silkworm

noun

Etymology: From Middle English silkwirm, from Old English seolcwyrm (“silkworm”), equivalent to silk + worm.

1. Any of various caterpillars of moths that produce silk cocoons, especially Bombyx mori, the source of most commercial silk.

   “Each of the two breeding periods, one in spring and one in summer, requires 2 to 3 tons of fresh leaves to feed 80,000 silkworms that will produce, on average, 40 pounds (18 kilograms) of silk fiber.”