What Do Silkworms Eat? A Detailed Guide to Silkworm Diet and Feeding Methods

Silkworms can be divided into several types, including mulberry silkworms, oak silkworms, Chinese oak silkworms, and amber silkworms, and different types of silkworms eat different things.

Mulberry silkworm

The mulberry silkworm is an oligophagous insect. Besides preferring mulberry leaves, it can also eat lettuce leaves, cudrania leaves, paper mulberry leaves, elm leaves, star-of-Bethlehem, dandelion, and lettuce leaves, among others. Mulberry leaves are the most suitable natural food for silkworms.

Oak silkworm

The oak silkworm feeds on the leaves of Fagaceae Quercus plants such as Quercus acutissima, Quercus mongolica, and Quercus dentata, and can also feed on the leaves of plants such as Salix viminalis, Malus baccata, chestnut, maple, pear, and apple.

Chinese oak silkworm

It feeds on the leaves of Fagaceae Quercus plants such as Quercus liaotungensis, Quercus mongolica, Quercus variabilis, and Quercus acutissima.

Amber silkworm

The amber silkworm can eat the leaves of several plants. It mainly feeds on the leaves of Phoebe zhennan, and also eats the leaves of evergreen trees such as Rubiaceae and Damnacanthus, as well as the leaves of plants such as Michelia and Cinnamomum.