Bombyx Batryticatus (Cylindrical, curved and shrunken, grayish-white light brown, covered with white powder frost, round head with eight pairs of legs, distinct segments, silk threads tangled, hard and brittle, easily broken, fishy odor)

Stir-fried Bombyx Batryticatus (Silk gland ring, silk thread, glassy mirror-like fracture)

【Name】

Bombyx Batryticatus

 【Source】

Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic of Materia Medica, Middle Grade, Silkworm

 【Common Usage Level】

B

 【Origin】

The dried body of the silkworm larva Bombyx mori L. (family Bombycidae) that has died from infection with the fungus Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill.

 【Characteristics】

Cylindrical, mostly curved and shrunken. Length approximately 2~5 cm, diameter approximately 4~7 mm. Outer surface grayish-white or light brown, often covered with a white powdery frost. Head, feet, and segments are clearly discernible. Often with silk threads entangled around the body. Head yellowish-brown, roughly circular. Eight pairs of legs, protruding. Hard and brittle in texture, easily broken; the fracture surface is flat, color varies from brownish-black, mostly shiny, outer layer is white, appears powdery, inside there are 4 brown shiny circles. Slightly rotten, fishy odor, slightly salty taste.

 【Processing】

1. Raw Bombyx Batryticatus 2. Stir-fried Bombyx Batryticatus

 【Identification】

《Lei Gong Pao Zhi Lun》: “Use Bombyx Batryticatus that died, the white and straight ones are the best.” 《Ben Cao Jing Ji Zhu》: “Now see the small white ones, resembling saltiness, are good.” 《Zheng Lei Ben Cao》: “Now see the small white ones, resembling saltiness, are good,” “Use those that are white from natural death and straight are the best.” 《Ben Cao Yan Yi Bu Yi》: “White Bombyx Batryticatus, only the first batch of silkworms that are white and straight are the best.” 《Ben Cao Gang Mu》: “Now see the small white ones, resembling saltiness, are good,” “Only use those that are white and straight, and eat mulberry leaves are good.” 《Ben Cao Bei Yao》: “The best are the ones from the first batch of silkworms that are white and straight.” 《Liang Lie Jian Bie》: “The ones that are white in color, straight in shape, and hard in texture are good.”
Bombyx Batryticatus is best when “Shangshan silkworms” are infected with white stiff disease and die. This kind of Bombyx Batryticatus is hard and heavy, with a white outer skin, and the broken surface is black and shiny like gelatin, with white powder on the outside (white powder). If the inoculum is inoculated later, and the silkworm dies in the cocoon, it is commonly called short Bombyx Batryticatus, and the quality is inferior. There are also people who put healthy Shangshan silkworms into lime to kill them. The outside of the silkworm has white powder and the inside has silk. The texture is soft and has a bad smell. The white powder on the outside can be wiped off by hand and is not suitable for medicinal use.

 【Identification Terminology】

1. Silk Gland Ring: The cross-section of Bombyx Batryticatus, the four rings formed by the coagulation of the original silk gland liquid.
2. Silk Thread: Specifically refers to the Bombyx Batryticatus section with four bright brown or bright black rings, shaped like a silk thread ring.
3. Glassy Mirror-like Fracture: Describes the Bombyx Batryticatus medicinal material as hard and brittle, easily broken, the fracture surface is flat, the outer layer is white, appears powdery, the middle is brownish-black, and the fracture surface has 4 brownish, shiny gelatinous circles, which are the silk gland rings.

 【Category】

Invertebrates