Bombyx mori Chinese medicine, silkworm is the source of the "stiff silkworm", which is made from dried fourth- or fifth-instar larvae which have died of "white muscardine disease", the "Beauveria bassiana" fungal infection mentioned above. It is believed to dispel flatulence, dissolve phlegm, and relieve spasms. Bombyx mori The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth, Bombyx mori (Latin: "silkworm of the mulberry tree"). It is an economically important insect, being a primary producer of silk. A silkworm's preferred food is white mulberry leaves, though they may eat other mulberry species and even osage orange. Domestic silkmoths are closely
Bombyx mandarina directions in a domesticated environment. Consequently, the two silkmoths have been united as subspecies of a single species; in this case the name "Bombyx mori" which was published first applies for both. However, today it is usually recognized that the domesticated silkmoth is entirely dependent on human care for its survival and thus has a level of reproductive isolation from its wild relatives. Bombyx mandarina Bombyx mandarina, the wild silkmoth, is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of "Bombyx mori" the domesticated silkmoth or "silkworm" (properly, this refers to the caterpillars only). Unlike the