The rearing of silk moths in order to obtain silkfibers for commercial purpose is called sericulture.Silkworm is considered as a useful insects becauseit produces valuablesilk fiber that is extractedfrom cocoon and used to make comfortable silkclothes, saris, shirts, t-shirts, etc.

The name of common species of silkworms found in Nepalare:
- Seri silkworm
- Eri Silkworm

Seri silkworm eats the leaves of mulberry asitsfood.
In pupal stage of its lifecycle it produces silkthread of about 1500 mlength.

We all know that, the leaves of mulberry are not availableduring winter. If available also, the silkwormcannotsurvive there because of coldness. And theeggof Silkwormonly hatches once it get temperature of 18C to 25C. So,it can be stored for the desired time below 18c. As aresult, to grow the silkworm in favorableseason, itkept below18cduring winter.

The features of artificial silk are:
- It & not shiny, light and durable as natural.

Eri silkworm is the species of Silkworm thatfeedson castor leaves.

a.Larva ofsilk mothand larva of honey bee.

Larva of silk moth	Larva of honey bee
It hatches within 11 days.	It hatches within 3 days.
It is found on mulberry leaves.	It is found in hexagonal wax cell.
They search and take food themselves.	They are fee by the workers bee.
They have dorsal horn.	They don't have dorsal horn.

A cocoon is the spherical cover of the pupa of asilkworminside whichpuparemains passive.
When larva is fully grown up, I develops a pair ofsalivary glandswhich secretes liquid silk. On emerging,the liquid silk hardens and formsa silk fibers. Thesilk fibers to wrap around the body of the caterpillar toform a cocoon. In thisway, cocoon is produced.

For obtaining silk, the cocoon are treated with the hotwater or placed in a hot oven to kill the pupae insidethe cocoon. Because it helps to produce thread easilywithout breaking. Otherwise if we allowed to hatch, theywould cut the silk thread on emerging that makes thehard or unwinding easy without break. In thisway,silk isextracted from the cocoon.

The Importance of mulberry plants in sericulture are:
-It is need for the completion of Lifecyleof silkworm.
- It is needed forlaying eggsforsilk moth.
- The larvae eats a lot of mulberry leaves for growing up.

The pupa are killed inside the cocoon during extraction ofthe silk thread because:
-If we allowed them to hatch them they would cut the silkthread onemerging.
- It make enable to hard sericin portion to get softened.

a.Pupa and cocoon.

Pupa	Cocoon
It is the third stage of lifecycle.	It is the spherical cover of pupa of silk moth.
It is found inside cocoon.	It covers pupa.
It is living beings.	It doesn't have life.
It remains passive inside cocoon.	It protects the pupa from external dangers.

b. Pupa of silk moth and pupa of honey bee.

Pupa of silk moth	Pupa of honey bee
It is found inside cocoon.	It is found inside hexagonal wax cells.
This stage last for (12-14) days.	This stage...

Larva stage of the life cycle of a silk moth will beaffected immediately if mulberry plants die suddenlybecause the larva is voraciousfeederand feedingon mulberry leaves for long time as their food is cleanand dry mulberry leaves.

We know that, the eggs of silk moth hatchesto larvaat 18Cto 25C. After the larvae fully developed by the completionof different stages, it develops a pair of salivary glandwhichsecretes liquid silk. The liquid silk hardens and form a cocoon.The cocoon is treated with hot water to kill the pupaeinside. After this, the silk thread is extracted nearly about 1000 to 1500 mby a single cocoon.

The economic importance of sericulture are:
- It can be exported to increase theeconomy status of farmers.
- Employment opportunities for women.
- It can be practiced with very lowhand holding.
- All things used in sericulture con be sold.
- Sericulture getseffective market.

Three precautions to be taken during sericultureare:
- The eggs should be stored below the temp 18Cfor long term.
- Clean and dry mulberry leaves should be fed tolarvae.
- A few cocoon of good quality should be keptasseed.

Honey bees are social organisms which live in colonieswhere all the individuals are of same family.
Following are the importance of honey bee:
- It produce honey which is protein rich diet.
- It is used for making medicines, healing wounds.
- It helps in pollination while collectingnectar.
- They help in environment balance.

The bodies of honey bee is divided into the head,thoraxand abdomen. The thoraxconsists of 3 pairs ofjointed legs and a pair of wings. The head consists of a pairof antenna, a pair of compound eyes, and mouth parts. Themouthparts consist of a tongue or labium which can beenclosed near the head by the labial palps and maxillae.Nectar can be drawn up the grooved surface of the labiumis the head. The abdomen elongated and segmented.

Honey bees are social insects which live in colonies where all the individualsare of same family. They are division of laborin which individuals carry outparticular duties. They produce honey. They live in disciplineand their life is very busy.

Drones	Workers
They are workless.	They are very busy in working.
They don't have poison gland.	They have poison gland.
Their function is to fertilize new queen.	Their work is to collect nectar and feed to larva and queen.
They are male bees.	...

The division of labor in the honey bee are:
a.Queen bee
- To lay eggs
-To control and guide the colony by releasingspecial order.
b. Drone bee.
- To fertilize the queen.
- To keep the hive warm.

c. Workers bee.
- To be busy in outdoor works.
- To clean the cell.
- To build honey comb using wax.

The drones bee are the male bees smaller than queen andlargerthan the worker bee with black and hairy body.
Workers are the smallestbees in the colony which be busy oncollecting the nectar and storing it.
The wax combs are built hanging vertically with a gap ofabout half an inch separating each one. Workersprepare the cells accordingto their size. For workercells are about 5 mm acrossand drone cells are about6 mm across. The egg is laid to each cell by queen and thelite life cycle of bee is...

The process of leaving theold hive in a swarmbyold queen and some of the workers usually inspringor summer where the nectar flow at itsgreatest is called swarming.

The advantages of honey bees are:
-They produce honey which is protein rich diet.
- They are used for making medicines, healingwounds.
- They help in pollination while collecting nectars.
- They help in eco-balance.

There is only one queen found in colony. They are largerthan drones and workers. The abdomen of queen islarge and slender. The head is smaller and proboscisis shorter. The queen has special smell in its body.All the worker and drones identify their colony on the basis of the smell of the queen.

Yes, honey bees are very important insects for humanbeings. It produces honey, which is high in protein. Thehoney produced by it also can be used for makingmedicines. Also, these bees helps in pollinationof the differentplants & crops. They also play equalrole to balancethe environment. So, these insectsare very important for us.