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Morus Alba (mulberry) trees Morus alba trees used to harvest leaves for silk moths to feed on. Young silkworms need soft new leaves because their jaws aren&#039;t as strong yet. Silk moths can live on some other leaves as well, but morus is their favourite. An additional benefit is that morus trees are fast growing. Because Morus alba trees prefer warmer climates, growing silkworms is also bound to warmer climates.<br /> <br /> <br /> Silkworm eating these morus leaves:<br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/99128/silkworm_4th_instar.html" title="Silkworm 4th instar"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/134/99128_thumb.JPG?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=UIL9WnRgr5js18nWXZdYC7myDWs%3D" width="200" height="118" alt="Silkworm 4th instar A 4th stage instar silk moth caterpillar. Here it feeds on it&#039;s food of choice, morus alba (white mulberry) leaves. In it&#039;s life a single caterpillar consumes about 1,5kg of morus leaves. At the farm there is an orchard growing morus trees, providing leaves for the caterpillars.<br /> <br /> These silk worm caterpillars are part of a live display in the Alphonse Daudet (a French novelist) museum. The museum is mainly about the life on a farm in the Ard&egrave;che area (south east France) in the 19th century. <br /> Growing silkworms in the south of France took off in the 16&#039;s after French soil scientist Olivier de Serres published a book about growing silk worms and morus trees. The morus tree grows well in the warm climate of southern France. Growing silkworms was an important economic activity for the area until the P&eacute;brine disease around the year 1865 devastated the silk worm population. Biologist Louis Pasteur was send in to investigate and found a system for recognising infected moths in 1870, but the growing of silk worms never fully recovered. The farm this museum is located in was left by the Baudet family after the 1865 P&eacute;brine disease.<br /> <br /> Adult:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/99127/silk_moth_adult.html<br /> <br /> Morus Alba trees orchard:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/99130/morus_alba_mulberry_trees.html<br /> Bombyx mori,France,Geotagged,Summer,bombix mori,silkworm" /></a></figure><br /> France,Geotagged,Morus alba,Summer Click/tap to enlarge Country intro

Morus Alba (mulberry) trees

Morus alba trees used to harvest leaves for silk moths to feed on. Young silkworms need soft new leaves because their jaws aren't as strong yet. Silk moths can live on some other leaves as well, but morus is their favourite. An additional benefit is that morus trees are fast growing. Because Morus alba trees prefer warmer climates, growing silkworms is also bound to warmer climates.


Silkworm eating these morus leaves:

Silkworm 4th instar A 4th stage instar silk moth caterpillar. Here it feeds on it's food of choice, morus alba (white mulberry) leaves. In it's life a single caterpillar consumes about 1,5kg of morus leaves. At the farm there is an orchard growing morus trees, providing leaves for the caterpillars.<br /> <br /> These silk worm caterpillars are part of a live display in the Alphonse Daudet (a French novelist) museum. The museum is mainly about the life on a farm in the Ardèche area (south east France) in the 19th century. <br /> Growing silkworms in the south of France took off in the 16's after French soil scientist Olivier de Serres published a book about growing silk worms and morus trees. The morus tree grows well in the warm climate of southern France. Growing silkworms was an important economic activity for the area until the Pébrine disease around the year 1865 devastated the silk worm population. Biologist Louis Pasteur was send in to investigate and found a system for recognising infected moths in 1870, but the growing of silk worms never fully recovered. The farm this museum is located in was left by the Baudet family after the 1865 Pébrine disease.<br /> <br /> Adult:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/99127/silk_moth_adult.html<br /> <br /> Morus Alba trees orchard:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/99130/morus_alba_mulberry_trees.html<br /> Bombyx mori,France,Geotagged,Summer,bombix mori,silkworm

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The White Mulberry

''Morus alba'', known as white mulberry, is a short-lived, fast-growing, small to medium sized mulberry tree, which grows to 10–20 m tall. The species is native to northern China, and is widely cultivated and naturalized elsewhere. It is known as शहतूत in Hindi,''Tuta'' in Sanskrit, ''Tuti'' in Marathi and ''Toot'' in Persian and in Armenian.

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Similar species: Rosales
Species identified by Joost Thissen
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By Joost Thissen

Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives
Uploaded Jul 30, 2020. Captured Aug 22, 2018 14:31 in 710 Chemin de la Vignasse, 07120 Saint-Alban-Auriolles, France.
country flag of France Explore France 1,185 762 1
  • SM-G930F
  • f/1.7
  • 1/1510s
  • ISO50
  • 4.2mm
View light conditions of this photo
Captured in the summer. More summer photos.