noun
Specifically the domesticated silkworm (Bombyx mori), raised for silk production.
蚕は桑の葉を食べて育つ。
Silkworms grow by eating mulberry leaves.
昔、この地域では多くの農家が蚕を飼っていた。
In the past, many farmers in this region raised silkworms.
Outdated kanji form; not used in modern Japanese.
The reading かいこ is a compound of 飼い (kai, 'raising') and 蚕 (ko, 'silkworm'), literally meaning 'raised silkworm'. The kanji 蚕 is a pictograph of a silkworm.