A Preliminary Investigation on the Morphometric Features of Antheraea assamensis Helfer

The non mulberry silkworm Antheraea assamensis is an endemic species which is from North-eastern part of India and exclusively from Assam. The rearing of this silkworm is an age-old practice in this part of India and the silk extruded by this sericigenous insect is the exclusive part of Assamese culture. We attempted to measure the larval and silk gland weight and length along with the correlation of these parameters to elucidate the morphometrics of this silkworm. Morphometric measurements have been considered to compare the silk gland and gradual growth of the larva and the data have been statistically analyzed with regression analysis to find out the significance and correlation levels. It could be observed that the larval and silk gland growth has been positively correlated and can be calculated with the help of specific regression equations. This current investigation evaluated the morphometric measurements of A. assamensis larval stages and silk gland with the help of the regression equation y = mx + c. The study will pave the path of detailed exploration of this endemic silkworm for better understanding of its morphometrics.