The adult silk moth is about 2.5 cms in length and pale creamy or white in colour. The moths are dioecious (male and female moths are separate). In the female, due to the heavy body and generally weak wings flight is impossible. The female moths are larger than the male.
The body of the moth is divided into three parts namely head, thorax and abdomen. The head has got a pair of compound eyes and there are two antennae. There are three segments in the thorax- these are the prothorax, the mesothorax and the metathorax. The prothorax is quite big. The moth has got three pairs of legs and there are two pairs of wings.
The female moth generally does not feed during its very short life of about 2-3 days.