The silkworm, the larval stage of the domesticated silk moth (Bombyx mori), is the primary source of commercial silk. Extensive domestication over millennia has fundamentally altered its biology, resulting in an organism entirely dependent on human care. This makes the question of its habitat complex, spanning historical wild origins and modern controlled environments. The modern silkworm’s life is defined by sericulture, a specialized form of farming dedicated to silk production.
The Ancestral Wild Habitat
The domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori, is no longer found in the wild, having lost the ability to survive outside human-managed systems. Its wild ancestor, the Chinese wild silk moth (Bombyx mandarina), still exists and provides a picture of the silkworm’s original habitat. Bombyx mandarina is naturally distributed across East Asia, from northern India to Russia, thriving in forests where its food source, the mulberry tree, grows. Domestication, which began over 5,000 years ago, genetically separated B. mori from B. mandarina. The domesticated moth lost its natural coloration, fear of predators, and ability to fly, making it completely reliant on humans for survival.
Life in Managed Sericulture
Today, virtually all silkworms reside in specialized, indoor facilities dedicated to sericulture. These environments are engineered to maximize silk yield and protect the delicate larvae from environmental threats. Precise climate control is necessary because the domesticated silkworm is highly sensitive to fluctuations in temperature and humidity. Rearing houses maintain a constant temperature, often between 24°C and 28°C, and tightly regulate relative humidity, ideally between 80% and 85% during vulnerable larval stages. This dependence on human intervention means the silkworm’s true habitat is the highly technical, specialized infrastructure of a silk farm.
The Critical Role of the Mulberry Plant
The defining factor of the silkworm’s habitat is its dietary requirement: the mulberry plant. The larvae are monophagous, meaning their diet is almost exclusively composed of leaves from the white mulberry tree, Morus alba. This necessity dictates the geographic placement of sericulture operations globally, even though the worms are raised indoors. Mulberry leaves provide the specific nutrients required for the silkworm to develop and produce high-quality silk. While artificial diets have been developed, fresh mulberry leaves remain the traditional and preferred food source, making accessible mulberry cultivation a prerequisite for any silkworm farm.