Sericogenic Resources — Muga and Eri Silk

Sericulture — rearing silkworms for silk — is one of Assam's most distinctive

bioresources. Besides ordinary mulberry silk (pat), Assam produces two special

non-mulberry (vanya) silks: muga and eri.

Muga silk — the golden silk

• Silkworm: Antheraea assamensis (older name A. assama), family Saturniidae.
• Silk: a natural glossy golden-yellow silk that needs no dyeing; it gets richer with washing and age.
• Endemic to Assam (mainly the Brahmaputra Valley) — it is produced almost nowhere else, and Assam supplies practically all of India's muga. It received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2007.
• Host plants: primary Som (Persea bombycina, syn. Machilus bombycina) and secondary Soalu (Litsea polyantha, syn. L. monopetala), both Lauraceae. The worm is semi-domesticated, reared outdoors on these trees.
• Significance: woven into the traditional mekhela-chador; the town of Sualkuchi is the famous weaving hub.

Eri silk — the peace (ahimsa) silk

• Silkworm: Samia ricini (older names Philosamia ricini / Samia cynthia ricini), family Saturniidae.
• It is fully domesticated (one of only two fully domesticated silkmoths, along with the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori).
• Its cocoon is open at one end, so the moth is allowed to fly out before the silk is collected; the silk is therefore spun, not reeled continuously. Because the insect is not killed, eri is called "ahimsa" (non-violent) or peace silk. ("Eri" comes from the …