Silk'-worm, n.

noun

(-wûrm), n. [A-S. seolceyrm.] (Entom.) The caterpillar which produces silk; the larve of a white or cream-colored moth (Bombyx mori).

Silk-worms feed upon the leaves of the mulberry, and weave a cocoon of silk, in which they undergo the pupa change.

Silk-worm gut, a substance prepared from the silk-worm, used in making lines for angling. See GUT.—Silk-worm rot, a disease of silk-worms; muscardine. See MUSCARDINE.

A silkworm rests on a large leaf. — Silk-worm.

An engraved illustration of a moth with its wings spread.

An illustration of a segmented pupa or chrysalis. — Pupa, or Chrysalis.