli, J. (India), A. pernyi, G.M. (China, USSR), A. yamamai, (G.M. Japan).There are various genera of family saturniidae, to which tasar silkworm belongs, like, Antheraea pernyi Guerin–Meneville (Chaina, Japan and former U.S.S.R.), Antheraea yamamai Guerin–Meneville (Japan), Antheraea proylei Jolly (Indian temperate tasar variety) and A. mylitta (Indian tropical variety). Under non-mulberry though tasar, eri and muga varieties of silk are covered but the major production of non-mulberry silk is of tasar next to eri silk. Host food plants for wild silkworms is crucial factor for wild silk industry. There is practically no systematic plantation of food plants for rearing non-mulberry silkworms in India. Therefore, Tasar silkworms are reared on food plants available in the forest. Recently, the research institutes of Central Silk Board (CSB) have introduced the concept of systematic plantation of food plants for all non-mulberry silkworms to improve the productivity of silks in India (Shetty and Samson, 1998). According to (Sen and Jolly, 1967), tasar silkworm rearing is practiced mainly in the Central and Southern Plateau region in the humid and dense forest area covering Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal, extending to the fringes of Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. It is estimated that in India, there is 11.168 million ha of forest having different primary and secondary food plants for wild silkworms being utilised for tasar silkworm rearing. However, deep interior forests remained unexploited. In India, about 1.40 lakh tribal families have been engaged in tasar silkworm rearing and get benefited socioeconomically.

Tropical Tasar(A. mylitta): These are in dense, humid tropical forest of central and southern parts of India. The major cocoon-producing districts are Sginghbhum and Santhal Pargana in Bihar, Raigarh and Jagdalpur in Madya Pradesh; Mayurbhanji and Keonjhar in Orissa; Purulia and Bankura in West Bengal; Bhandra in Maharashtra; Adilabad, Warangal, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahaboobnagar, Visakapatnam of Andhra Pradesh; Belgaum in Karnataka. Tasar silkworm is polyphagous. The primary food plants are eight types. Besides more than two dozens of secondary food plants.

Terminalia tomentosa, W & A., T. arjuna, W&A., Shorea robusta, Roxb., Lagerstroemia parviflora, Roxb., L. Speciosa, Pers., L. indica, Linn., Zizyphus mauritiana, Lam.

Oak Tasar: This is a hybrid worm. The oak tract extending from Jammu and Kashmir in the West to Manipur in the east, embracing Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland inhabits the temperate tasar silkworm. The food plant is oak plant. There are four species in temperate tasar. 1. A. proylei, Jolly 2. A. roylei, Moore 3. A. pernyi, Guerin-Meneville 4. A. yamamai, Guerin-Meneville. The primary food plants are Quercu sincana., Q. Serrata., Q. delabata., Q. Himalayana., Q. Semiserrata

Life CycleThe tasar silkworms are grown only in the wild. So they are cultivated in places where their host plants are available.Adult tasar moth: Adults are very large with colourful wings spanning about 15 cm. Female has yellowish grey wings and males possess yellowish red wings with prominent eye spots on each wing. The males mate the females just after emergence. The adult moth emerges from the cocoon in about 10 days from the day of spinning. After mating, each moth lays around 400 eggs which depend on the feed and the season. The total life cycle lasts about 45 days in summer and 90 days in winter.

Eggs: After copulation, the female starts laying the eggs. A single female can lay 100-150 eggs. The eggs are ovoid in shape, candid white in colour, measures 1.5 x 1.0 mm and weighs 6 mg. By the time they hatch, they become ash to blackish colour. They hatch in 9-10 days in summer and 14 - 15 days in winter.

Larvae: The eggs hatch within 9-10 days during summer and 15-20 days in winter. Following hatching the larvae start taking food leaves from the host plants. The worms are generally green in colour with hairs on cuticle. The new born larva is greenish yellow in colour measuring about 5 x 1 mm. The fully grown larva measures about 7.0 x 1.5 cm. and weighs 8 g, translucent and covered with a white powdery substance. Different strains have different colours and body marking pattern. The larval span varies from 20 days in summer to 50 days in winter. It moults 4 times during the whole larval period that continues for 30-55 days during summer and 50-60 days during winter. The mature larvae spin cocoons which are hard with different colours according to the types of plant leaves they fed. Some are light green, others are yellow, and some are grey and others almost white. Unlike mulberry cocoons, the tasar cocoon has a stalk (peduncle) which helps in fixing the cocoon with the twig of host plant. The tasar cocoon attains a size like that of hen’s egg.

Pupa: The worms grow into pupae within the cocoon. Fully mature larva spins a cocoon around it and then transforms into a pupa. Spinning takes around two days and pupation takes another two days. The cocoons are long, soft and without a peduncle. One end is narrow and open. Pupation usually takes around 10-20 days depending on the temperature.

Tasar silk:By two methods, reeling and spinning, yarn can be produced from the cocoons. Tasar filaments show the greatest length among the non- mulberry silks, 700 m. The spun yarn is generally coarse with a denier of 270-280, while the reeled yarn is fine and thin with a denier value of 80-100.Tasar silk has natural shades of pale gold, pinkish honey, creamy copperish, etc. depending on the colour of cocoons. It is less lustrous but coarser than mulberry silk. The fabric is light, airy, and stiff, and has its own feel and appeal.

State Wise Tropical Tasar Raw Silk Production(Mt)State Andhra

PradeshBihar Chhattisgarh Jharkhand Madhya

PradeshMaharashtra Orissa Uttar

PradeshWest

BengalTotal

2007-08

7.00 13.80 146.00 143.00 30.00 4.00 47.68 4.00 29.00 424.48

2008-09

13.00 16.00 147.00 296.00 30.14 4.28 57.00 4.15 31.23 599.00

2009-10

10.00 27.00 161.00 403.70 74.00 8.00 71.00 6.00 37.00 797.70

2010-11

4.00 30.00 168.00 766.00 58.00 9.00 78.00 9.00 41.00 1163.00

2011-12

1.33 29.37 293.78 1025.24 79.20 12.35 89.70 10.80 43.96 1585.72

2012-13

0.64 7.30 384.87 1088.35 83.00 9.75 95.00 12.30 43.76 17497

2013-14

0.46 32.00 384.30 2000.00 86.00 10.20 45.10 13.70 42.20 2614.00

2014-15

0.26 33.00 225.40 1943.30 59.00 19.00 88.30 18.00 43.10 2429.00

2015-16

- 41.00 254.00 2281.00 56.00 21.00 107.00 20.00 34.00 2819.00

Source: Central Silk Board, Bengaluru

Adult moth Eggs Larvae Pupa

Cocoon

State Wise Oak Tasar Raw Silk Production (Mt)State Arunachal

PradeshManipur Mizoram Nagaland Jammu and

KashmirUttarakhand Total

2007-08 0.03 3.00 0.02 0.16 - 0.50 3.712008-09 0.10 3.00 0.10 0.50 0.01 0.50 4.212009-10 0.10 3.50 0.20 0.50 0.50 0.50 5.302010-11 0.10 2.00 0.40 0.30 0.10 0.10 3.002011-12 0.34 2.45 0.93 0.06 - - 3.782012-13 - 2.80 0.72 0.21 - - 3.732013-14 0.20 4.10 0.70 0.29 - 0.06 5.352014-15 - 4.17 0.02 0.10 - 0.02 4.312015-16 - 4.00 0.01 0.07 - - 4.08

Source: Central Silk Board, Bengaluru

Eri Silkworm: The word ‘Eri’ is derived from the Sanskrit term “Eranda” which refers to the castor plant and also known as Ahimsa Silk. Ericulture is a small scale industry. In fact, eri cocoon is considered as a palatable item to the local people of Assam. Castor, the host plant of eri moth is mainly used in other parts of India for production of seed as a valuable material; but in N.E. region because of its profuse vegetative growth and poor yield of seeds, the leaves are utilised for production of eri cocoon only. Ericulture is practiced as an indoor activity (Chutia et al., 2014). Eri silkworms are multivoltine and reared almost throughout the year. The ericulture has a close link with the culture and tradition of the people of north-east. Rural people are involved, primarily to meet the domestic demand of warm clothing and the edible pupae as a major source of proteins. The culture is also marginally practiced in West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, primarily for production of castor seed and its oil. In general, eri culture is considered a subsidiary source of income for meeting the domestic needs of warm clothing and pupa (Veldtman, 2004). The rearers can produce their own seed and conduct rearing, spinning and weaving. The pupal dish of insect diet is sold in weekly market in eastern parts of India. Similarly, the surplus quantity of Eri cut cocoons are sold openly at their door steps (Shetty and Samson, 1998).Eri silk is widely used for preparing warm clothing like ‘Erichadar’, quilts and scarves, but other products like kurtas, maxis, dokhans etc. are also available. Eri fabrics warm and more durable than mulberry silk. It is also resistant to perspiration, dust etc. Further, the texture improves by use and wash and the colour also become brighter. It is found in East Asia. In India, it is cultivated mainly in the North-Eastern states including Assam. Nagaland. Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and also in Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, etc.Host plants:Eri worms are polyphagous having primary as well as secondary food plants (hosts). Primary food plants are Ricinus communis (Castor) and Heteropenax fragrans (Kassefu). Castor plants are of two varieties; the green leaved and violet leaved. Both are equally suitable for feeding the eri silkworm.The secondary food plants are Manihot utilissima (Tapioca). Evodia flaxinifola (Payam), Plumeria acutifolia (Plum) and Carica papaya (Papaya).Life cycle The eri moth is multivoltine in nature and can pass 6 life cycles in a year. A complete life cycle lasts about 44 days in summer and 85 days in winter. These worms are totally domesticated and are reared indoors. Its life cycle consists of 4 stages as follows.Adult eri moth: Adult moths are large with wings spanning about 10 cm. The wings are greyish brown in colour with prominent eye spot. When the adult moth emerges from a cocoon it makes a hole to get out. Like other silk moths, eri moths also start mating activities following their emergence from pupal stage. The adult moth emerges from the cocoon in about 10 days from the day of spinning. After mating, each moth lays around 400 eggs which depend on the feed and the season. The total life cycle lasts about 45 days in summer and 90 days in winter.Eggs: Following mating, the female starts egg laying that may continue up to 3 days. Each female can lay about 350-500 eggs. Hatching depends on prevailing environmental conditions and may occur from 8-20 days. The eggs are ovoid in shape, candid white in colour, measures 1.5 x 1.0 mm and weighs 6 mg. By the time they hatch, they become ash to blackish colour. They hatch in 9-10 days in summer and 14 - 15 days in winter.

Larvae: The hair like newly hatched larvae are yellow in colour. Initially they feed on soft castor leaves but at later stages, worms can feed on mature leaves. After moulting for 4 times by 30- 32 days, they spin the cocoon among the leaves. Caterpillars in their final stages start spinning the cocoons. The spinning is completed in 2-3 days. The cocoons are open mouthed, tapering at one end and flat rounded at the open end. Eri cocoons are stalkless, flossy, white or brick red in colour 5 cm long in case of female and 4.6 cm long in male. The new born larva is greenish yellow in colour measuring about 5 x 1 mm. The fully grown larva measures about 7.0 x 1.5 cm. and weighs 8 g, translucent and covered with a white powdery substance. Different strains have different colours and body marking pattern. The larval span varies from 20 days in summer to 50 days in winter.Pupa: Pupal stages last for 15-37 days during when larvae change to pupae. Fully mature larva spins a cocoon around it and then transforms into a pupa. Spinning takes around two days and pupation takes another two days. The cocoons are long, soft and without a peduncle. One end is narrow and open. Pupation usually takes around 10-20 days depending on the temperature.

Eri Silk:The silk produced by eri moths is referred to as eri and endi or errandi silk by local people. This silk is collected from pierced cocoons, so it is spun silk. The fibres in the cocoon are like a tiny bale of cotton, all wound together and tangled. So when eri silk is spun, it forms a lower grade of silk of unusual quality.Depending on how it is spun and woven it can give a very woolly result and as with poorly made wools, eri can feel like cheap acrylic. But it can also give a tight, strong fibre-like linen. This is what makes eri textiles amazing — they can have the drape and weight of linen but are warm and insulating like cotton or wool Eri silk is less glossy and wrinkleless.

Adult moth Eggs Larvae Pupa

Cocoon

Top 5 States/UTs In Terms Of Production Of Eri Silk During 2015-16

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Muga Silkworm: Muga, the golden yellow silk produced by muga silkworm is unique to Assam and neighboring states of North-eastern region is also practiced in West Bengal in recent years. Muga silkworm is multivoltine in nature with six crops a year, two each of commercial, pre-seed and seed crops. Muga silkworm is semi-domesticated and rearable in the open on trees where as spinning arid seed production are indoor activities. In 3,500 ha of land muga food plants are cultivated in North-eastern region of India including West Bengal (Shetty and Samson, 1998).Muga is produced from cocoons of Antheraea assamensis which is available only in Assam. The most expensive of silks, muga, is intrinsically woven into the cultural traditions of the people of Assam. The vibrant Sualkuchi sarees and mekhla-chaddars are the traditional items made from muga silk (Sahu, 2005; Sahu and Bindroo, 2007). The specialty of this silk is its golden bright colour. “Muga” is derived from the Assamese word ‘muga’ meaning yellowish. It is superior in every respect from the normal white silk available all over the world.Assam accounts for more than 95% of the muga silk production. The native place of this moth is Assam. Its production was confined to Assam, border areas of neighboring north-eastern states and Cooch Bihar in West Bengal. Now it is reared in Nagaland, Meghalaya and Andhra Pradesh also. This silk is very much admired for its durability, lustre and creamy white shade.Host Plants:The muga worm feeds on aromatic leaves of Machilus bombycina (som), Litsea polyantha (soalu). It can also be reared on host plants similar to that of tasar worms. The secondary food plants are; Litsea salicifolia, Celastrus monosperma. Life history:The moth is multivoltine the entire life cycle lasts for about 50 days in summer and 120 days in winter. This moth is semi-domesticated and can be raised outdoor. Muga moth (“Muga Polu’ in Assamese) also has the same life cycle as other silkworms, i.e., egg, larva, pupa and adult. Muga silkworm is a holometabolous insect passing through a complete metamorphosis from egg (Koni) to adult (Chakari) stage through two intermediate stages of larva (Polu) and Pupa (Leta). The entire life cycle lasts for about 50 days in summer and 120 days in winter.Adult Muga moth:The wings and body of the male moth are copper brown to dark brown, while those of female is yellowish to brown. Besides colouration, the male moth can be distinguished from the female by its slightly smaller size, slender abdomen, bushy antennae and sharply curved forewing tips.Antheraea assamensis can be identified by the orange eye-spots, the pale leading edge of the forewing, and a black spot in the rear wing eye- spot located towards the body. Typically, the males find the females upon

emergence and copulate immediately. Moths emerge from the cocoon, mate and lay eggs and continue their generation. Like the mulberry silk moths, they do not have mouth parts and die in about a week.Eggs: The female moth’s eggs (popularly known as seeds) are laid on the Som and Soalu leaves. Each female moth lays around 150 eggs. The egg is oval in shape, dorsoventrally flattened, bilaterally symmetrical and creamy to brownish grey in colour and measures 2.3-2.8 mm × 2.4 mm. They hatch in about 7 days in summer and 16 days in winter.Larvae: Eggs are hatched into larvae of about 2 mm long. They grow rapidly, eat voraciously and end up about 30 mm long after 4-5 weeks. During this time, they moult four times. At the end, they search suitable place for cocooning. The newly hatched larva is black in colour with distinct yellow lines at the inter-segmental region. The body tubercles are yellow and are provided with setae. The head is small but distinct and black in colour. They measure 0.6-1.3 cm in length. They actively feed on the leaves of their food plants and pass through four moults like the mulberry silkworm and reach a size of 4.0 - 5.5 cm in length and weighs approximately 4.10 - 5.15 gm. The dorsal surface of the body is light green while the ventral surface is deeper in colour.Pupa: Within the cocoon the larva pupates. The fully grown larva spins a cocoon around it and then transforms into a pupa. Spinning of cocoon takes 3 to 7 days in different seasons. The pupal stage lasts for 14 days in summer and 40 days in winter. The population in the hills undergoes diapauses at the pupal stage to overcome the winter.

Muga silk:The silk produced is called ‘muga silk’. It is golden yellow is colour, more strong, durable and lustrous. It needs no bleaching or dying and is stain resistant. Muga farmers also produce ghisha or spun muga yarn known as jotha-muga from pierced/flimsy cocoons.

Adult moth Eggs

Larvae Pupa

Cocoon

Top 5 States/UTs In Terms Of Production of Muga Silk During 2015-16

Initiatives from Govt. Of India Central Silk Board, Government of India has branded the vanya silk and symbol is registered as trademark. It depicts a very unique concept of Indian-ness personified by the calligraphic Devanagari letter ‘Va’ crafted with bold brush strokes inside a cocoon. These symbolize multiple strands of silk. The term “Vanya” is of Sanskrit origin, meaning untamed, wild, or forest based Vanya! – the wild silks of India (Ahmed et al.,2011). The Government of India established the Central Muga and Eri Research & Training Institute, Jorhat under administrative control of Central Silk Board is the only institute for providing research and developmental support for the growth of Muga and Eri industry in the country. Similar institute for Tasar silk has been establishment at Ranchi, Jharkhand state. The deep strides on R&D aspects have been made in respect of vanya silk conservation and their exploration for socioeconomic development of rural masses in the country. To achieve this goal, one exclusive Germplasm Conservation Centre has been developed at Jorhat (India). Further, the centrally sponsored scheme known as Catalytic Development programme (CDP) initiated from IX plan period (1997-2002) onwards to ensure coordinated effort to support sericulture at all stages of value addition, promote new technologies and package of practices, support to efforts of NGOs, Cooperative Societies, Forest Management Committees, Self Help Groups etc. facilitating linkages amongst stakeholders and strengthening the supply-chain for silk production, improve productivity and reduce input costs, focused largely on supporting stakeholders ranging from food plant to marketing products, creating employment opportunities in rural areas and market orientation to Vanya silks besides public-private partnership in areas of production chain. The Government of India under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 has issued notification in respect of vanya silk cultivation. Under this Act, The State/UT Forest Department should encourage silk cultivation in forests areas by tribals and non-tribals who live in and around the forests and are dependent on such forests for their livelihood.

Research and Development (Highlights on Research Programmes)(CSB,2020)Vanya Host Plant and silkworm

Assessed phytochemical diversity of Som under three different agroclimate zones of Meghalaya and Assam revealed the region and season specific differences in the phytochemical quantities, stress magnitude and intrinsic protection potential of Som. It is established that the magnitude of soil intrinsic nutritional capacity in som fields varies in different agroclimatic zones.

Identified an alternative food plant Lagerstroemia Speciosa for Tasar silkworm rearing, which is easy rooter and fast growing. Trials are on to validate the rearing performance.

Two Som accessions (S3 and S6) resistant to leaf spot disease, leaf blight and rust are being popularized in the field.

Developed Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) package for castor cultivation which is under field testing. In the last 10 years, four Vanya host plants have been identified and recommended for commercial exploitation.

Identified an alternative food plant Lagerstroemia speciosa for Tasar silkworm rearing, which is easy rooter and fast growing. Trials are on to validate the rearing performance.

Developed 18 days preservation schedule for the three days Muga eggs, With 2 days post preservation/ incubation period resulted in 85% hatching.

Developed short term seed preservation schedule for Tasar silkworm BDR10 mixed eggs (at 15ºC for 15 days) with two days progressive incubation (totaling 17 days) resulted in 90% hatching.

Whole-Genome 10X linked library of Tasar Silkworm, Antheraea mylitta has prepared with 10X chromium technology at an average size of the 544bp and sequenced the 10X chromium libraries on Illumina HiSeq X 10 with 2x150 pair end chemistry.

Vanya Silkworm breeds, ‘BDR-10’ (Tasar Daba bivoltine) and ‘C2’ (Eri) are being popularized. In the last 10 years, 5 Vanya silkworm breeds have been released for commercial exploitation.

New Breeds/Varieties approved for popularizationThe hybrids authorized recently for commercial exploitation by the Hybrid Authorization Committee (HAC) are being popularized in the field.

New breeds/ varieties Region MULBERY SECTOR

CSR50 x CSR51 For south zone (CSR52 x CSR50) X (CSR51 x

CSR53) All India

N x (SK6 x SK7) M6DP (C) x SK4 For Eastern Zone

VANYA SECTOR BDR-10 (TASAR) All regions suitable for tasar culture

C2 (ERI) All regions suitable for eri culture CSB,2017

Products that can be developed from Vanya silk: Muga Satin fabric on power loom and Garments Eri silk denim fabrics for Blazer and garments, Eri and Mulberry knits, Eri silk blanket and carpet &

Eri silk thermal wear Tasar silk fabric on power looms for bridal dress. Kanchipuram sarees with Muga silk for replacement of Zari Mulberry x Eri sarees with Bomkai Design

ConclusionNon-mulberry production offers rural population an attractive source of income, arrest their migration to urban areas, thereby preserving their traditional skill and way of life. The country has rich natural resources and manpower and the challenge is to utilize these to bring about a balanced development without much disturbance to the forest ecology, traditional culture and the way of the way of life of the primary producers.Non-mulberry sericulture is a forest-based industry uniquely suited to the economy and social structure of developing countries because of its minimum investment requirement, high employment, and foreign exchange earning potential. Mulberry silk is quite famous but other wild silks are not very popular, although Chinese tasar, Indian tasar, Eri silk, Muga silk and Tensan have long been used for characteristic silk textiles, forming a small segment of the market. It has been observed through research that wild silks possess some physiological significance in activities like controlling cholesterol in human body, antibacterial functions and in UV absorption effect, etc. These newly recognized properties may greatly increase the popularity and utilization of wild silks at global scenario as world is facing the problems related to global warming. Exploitation of non-mulberry silk sericin in domains like development of personal care

products could open up novel profitable avenues. This would further catalyse the building up of scientific repository and creation of non-mulberry-silk based scientific innovations for practical biomedical applications. The wild silks possess health related characteristics. Products made from these silks are popularised for these special qualities. Such added values of vanya silks will stimulate their increased utilization at National and International level. Vanya silk culture is neither detrimental to the food plants available in forests, nor disturbing the forest ecology. When Vanya silkworms are reared on the food plants, they feed on the leaves and the litters spread in and around the plant, resulting in effective nutrient recycling. In recent times, Vanya silks have assumed more importance in view of the scope for the transformation of this age- old tradition into industry with immense potential. However, the continuous cutting of forests has resulted in depletion of non-mulberry food plants. One should always keep this in mind that vanya sericulture holds great promise for the world forestry as a supplementary activity. The importance of these wild silk producing insects and their host plants should be studies and explored for betterment of mankind. Being forest based, the wild silkworms contribute to the development of sustainable natural environment, which is very much required these days, since ozone layer is very much in threat due to rapid industrialization and other man made hazards. Therefore, there is a need to initiate conservation awareness programme for the local communities by introducing the concept of silk moth farming, the practice of which not only provides substantial economic gain to tribal population but also helps to conserve forests and regional biodiversity. Conservation of wild population is much easier than that of domestic population provided that can be carried out in-situ. Efforts should also be made for ex-situ conservation, protection and proliferation of wild silkmoths through planned and collaborative efforts of state and central government agencies. Encouragement of traditional skills such as maintenance of sacred groves, rewarding local conservators and organization and management of eco-tourism would greatly help the conservation programme.

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