Bombyx

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Bombyx
CSIRO ScienceImage 10746 An adult silkworm moth.jpg
Bombyx mori , the silk moth.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Bombycidae
Subfamily: Bombycinae
Genus: Bombyx
Linnaeus, 1758 [1]
Type species
Phalaena mori [2]
Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms
  • TheophilaMoore, 1862

Bombyx is the genus of true silk moths or mulberry silk moths of the family Bombycidae, also known as silkworms, which are the larvae or caterpillars of silk moths. The genus was erected as a subgenus [2] by Carl Linnaeus in his 10th edition of Systema Naturae (1758).

Contents

Species

Hybrids

Two instances of semi-natural hybridisation are known within this genus:[ citation needed ]

Food

The caterpillars feed on Moraceae, especially on mulberries ( Morus species). [3] Domestic silkworms may be fed artificial mulberry chow.

Related Research Articles

<i>Bombyx mori</i> Moth mainly used in the production of silk

Bombyx mori, commonly known as the domestic silk moth, is a moth species belonging to the family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of Bombyx mandarina, the wild silk moth. Silkworms are the larvae of silk moths. The silkworm is of particular economic value, being a primary producer of silk. The silkworm's preferred food are the leaves of white mulberry, though they may eat other species of mulberry, and even leaves of other plants like the osage orange. Domestic silk moths are entirely dependent on humans for reproduction, as a result of millennia of selective breeding. Wild silk moths, which are other species of Bombyx, are not as commercially viable in the production of silk.

<i>Morus</i> (plant) Genus of plants

Morus, a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 subordinate taxa, three of which are well-known and are ostensibly named for the fruit color of the best-known cultivar: white, red, and black mulberry, with numerous cultivars and some taxa currently unchecked and awaiting taxonomic scrutiny. M. alba is native to South Asia, but is widely distributed across Europe, Southern Africa, South America, and North America. M. alba is also the species most preferred by the silkworm, and is regarded as an invasive species in Brazil and the United States.

<i>Attacus atlas</i> Species of moth

Attacus atlas, the Atlas moth, is a large saturniid moth endemic to the forests of Asia. The species was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bombykol</span> Sex pheromone of silk moths

Bombykol is a pheromone released by the female silkworm moth to attract mates. It is also the sex pheromone in the wild silk moth. Discovered by Adolf Butenandt in 1959, it was the first pheromone to be characterized chemically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bombycidae</span> Family of moths

The Bombycidae are a family of moths known as silkworm moths. The best-known species is Bombyx mori (Linnaeus), or domestic silk moth, native to northern China and domesticated for millennia. Another well-known species is Bombyx mandarina, also native to Asia.

<i>Bombyx mandarina</i> Species of moth

Bombyx mandarina, the wild silk moth, is a species of moth in the family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of Bombyx mori, the domesticated silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. Unlike the domesticated relative which is unable to fly or indeed persist outside human care, the wild silk moth is a fairly ordinary lepidopteran. Its main difference from the domesticated taxon is the more slender body with well-developed wings in males, and the dull greyish-brown colour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thai silk</span> Silk from the cocoons of Thai silkworms

Thai silk is produced from the cocoons of Thai silkworms. Thailand's silkworm farmers cultivate both types of the domesticated silkworms that produce commercial silk: Samia ricini, commonly known as the eri silkworm, which produces matte eri silk, and the Bombyx mori, producer of the better known, glossy mulberry silk. The latter is by far the larger silk producer of the two.

<i>Phalaena</i> Obsolete name for a genus of moths

Phalaena is an obsolete genus of Lepidoptera used by Carl Linnaeus to house most moths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silk industry in China</span>

China is the world's largest and earliest silk producer. The vast majority of Chinese silk originates from the mulberry silkworms. During the larval stage of its life cycle, the insects feed on the leaves of mulberry trees. Non-mulberry silkworm cocoon production in China primarily focuses on wild silk from the Chinese Tussah moth. This moth typically feeds on trees and its larvae spin coarser, flatter, yellower filament than the mulberry silkworms.

<i>Coscinia cribraria</i> Species of moth

Coscinia cribraria, the speckled footman, is a species of moth belonging to the subfamily Arctiinae within the large family Erebidae. This moth has a widespread distribution in the Palearctic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild silk</span>

Wild silks have been known and used in many countries from early times, although the scale of production is far smaller than that from cultivated silkworms. Silk cocoons and nests often resemble paper or cloth, and their use has arisen independently in many societies.

<i>Tinea trinotella</i> Species of moth

Tinea trinotella is a species of tineoid moth. It belongs to the fungus moth family (Tineidae), and therein to the nominate subfamily Tineinae. It was once used as type species of a distinct genus Acedes, but this is synonymized today with Tinea, the type genus of Tineinae, Tineidae and the superfamily Tineoidea.

<i>Antheraea pernyi</i> Species of moth

Antheraea pernyi, the Chinese oak tussar moth, Chinese tasar moth or temperate tussar moth, is a large moth in the family Saturniidae. The species was first described by Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville in 1855. Antheraea roylei is an extremely close relative, and the present species might actually have evolved from ancestral A. roylei by chromosome rearrangement.

The Bombyx hybrid is a hybrid between a male Bombyx mandarina moth and a female Bombyx mori moth. They produce larvae called silkworms, like all species of Bombyx. The larvae look a lot like the other variations. They are brown in the first half and gray at the bottom half, but they get larger black spots than other variations. Generally, they look like a normal Bombyx moth, but a bit darker. Hybrids are not used for silk, but for research. Because Bombyx mori males lost their ability to fly, their females are much more likely to mate with a male Bombyx mandarina. The reverse is possible, but both species have to be kept in the same container. Since Bombyx hybrids are much more common than the other variation, more is known about them.

<i>Bombyx huttoni</i> Species of moth

Bombyx huttoni, or the chocolate-tipped silk moth, is a moth belonging to the silk moth family, Bombycidae. It is closely related to the domestic silk moth.

<i>Antheraea paphia</i> Species of moth

Antheraea paphia, known as the South India small tussore, the tasar silkworm and vanya silkworm is a species of moth of the family Saturniidae found in India and Sri Lanka. The bulk of the literature on this species uses a junior synonym, Antheraea mylitta, rather than the correct name, A. paphia. It is one of a number of tasar silkworms, species that produce Tussar silk, a kind of wild silk that is made from the products of saturniid silkworms instead of the domesticated silkworm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial butterfly breeding</span>

Commercial butterfly breeding or captive butterfly breeding is the practice of breeding butterflies and moths in controlled environments to supply the stock to research facilities, universities, zoos, insectariums, elementary and secondary schools, butterfly exhibits, conservation organizations, nature centers, individuals, and other commercial facilities. Some butterfly and moth breeders limit their market to wholesale customers while other breeders supply smaller volumes of stock as a retail activity. Some small scale and larger scale breeders limit their businesses to the provision of butterflies or moths for schools. Others provide butterflies to be used and released in commemorative events. The release usually occurs in the natural range of the butterfly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahimsa silk</span> Type of silk obtained without killing and harming silk worms

Ahimsa silk is a method of nonviolent silk breeding and harvesting. Wild silk moths are bred rather than the domestic variety. It allows the completion of the metamorphosis of the silkworm to its moth stage, whereas most silk harvesting requires the silkworms to be killed in their cocoon stage. No animals suffer or die for the silk to be produced, making it a favorable alternative to normal silk for those who object to harming animals.

<i>Samia ricini</i> Genus of moths

Samia ricini, the Eri silkmoth, is a species of insect, a member of the family Saturniidae which includes the giant silk moths. This moth is a domestic polyhybrid that has been bred for centuries due to the silk it makes. The name is based on the host plant used for feeding the caterpillars, castor, Ricinus communis. This moth is derived from several different species within the genus including Samia cynthia and Samia canningi.

References

  1. Pitkin, Brian & Jenkins, Paul (November 5, 2004). "Bombyx Linnaeus, 1758". Butterflies and Moths of the World. Natural History Museum, London. doi:10.5519/s93616qw . Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  2. 1 2 ICZN (1957). "Opinion 450. Suppression under the Plenary Powers of the generic name Phalaena Linnaeus, 1758, and validation as of subgeneric status (a) as from 1758, of the Terms Bombyx, Noctua, Geometra, Tortrix, Pyralis, Tinea, and Alucita as used by Linnaeus for Groups of species of the genus Phalaena and (b) as from 1767 of the term Attacus similarly published by Linnaeus and matters incidental thereto (Class Insecta, Order Lepidoptera)". Opinions and Declarations Rendered by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. 15 (15): 254.
  3. K. Thangavelu (2003). "Conservation status of silkworm genetic resources in India". In Kee-Wook Sohn (ed.). Conservation Status of Sericulture Germplasm Resources in the World - II. Conservation Status of Silkworm (Bombyx mori) Genetic Resources in the World. Food and Agriculture Organization.