The Bombycidae are a family of

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s known as silkworm moths. The best-known species is ''

Bombyx mori ''Bombyx mori'', commonly known as the domestic silk moth, is a moth species belonging to the family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of '' Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. Silkworms are the larvae of silk moths. The silkworm is of ...

'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

), or domestic silk moth, native to northern China and domesticated for millennia. Another well-known species is '' Bombyx mandarina'', also native to Asia.

Taxonomy

The family was recently severely restricted, and currently contains only one or two subfamilies, the Bombycinae and Epiinae (previously the tribe Epiini). The former subfamilies Oberthueriinae and Prismostictinae have been placed as subjective junior synonyms of Endromidae. The former subfamilies Apatelodinae and Phiditiinae have been reinstated as separate families.

Genera

This list is provisional. ''

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'' may also be placed within

Apatelodidae Apatelodidae, the American silkworm moths, is a family of insects in the order Lepidoptera. They are a family within the superfamily Bombycoidea, though they have in the past been considered a subfamily of Bombycidae. Distribution Species ar ...

, along with '' Tamphana''. Some genera were formerly placed in Apatelodinae, such as '' Anticla'' and '' Quentalia''.Hamilton, C.A., St Laurent, R.A., Dexter, K. et al. Phylogenomics resolves major relationships and reveals significant diversification rate shifts in the evolution of silk moths and relatives. BMC Evol Biol 19, 182 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-019-1505-1 *'' Amusaron'' *'' Anticla'' Walker, 1855 *'' Bivincula'' *'' Bivinculata'' *'' Bombyx'' *'' Colla'' *'' Dalailama'' *'' Elachyophtalma'' *''

'' *'' Ernolatia'' *'' Gastridiota'' *'' Gnathocinara'' *'' Gunda'' *'' Moeschleria'' *'' Ocinara'' *'' Penicillifera'' *'' Quentalia'' Schaus, 1929 *'' Racinoa'' *'' Rondotia'' *'' Tamphana'' *'' Trilocha'' *'' Triuncina'' *'' Valvaribifidum'' *'' Vinculinula'' *'' Vingerhoedtia''

References

Natural History Museum Lepidoptera genus database

List of Bombycidae Types
(Museum Witt München). {{Authority control Moth families