( 1 *M.Sc. (Agri.) in Sericulture, 2 Retired Prof. and Head, 3 Assistant Prof., 4 Assistant Prof., 5 Assistant Prof., 6 Retired Assoc. Prof. and Head) Eco. Env. & Cons. 29 (1) : 2023; pp. (309-313) Copyright@ EM International ISSN 0971–765X Effect of Season on Reproductive Parameters of Muga Silkworm (Antheraea assamensis Helfer) Dipankar Saikia 1 *, Lohit Ch. Dutta 2 , Monimala Saikia 3 , Th. Aruna Singha 4 , Inee Gogoi 5 and Dipika Das 6 1,2,3,4 Department of Sericulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, India 5 Department of Entomology, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, India 6 Department of Agril. Statistics, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, India (Received 24 August, 2022; Accepted 14 October, 2022) ABSTRACT The study was undertaken at the Department of Sericulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat (Assam) to find out the impact of season on reproductive parameters of muga silkworm, Antheraea assamensis Helfer in autumn and spring season. The study revealed that though the fecundity was registered better in autumn; hatching percentage of egg (seed) of the muga silk moth performed better in spring season. Although season had significant effect on weight of eggs but non significant effect was observed on oviposition period and hatching period of muga silk moth eggs. Key words: Autumn, Fecundity, Hatching percentage, Mating duration, Muga silkworm, Spring Introduction Muga silkworm, Antheraea assamensis Helfer, a semi domesticated species belonging to saturniidae fam- ily is indigenous to north–eastern region of India viz ., Assam and its neighbouring states of Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram. Among these states, muga silk production is confined mainly to the state of Assam. Assam is the only state which is engaged in the production of reeling cocoons, while the other states have the privilege of producing major quantity of seed co- coons for commercial multiplication. Muga silk is not only famous for its unique golden colour but is also considered as the pride of Assam. The elegant aesthetic appeal of the natural silk is probably un- paralleled in the history of textiles. Most of the species of Antheraea are polyphagous and it is one of the largest genera in the saturniidae family where most species produce valuable silk, which has not yet been domesticated for commercial exploitation. Muga silkworm is multivoltine and consists of 5-6 crops in a year out of which two are commercial crops viz., Jethua (spring) and Katia (au- tumn). The key factor of sericulture industry is seed and availability of good quality silkworm seed is vital for viable sericulture industry. Good quality of seed refers to richness of egg laying, viability, uni- form hatching and subsequently good rearing per- formance of the progeny (Ullal and Narashimhanna, 1981). Several factors contribute to production of good quality eggs. The biotic and abiotic factors of the environment during different seasons highly in- fluence the life cycle features of the Antheraea mylitta DOI No.: http://doi.org/10.53550/EEC.2023.v29i01.045