A domesticated moth, Samia ricini, of the family Saturniidae, the giant silk moths, one of only two fully domesticated lepidopteran species along with the domestic silk moth, Bombyx mori. It is a domestic polyhybrid bred for centuries for the silk it produces, derived from several related species in the genus Samia, including Samia cynthia and Samia canningi, and it takes its common name from its host plant, the castor plant, Ricinus communis, on which its caterpillars feed. Eri silk, the fiber it produces, is spun from open-ended cocoons into a durable, cream-colored cloth and is produced mainly in the northeastern Indian states of Assam, Nagaland and Meghalaya, with smaller-scale production in Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.
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