Why are some silkworm cocoons yellow and some white?

Answer 1

Now that you mention it. I recall the cocoon of my silkworm being yellow. Hmmm. We each had one in grade school. Maybe it's an ethnic thing. I don't remember. Male and female maybe? Ok, I'll look it up. brb
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Here you go.
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Why are some cocoons yellow while others are white?

It's genetic. Some people have blue eyes and others have brown eyes. Almost all commercial varieties of silkworms make white silk. There are also silkworm varieties that make yellow, orange and pale-green silk. When you cross-breed a "white-silk" silkworm moth with a "yellow-silk" silkworm moth, you get some yellow offspring and some white offspring. When you have a mom with blue eyes and a dad with brown eyes, some of their kids will have brown eyes and others will be blue-eyed. Same idea. WIth people, brown eyes are dominant. With silkworms, the colored silk is dominant over white.

Wild silkworms all make yellow silk, to blend in with dead leaves. Over the centuries, silkworm farmers selectively bred for whiter and whiter silk until they achieved the pure white we see today. They like the pure white because it can be dyed any color without having to bleach it first. Nowadays, with natural and organic products gaining in popularity, people are selectively breeding for colored silks. I propagate eggs for white, yellow, orange and green silk. Cotton farmers have recently begun to breed for colored cottons and have a wide variety of naturally-colored cottons, including yellow, pink, pale-green and orange.

Answer 2

Silkworm Cocoon

Answer 3

Wild silkworms all make yellow silk, to be camouflaged with dead yellow leaves. Over the centuries, silkworm farmers selectively bred for whiter and whiter silk until they achieved the pure white we see today,

Answer 4

The difference in colour of the cocoons is just genetics just like you and I have different colour hair and eyes etc.

Answer 5

temperature and what they are fed