Bombyx mori

Bombyx mori is the domesticated silkmoth, bred for larvae that spin cocoons of continuous silk fiber. Its life cycle and dependence on human care distinguish it from wild silkmoths.

Silk gland: A paired larval organ that secretes the proteins forming a silkworm’s silk fiber. The gland produces the fibroin and sericin that make each cocoon filament.
Bombyx mandarina: A wild silkmoth closely related to Bombyx mori and regarded as its ancestor. Comparisons with this wild relative help explain the moth’s domestication and genetic changes.
Mulberry: A tree or shrub in the genus Morus, whose leaves are the principal food of domesticated silkworm larvae. Mulberry leaves sustain most commercial Bombyx mori rearing.
Silk textile: A woven or knitted fabric made from silk fibers. The moth’s cocoon filament supplies the material behind silk’s distinctive textile properties.
Silk: A natural protein fiber produced by silkworms and several other arthropods. Bombyx mori larvae spin the continuous silk filaments harvested from their cocoons.
Silk Road: A network of trade routes connecting East Asia with regions farther west across Eurasia. Silk made from Bombyx mori cocoons became one of the routes’ most valuable traded goods.
Silk reeling: The process of unwinding continuous silk filaments from softened silkworm cocoons. Reeling turns the moth’s cocoon into raw silk suitable for textile manufacture.
Ahimsa silk: Silk produced without killing the silkworm inside its cocoon, typically by collecting fibers after moth emergence. It offers an alternative to conventional reeling, which generally kills the pupa.
Cocoon: A protective casing spun by an insect larva before pupation. The larva encloses its pupa in the silk structure that sericulture processes.
Silk in ancient China: The production and use of silk in ancient Chinese societies, documented over several millennia. Early Chinese sericulture established the long-standing human relationship with the moth.

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ProtostomeBroader topic: It links arthropod biology with agriculture and a long history of silk production.