Page 361 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Bombycidae
DISTRIBUTION No longer found in the wild, but now bred worldwide;
historically, north India, China, Korea, and Japan
HABITAT Historically, woodlands and parks
HOST PLANTS Mulberry (Morus spp.), especially White Mulberry (Morus alba)
NOTE Renowned caterpillar bred for its cocoon’s extensive
silken thread
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated as commonly bred

ADULT WINGSPAN
1 ⁄ in (40 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
Up to 3 in (75 mm)
BOMBYX MORI
MULBERRY SILKWORM 359

(LINNAEUS, 1758)

Mulberry Silkworms hatch from several hundred eggs laid by
the Mulberry Silkmoth around two weeks earlier; the silkmoth
dies after laying her eggs. The caterpillars have huge appetites,

eating continually and growing rapidly up to the end of the fth
instar. They then lose as much as a third of their length just
prior to pupation—a distinctive characteristic of this species.
The larvae pupate in large silk cocoons. Bombyx mori is closely
related to the Wild Silkmoth (B. mandarina), and the two species
are able to hybridize.

The silkworm was domesticated more than 5,000 years ago
in China to create that country’s silk industry. During the
domestication process, the adults lost the ability to y and to

cling to their food plant. As a result, the species—once found
across Asia—can no longer survive in the wild. The cocoon is
also much larger than that of the wild silkworm and consists of The Mulberry Silkworm is large
a very ne, single raw silk thread up to 3,000 ft (900 m) in length. and creamy white to bu brown in

color with irregular, brown spots
Commercially, the pupa is killed to prevent the adult damaging and brown-ringed spiracles. There
the thread as it emerges from the cocoon. is a short horn on the posterior.

Actual size