About
The character 蟓 is formed by the insect radical 虫 and the phonetic element 象. It primarily denotes a late-maturing silkworm variety used in agriculture, and can also refer to certain grubs or large caterpillars. The 虫 radical classifies it as an insect, while 象 provides the pronunciation. The existence of this character highlights how sericulture developed a specialized lexicon to differentiate among the various stages, types, and maturation cycles of silkworms, a necessity for the extensive silk industry.
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