Silk Types and Varieties
topic
Major silk types: Mulberry silk (Bombyx mori, 90% of production, domesticated silkworm feeding on mulberry leaves—finest, whitest, most uniform, $40-80/kg raw), Tussar/Tasar silk (Antheraea mylitta, wild silkworm on oak/arjun trees—golden-brown color, coarser texture, 8-10% of production, $30-60/kg), Eri silk (Samia ricini, non-violent silk as moths allowed to emerge, castor plant diet—shorter staple requiring spinning, soft, thermal, 5%, $20-40/kg), and Muga silk (Antheraea assamensis, endemic to Assam India, golden yellow, durable, rare, 1%, $80-150/kg). Spider silk (wild harvest or biosynthetic—extraordinary strength 1.3 GPa, elasticity 30-40%, research stage, $100,000+/kg).
Role
Mulberry silk dominates commercial market due to domestication enabling controlled production, white color for dyeing, and superior fineness (10-13 μm vs. wild silks 20-40 μm), while wild silks serve specialty markets valuing natural colors, texture variety, and cultural heritage, with spider silk representing future biomaterial applications due to exceptional mechanical properties.