Bombyx mandarina
| Wild silk moth | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Bombycidae |
| Genus: | Bombyx |
| Species: | B. mandarina
|
| Binomial name | |
| Bombyx mandarina (Moore, 1872)
| |
| Synonyms | |
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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 larvae (caterpillars) of both species are called silkworms, famous for producing the fibroinous cocoon that is harvested by humans for silk.
Unlike its domesticated relative, who has lost the ability to fly and is too synanthropic to even survive outside human cultivation, B. mandarina is a fairly ordinary moth. The main difference between the wild B. mandarina and the domesticated B. mori is that the former has a more slender body with well-developed wings in males, and is dull greyish-brown in colour.