Bombycidae
| Bombycidae | |
|---|---|
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Caterpillars of the silkmoth (Bombyx mori), age 30 days |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Suborder: | Macrolepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Bombycoidea |
| Family: |
Bombycidae Latreille, 1802 |
The Bombycidae are a family of moths. The best-known species is Bombyx mori (Linnaeus) or silkworm, native to northern China and domesticated for millennia. Another well known species is Bombyx mandarina, also native to Asia.
The family consists of 21 genera and about 150 species, most of which belong to the nominate subfamily Bombycinae.
The family was recently severely restricted, and currently contains only two subfamilies, the Bombycidae and Epiinae (previously the tribe Epiini). The former subfamilies Oberthueriinae and Prismostictinae have been placed as subjective junior synonyms of Endromidae. The former subfamily Phiditiinae is reinstated as a separate family, the Phiditiidae.
This list is provisional. Genera such as Apatelodes and Olceclostera are placed in the Apatelodidae, if these are considered valid. Ephoria may be a synonym of Epholca (Geometridae: Ennominae: Ourapterygini), and Epia may be one of Hadena (Noctuidae: Hadeninae: Hadenini).
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