Bombyx

Bombyx
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Bombycidae
Genus:	Bombyx Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms
Theophila Moore, 1862

Bombyx is the genus of true silkmoths or mulberry silkmoths of the family Bombycidae. For a few thousand years, people only recognised two species, but then several other less important species were discovered, and the genus contains two tested hybrid species, a semi-natural cross between a female Bombyx mori and a male Bombyx mandarina, and another hybrid the other way around from the first.

Species

• Bombyx horsfieldi (Moore, 1860)
• Bombyx huttoni Westwood, 1847
• Bombyx incomposita van Eecke, 1929
• Bombyx lemeepauli Lemée, 1950
• Bombyx mandarina, wild silkmoth
• Bombyx mori, domesticated silkmoth. "Silkworm" is the name usually applied to the caterpillars of this species. They have lost the ability to fly.
• Bombyx rotundapex Miyata & Kishida, 1990
• Bombyx shini Park and Sohn, 2002

Hybrids

• Bombyx Hybrid, a hybrid between B. mori and B. mandarina
• Bombyx second Hybrid, a hybrid between a male B. mori and a female B. mandarina. It is completely dependent on humans to survive.

Food

The caterpillars feed on Moraceae, especially on mulberries (Morus).^[1] Domesticated silkworms may be fed artificial mulberry chow.

References

1. K. Thangavelu (2003). "Conservation status of silkworm genetic resources in India". In Kee-Wook Sohn. 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.