Seasonal variation in larval growth of Eri silkworm (Samia ricini Boisduval) reared on two Ailanthus species

Abstract

Present study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of different seasons in larval growth of eri silkworm (Samia ricini Boisduval) reared on Ailanthus species viz., borpat (Ailanthus grandis) and borkesseru (Ailanthus excelsa). The study revealed that the larval growth parameters of eri silkworm was found better in terms of larval duration, full grown larval weight and matured larval weight on the borpat leaves as compared to the borkesseru leaves. Considering the seasons, the full grown larval weight and matured larval weight were observed significantly higher during the autumn season but the shortest larval duration was observed during the late summer season.

Keywords

• Ailanthus
• Autumn
• Early summer
• Eri silkworm
• Late summer
• Spring