Lepidoptera feathers and hair, bran, semolina and flour (possibly preferring wheat flour), biscuits, casein, and insect specimens in museums. Even though most butterflies and moths affect the economy negatively, some species are a valuable economic resource. The most prominent example is that of the domesticated silkworm moth ("Bombyx mori"), the larvae of which make their cocoons out of silk, which can be spun into cloth. Silk is and has been an important economic resource throughout history. The species "Bombyx mori" has been domesticated to the point where it is completely dependent on mankind for survival. A number of wild moths such
Flacherie Flacherie Flacherie (literally: "flaccidness") is a disease of silkworms, caused by silkworms eating infected or contaminated mulberry leaves. Flacherie infected silkworms look weak and can die from this disease. Silkworm larvae that are about to die from Flacherie are a dark brown. There are two kinds of flacherie: essentially, infectious (viral) flacherie and noninfectious ("bouffee") flacherie. Both are technically a lethal diarrhea. Bouffée flacherie is caused by heat waves ("bouffée" means "sudden heat spell" in French). Viral flacherie is ultimately caused by infection with "Bombyx mori" infectious flacherie virus (BmIFV, Iflaviridae), "Bombyx mori" densovirus (BmDNV, Parvoviridae) or "Bombyx mori" cypovirus