Numero di farfalle liberate*
Fiori selvatici impollinati*
Bombyx is the kit that allows you to breed the larvae of the species Bombyx mori , better known as silkworms.
Duration of the experience: about 35 days.
History of silk
Sericulture begins to be practiced in China, around 4000-3000 BC
Legend has it that its birth is due to Empress Xi Ling Shi. After a cocoon had accidentally dropped into her hot cup of tea she noticed the filament that could be made from it. The breeding of silkworms and the procedure for processing cocoons for centuries were procedures kept secret by the Chinese emperors who aspired to maintain a monopoly on the production and sale of this highly prized product. Despite this, in later times, sericulture spread to the rest of the world, playing a role of primary importance also in the economy of our country until the second postwar period.
The bug
The silkworm is an insect belonging to the order of the Lepidoptera. The current scientific name is Bombyx mori or Mulberry Bombyx. The silkworm is an "artificial" species: that is, it would not exist if it had not been bred and selected for millennia by man. It is believed that the starting wild species was Theophila mandarina, a nocturnal butterfly found in various areas of Asia.
Because a kit?
An educational experience
With Bombyx you will be able to breed silkworms with ease and you will be able to see live how their cocoons spin.
It will take you a few minutes a week and you will find everything you need inside the kit (including food).
In about 35 days you can get the eggs and use them the following year for a new cycle!
A jump into the past
Did you know that until a few decades ago Italy was one of the largest silk producers in the world?
Ask your grandparents for example, they will surely have a lot to tell you about how silkworms were raised in the past!
Stimulate curiosity
Bombyx is ideal if you want to closely observe one of the most fascinating phenomena in the natural world.
You will see how the worms wrap themselves in a silk cocoon to turn into a chrysalis, an extraordinary process that has always enchanted man.
