Specifically the domesticated silkworm (Bombyx mori), raised for silk production.
My grandmother's family used to raise silkworms.
Silkworms grow by eating mulberry leaves.
In the past, many farmers in this region raised silkworms.
Silkworms eat a large amount of mulberry leaves every day.
Before long, the silkworms began to spin their cocoons.
野蚕 refers to wild, undomesticated silk-producing moths, in contrast to 蚕, which is bred and raised by humans for silk.
芋虫 is a general term for any caterpillar and can look similar to 蚕, but 蚕 specifically means the domesticated silk-producing silkworm.
蚕 is the silkworm insect itself, while 繭 is the cocoon that the silkworm spins around itself.
桑 is the mulberry tree whose leaves are eaten, while 蚕 is the silkworm that eats them, so the two are easily mixed up in sericulture contexts despite naming different things.
蚕 is the silkworm insect itself, while 養蚕 refers to the whole practice of raising silkworms for silk.
counter for small animals · counter for rolls of cloth · archaic counter for horses · roll of cloth
Standard kanji spelling for the domesticated silkworm.
Katakana spelling commonly used in scientific or educational contexts.
Outdated kanji form; not used in modern Japanese.
The native word developed from older かひこ, literally a silkworm kept and raised by people, from 飼い and an old word こ meaning “silkworm.” The single character 蚕 is a later conventional spelling.