Uzi Fly is a Menace to Silkworms & Sericulture

Before moving to Uzi Fly, let us first talk about Sericulture – the process of silkworm rearing and then we will move on to why uzi fly is a menace to silkworms.

Silkworm Rearing or Sericulture or Silk Farming in India goes back to 140 AD and India is now the second largest producer of silk in the world after China. Sericulture is the process of cultivation searing of silkworms for the production of raw silk.

 

The process starts with raising of food plants for silkworm, rearing of silkworm for cocoons production, then reeling and spinning of cocoon for yarn production. Bombyx mori is the most widely used species of silkworms in Sericulture industry.

The Basic Stages of Production of Silk in Sericulture

1. Silk moth lays eggs
2. Eggs hatch and the caterpillars are fed with mulberry leaves
3. In about 25 days, silkworms are 10,000 times heavier than when they hatched and are ready to spin a silk cocoon
4. The two glands in the silkworm’s head produces the silk and it is forced out in liquid form via spinnerets. The silk solidifies the moment it comes in contact with the air
5. A Silkworm spins approximately 1 mile of filament and encloses itself in a cocoon in 2-3 days. Approximately 5500 silkworms are required to produce 1 kg silk.
6. Silk is obtained from the cocoons (undamaged)
7. These silk filaments are wound on a reel. One cocoon has around 1000 yards of silk filament and one thread of silk consists of up to 48 individual silk filaments.

As with the process above, it is really hard for the industry to get silk ready for production. Right from the beginning, if the eggs do not hatch, the process can never happen. And this is where the whole problem starts.

UZI FLY – Predator of Silkworms

The Uzi fly is a species of bristly fly in the family Tachinidae that is a parasitoid of caterpillars and is a problem for silkworm rearing in the tropical regions of South and Southeast Asia. Uzifly, Exorista sorbillans (Louis) (Diptera: Tachinidae) is a major and serious endo-larval parasitoid of silkworm  causing a considerable damage (20-90 %) to Silkworm crops particularly during November-April. Nearly 50-70% cocoon rejection has been reported in spite of good harvest during winter (February-March) crop.

A single mated female Uzi fly lays about 300-1,000 eggs over a period of about 9-25 days depending upon the seasons. Once hatched, the maggot penetrates into the body of the silkworm. They feed on various tissues of the silk worm body and the host larva dies by the time the maggots are mature to escape out from the host body.

The silkworm larvae infested up to early fifth instar die before they reach the spinning stage. If infestations take place in the late fifth instar the mature maggot comes out by piercing the cocoons rendering them unfit for mass reeling.

Hence the Uzi fly is a real danger to silkworms and thus a threat to the silk rearing industry. Now, in order to control and prevent the damage, one cannot rely on insecticidal methods as the source i.e. silkworm is itself harmed because of insecticides. So there is a need for a better control method. So with this we can clearly state that uzi fly is a menace to silkworms.

And that is when our Uzi Fly Traps comes into picture.

BUY UZI FLY TRAPS TODAY

Our fly traps are completely organic and does not harm humans or silkworms, but only traps Uzi flies. The installation process is easy and works like a charm. Once adding water and placing the Uzi fly trap under sunlight, it activates within 24-48 hours and starts the process of trapping flies. The lure inside is completely organic and once the fly is in, it is trapped inside forever. And once the bag is full, you can dispose it off without any danger to silkworms.

Stay Worry-Free and let our Uzi fly traps work for you. You focus upon your harvest and how to improve upon other areas that needs your attention. Buy Now and get our uzi fly traps delivered at your doorstep.