Impact of cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus on Oak Tasar Silkworm, Antheraea proylei Jolly (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)

Among the diseases causing microbial organisms, cypovirus (CVP) has been found to be very important from the view point of tasar silk production. In this article, impact of CPV infection has been studied in terms of types of haemocytes present in the oak tasar silkworm; changes in the haemocytes as a result of cypovirus (CPV) infection; variation in total haemocyte count (THC) between normal and cypovirus infected larvae; changes that take place in the mid gut due to virus infection; food consumption pattern between the normal and virus infected worms. These aspects are compared between III and IV instar larvae of both normal and virus infected silkworms.