Scientific Classification

KINGDOM: Animalia

PHYLUM: Euarthropoda

CLASS: Insecta

ORDER: Lepidoptera

FAMILY: Bombycidae

GENUS: Bombyx

SPECIES: B. mori

Conservation Status

Silk moth portrait. White fur and large antennas.
Close up Silkworm eating mulberry green leaf
Multiple Silk Cocoons with Silk Worm
Baskets with silkworm cocoons at a silk factory
Silkworms are the caterpillar stage of the domestic silkmoth.

Even though there have been centuries of silkworm selective breeding, there is still a population of wild silkmoths. The domesticated silkworm has a larger body and cocoon size, as well as a faster growth rate and metabolism. Wild silkmoths have dark wings to aid in camouflage, while the domesticated silkmoths are pure white as camouflage isn’t needed when they solely live in captivity.
People have been selectively breeding silkworms for thousands of years to become the primary producer of silk. This tradition started in China and then spread to India, Japan, Korea, and so on.
Silkworms are known for their preference to white mulberry leaves. In fact, their Latin name, Bombyx mori, translates to “silkworm of the mulberry tree.” They have also been known to munch on osage oranges and leaves from the Tree of Heaven.
Silkworm eggs take about two weeks to hatch. The larvae will eat constantly and molt several times going from white with black hairs, to pure white with horns on their back, ending with tight, yellow skin. The silkworm will then enter pupal phase and enclose itself in a cocoon made of raw silk. Once the cocoon hatches, a large silkmoth will emerge. They are white and hairy with wingspans of up to two inches long!

Since the silkworm has been so domesticated and is widely available, they have become model creatures in the study of insects and genomes in general. Their silk has also been used to simulate human tissue. Researchers in Massachusetts have successfully used silkworm silk in the reconstructing of damaged tendons, ligaments, and more!