Silkworm As Cuisine Beondegi dish from Korea, made from silkworm pupae.

Like many insect species, silkworm pupae are eaten in some cultures.

• Assam: They are boiled for extracting silk and the boiled pupae are eaten directly with chilly pepper, salt, or herbs.
• Korea: They are boiled and seasoned to make a popular snack food known as "Beondegi".
• China: Street vendors sell roasted silkworm pupae.
• Japan: Silkworms are usually served as a "Tsukudani" (boiled in a sweet-sour sauce made with soy sauce and sugar).

Silkworms have also used as space food on long-term missions by astronauts.

Traditional Chinese medicine

In traditional Chinese medicine, silkworm is the source of the "stiff silkworm", which is made from fifth-instar larvae which have died of white muscardine disease (a lethal fungal infection). It is believed to dispel flatulence, dissolve phlegm, and relieve spasms.