• Silk is produced by several varieties of silkworms.silk image by aledalma from Fotolia.com
  
  Silk is produced by painstakingly unraveling the cocoons of certain varieties of caterpillars. These caterpillars are commonly known as silkworms, and there are several different varieties that create different types of silk.
  
  

Bombyx mori

• The Bombyx mori species of silkworm relies exclusively on mulberry leaves as food, and the silk that it produces is known as mulberry silk.The bulk of the world's commercial silk comes from the Bombyx mori. This species is raised entirely indoors.
  
  

Antherea mylitta

• Antherea mylitta, along with Anthera perniyi and Anthera royeli, are used in the production of tasar silk. Tassar silk is also known as tussah silk. Raw silk from the Antherea mylitta has a coppery color, and the silk that is produced is less lustrous than mulberry silk. The silk produced by this species of silkworm tends to be used for furnishings. These silkworms can be cultivated domestically or collected from the wild.
  
  

Antherea assama

• The Antherea assama produces a golden yellow silk thread. This species is found only in the Brahmaputra Valley in India, and they produce muga silk. They are considered to be only semidomesticated due to the fact that they must be partially cultivated outdoors.
  
  

Philosamia ricini

• The Philosamia ricini silkworm produces eri silk and feed off of castor leaves. This type of silkworm produces very uneven fibers. Because of this, they cannot be reeled and must instead be spun. The silk produced by this silkworm is noted for its natural shine and its heat-retaining properties. It is often called wild silk because it is primarily produced by the tribal communities of Tamil Nadu.