Effect of temperature and relative humidity on the oak tasar silkworm Antheraea prolylei jolly

The effect of temperature and relative humidity on the rearing of Antheraea prolylei Jolly in Manipur was studied for two cropping periods (2007, 2008) in three seasons viz., spring, summer and autumn. The study revealed that the larval periods varied from 32.0–39.4, 34.4–40.4 and 42.8–48.6 days in the spring, summer and autumn seasons, respectively. The effective rates of rearing were 46.6, 35.4 and 25.0% in spring, summer and autumn, respectively. The correlation studies indicated that mean temperature and relative humidity showed significant positive influence during summer and spring, while in autumn it was negative.