Silkworms molt six times in their life, and the main order is ant silkworm → second instar silkworm → third instar silkworm → fourth instar silkworm → fifth instar silkworm → pupa → moth.

Silkworms go through the following molting process in their life:

1. Eggs

Newborn eggs are pale yellow, flat and oval, with a thickness of about 0.5 ~ 0.6 mm and a diameter of about 1 ~ 1.2 mm. The color of the eggs will gradually darken, but they will not change color if they are not fertilized.

2. Ant silkworm (first instar silkworm)

Silkworm eggs have black hair just after hatching, which is called ant silkworm or hairy silkworm, about 3 mm. After the second day, the body color gradually turns white, and it takes about four days to molt to become a second-instar silkworm.

3. Second-to fifth-instar silkworms

After molting, the ant silkworm becomes a second-instar silkworm, and its body color turns white. After molting for four times, it will increase by one year. After molting for four times, the silkworm enters the fifth instar, and the growth of the body is increasing every time, especially in the fourth and fifth instars.

4. Silkworm pupae

After entering the fifth instar, silkworms begin to spin silk and form cocoons in about seven days. In about 2~3 days, the silkworm will shed its cocoon again and then pupate. Their bodies become short, fat and brown, and they can emerge in about ten days.

5. Silkworm moth

Silkworm moth is an adult silkworm. Its body consists of head, chest and abdomen. There are a pair of tentacles in the head and wings in the chest, but they can't fly because they are not fully developed.