Bombyx mori

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/bombyx-mori

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Bombyx mori
2. What is a Bombyx mori and why is it special?Bombyx mori is a domesticated silkworm that can spin silk threads stronger than steel. It has been bred for thousands of years to produce the finest silk for clothing and art.
3. How does a silkworm make silk?The silkworm’s two big salivary glands produce fibroin and sericin. It pushes liquid silk out of a spinneret near its mouth, and the silk hardens into a long thread as it meets air.

Fibroin: The primary protein that forms the structural component of silk fibers.
Sericin: A gummy protein that coats fibroin filaments, acting as an adhesive and removed during degumming.
Degumming: A process of removing sericin from raw silk filaments to reveal the lustrous fibroin.
Sericulture: The practice of raising silkworms for the commercial production of silk.