Samia ricini is the only fully domesticated member of the Saturniidae. It is multivoltine, reared entirely indoors, polyphagous, and tolerant of a wide range of biotic and abiotic stress — the combination that allows year-round rearing and makes ericulture suited to integrated farming systems. India produced 7,766 MT of eri silk in 2025-26 from over 1.30 lakh families in the North East, about 1.28 lakh of them in Assam; the region contributes more than 98 % of national eri output.
Samia species of India
| Species | Status | Distribution in India |
|---|---|---|
| Samia ricini | Domesticated | Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh |
| Samia canningi | Wild progenitor of S. ricini | North East, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir |
| Samia kohlli | Wild | Mizoram and Nagaland |
| Samia fulva | Wild, endemic | Andaman and Nicobar Islands |
Life cycle
| Stage | Favourable season | Winter |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 10 days | 12 – 15 days |
| Larva (5 instars, 4 moults) | 22 – 26 days | 30 – 35 days |
| Pupa | 15 – 17 days | 25 – 30 days |
| Adult | 5 – 7 days | 8 – 10 days |
| Complete cycle | 52 – 60 days | 75 – 90 days |
| Stage | Duration | Optimum conditions |
|---|---|---|
| I instar / I moult | 3 days / 24 hours | 27 ± 1 °C, 85 ± 5 % RH |
| II instar / II moult | 2 days / 20 hours | 27 ± 1 °C, 85 ± 5 % RH |
| III instar / III moult | 3 days / 1 day | 27 ± 1 °C, 85 ± 5 % RH |
| IV instar / IV moult | 3 days / 1 day | 25 ± 1 °C, 75 ± 5 % RH |
| V instar | 6 – 7 days | 25 ± 1 °C, 75 ± 5 % RH |
Adults do not feed. The fifth instar alone accounts for about 82 % of lifetime leaf intake — which is why late-age leaf supply, not early-age, is the binding constraint on how many dfls a holding can carry.
Eco-races and pure lines
Twenty-six eco-races of Samia ricini have been characterised and are conserved at CMER&TI, Jorhat, described against ten descriptors covering hatching, larval weight and duration, effective rate of rearing, fecundity, larval and cocoon colour, shell weight and shell percentage. Most produce white cocoons; Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Cachar and Rongpipi produce brick-red cocoons, and five further eco-races segregate for both. Six pure-line strains have been isolated on larval colour and marking.
| Acc. No. | Eco-race | Origin | Larval strains | Cocoon colour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SR-001 | Borduar | Assam | YP, YZ, GBP, GBZ | White |
| SR-002 | Titabar | Assam | YP, YZ, GBP, GBZ | White |
| SR-003 | Khanapara | Assam | YP, GBP | White |
| SR-004 | Nongpoh | Meghalaya | YP, GBP | White |
| SR-005 | Mendipathar | Meghalaya | GBP | White |
| SR-006 | Dhanubhanga | Assam | YP, GBP | White |
| SR-007 | Chuchuyimlang | Nagaland | YP | White and brick-red |
| SR-008 | Lahing | Assam | YP, YZ, GBP, GBZ | White |
| SR-009 | Barpathar | Assam | YP, YZ, GBP, GBZ | White and brick-red |
| SR-010 | Diphu | Assam | YP, YZ, GBP, GBZ | White |
| SR-011 | Adokgri | Meghalaya | YP, GBP | White |
| SR-012 | Lakhimpur | Assam | YP, YS, GBP, GBS | White |
| SR-013 | Dhemaji | Assam | YP, YZ, GBP, GBZ | White and brick-red |
| SR-014 | Kokrajhar | Assam | YP, GBP | Brick-red |
| SR-015 | Imphal | Manipur | YP, GBP | White |
| SR-016 | Cachar | Assam | YP, GBP | Brick-red |
| SR-017 | Dhakuakhana | Assam | YP, GBP | White and brick-red |
| SR-018 | Genung | Meghalaya | YP, GBP | White |
| SR-019 | Jonai | Assam | YS | White |
| SR-020 | Dhansiripar | Nagaland | YP | White |
| SR-021 | Sadiya | Assam | YP | White |
| SR-022 | Tura | Meghalaya | YP | White |
| SR-023 | Jona Kachari | Arunachal Pradesh | YP | White |
| SR-024 | Barpeta | Assam | YP, GBP | Brick-red |
| SR-025 | Ambagaon | Assam | YP | White |
| SR-026 | Rongpipi | Assam | YP, GBP | Brick-red |
YP Yellow Plain · YS Yellow Spotted · YZ Yellow Zebra · GBP Greenish Blue Plain · GBS Greenish Blue Spotted · GBZ Greenish Blue Zebra.
The C2 breed
C2 is a registered high-yielding hybrid developed at CMER&TI by directed selection and hybridisation of SR-018 (Genung) × SR-001 (Borduar). It outperforms local eco-races on every economic character and exceeds the Central Silk Board Hybrid Authorization Committee norms on cocoon yield, single cocoon weight, shell weight and shell percentage. It is best fed on NBR-1 castor, a non-bloomy red cultivar, and also performs on kesseru, borpat, tapioca and borkesseru. It is sensitive to summer heat and needs controlled temperature and humidity.
| Parameter | HAC norm | Local eco-races | C2 breed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fecundity (nos.) | 350 | 322 | 356 |
| Hatching (%) | 85.00 | 79.65 | 83.91 |
| Cocoon yield by weight per DFL (kg) | 0.75 | 0.59 | 0.90 |
| Effective rate of rearing (%) | 85.00 | 79.38 | 84.02 |
| Single cocoon weight (g) | 3.00 | 2.89 | 3.67 |
| Single shell weight (g) | 0.45 | 0.38 | 0.54 |
| Cocoon shell percentage (%) | 14.00 | 13.09 | 14.80 |
C2 falls marginally short of the HAC norm on hatching (83.91 against 85.00) and effective rate of rearing (84.02 against 85.00) while exceeding it comfortably on the four yield characters — the trade-off is stated here rather than rounded away.