[6] This species is variable, with at least 44 identified ecoraces, populations adapted to varied ecological conditions and food plants.

The cocoon is brownish grey, hard, and oval, attached to the host plant by a silken peduncle.

[3] Other plants appearing in its diet include Indian jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana), axlewood (Anogeissus latifolia), jambul (Syzygium cumini), Madhuca indica, kumbi (Careya arborea), anjan (Hardwickia binata),[6] and species of teak (Tectona spp.)

[3] Like the domesticated silkworm, this species is susceptible to pébrine, a disease caused by microsporidian fungi in the genus Nosema.

[10] It is also commonly infected with the Antheraea mylitta cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus" (AmCPV), a cypovirus which has been reported to destroy around 20% of each silk crop by inducing diarrhea in the larvae, leading to a condition known as grasserie.