The Bombycidae are a family of

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s. The best-known species is ''

Bombyx mori The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically imp ...

'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

) or silkworm, native to northern China and domesticated for millennia. Another well-known species is ''

Bombyx mandarina ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth, is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of '' Bombyx mori'', the domesticated silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. Unlike the domesticated ...

'', 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 Endromidae is a family of moths. It was long considered to be a monotypic family, containing just one species, the Kentish glory, '' Endromis versicolora'', found throughout the Palaearctic regio The family now consists of several genera and abou ...

. The former subfamilies Apatelodinae and Phiditiinae have been reinstated as separate families.

Genera

This list is provisional. '' Ephoria'' may be a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of '' Epholca'' (

Geometridae The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''met ...

Ennominae Ennominae is the largest subfamily of the geometer moth family (Geometridae) with some 9,700 described species in 1,100 genera. They are usually a fairly small moths, though some (such as the peppered moth) grow to be considerably large. This sub ...

Ourapterygini The Ourapterygini are one of the large tribes of geometer moths in the subfamily Ennominae. The tribe was described by Charles Théophile Bruand d'Uzelle in 1846. They are particularly plentiful in the Neotropics. Ourapterygini are generally hel ...

), and ''

Epia VIA EPIA (''VIA Embedded Platform Innovative Architecture'') is a series of mini-ITX, em-ITX, nano-ITX, pico-ITX and pico-ITXe motherboards with integrated VIA processor Processor may refer to: Computing Hardware * Processor (computing) ...

'' may be one of ''

Hadena ''Hadena'' is a genus of moths of the family Noctuidae erected by Franz von Paula Schrank in 1802. About fifteen species are native to North America, while over one-hundred are distributed in the Palearctic realm.Troubridge, J. T and L. G. Crabo ...

'' (

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other f ...

Hadeninae Hadeninae was formerly a subfamily of the moth family Noctuidae, but was merged into the subfamily Noctuinae. The tribes Apameini, Caradrinini, Elaphriini, Episemini, Eriopygini, Hadenini, Leucaniini, Orthosiini, and Xylenini The Xylenini are ...

Hadenini Hadenini is a tribe of cutworm or dart moths in the family Noctuidae. There are more than 140 genera and 1,000 described species in Hadenini, found worldwide. Hadenini was formerly a tribe of the subfamily Hadeninae, but Hadeninae was moved to ...

), and 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 ''Tamphana'' is a genus of moths of the Bombycidae 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 ...

''. Some genera were formerly placed in Apatelodinae, such as ''

Anticla ''Anticla'' is a genus of moths of the Bombycidae 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 '' ...

'' and ''

Quentalia ''Quentalia'' is a genus of moths of the family Bombycidae first described by William Schaus in 1929. It has at times been placed in the family Apatelodidae Apatelodidae, the American silkworm moths, is a family of insects in the order Lepid ...

''.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 ''Amusaron'' is a genus of moths of the family Bombycidae 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 specie ...

'' *''

'' Walker, 1855 *''

Bivincula ''Bivincula'' is a genus of moths of the family Bombycidae 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 speci ...

'' *''

Bivinculata ''Bivinculata'' is a genus of moths of the Bombycidae family. It contains the single species ''Bivinculata kalikotei'', which is found in Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic ...

'' *''

Bombyx ''Bombyx'' is the genus of true silk moths or mulberry silk moths of the family Bombycidae, also known as silkworms, which are the larvae or caterpillars of silk moths. The genus was erected as a subgenus by Carl Linnaeus in his 10th edition ...

'' *'' Colla'' *'' Dalailama'' *''

Elachyophtalma ''Elachyophtalma'' is a genus of moths of the family Bombycidae. The genus was erected by Cajetan Felder Baron Cajetan von Felder (german: link=no, Cajetan Freiherr von Felder; 19 September 1814 – 30 November 1894) was an Austrian lawyer, e ...

'' *''

Ernolatia ''Ernolatia'' is a genus of moths of the family Bombycidae. The genus was erected by Francis Walker (entomologist), Francis Walker in 1862. Species *''Ernolatia lida'' (Moore, 1858) *''Ernolatia moorei'' (Hutton, 1865) References

Bomby ...

'' *'' Gastridiota'' *''

Gnathocinara ''Gnathocinara'' is a monotypic moth genus of the family Bombycidae erected by Wolfgang Dierl in 1978. It contains only one species, ''Gnathocinara situla'', described by van Eecke in 1929, which is found on Sumatra in Indonesia. The wingspan ...

'' *''

Gunda ''Gunda'' is a genus of moths of the family Bombycidae (silk moths). The genus was erected by Francis Walker in 1862. It is primarily an Oriental genus, found in India, China and South-east Asia. Species *''Gunda aroa'' Bethune-Baker, 1904 *''G ...

'' *'' Moeschleria'' *'' Ocinara'' *''

Penicillifera ''Penicillifera'' is a genus of moths of the family Bombycidae. The genus was erected by Wolfgang Dierl in 1978. Selected species *''Penicillifera apicalis ''Penicillifera apicalis'', the Oriental white silk-moth is a moth of the family Bombyc ...

'' *''

'' Schaus, 1929 *'' Racinoa'' *'' Rondotia'' *''

'' *'' Trilocha'' *'' Triuncina'' *'' Valvaribifidum'' *'' Vinculinula'' *'' Vingerhoedtia''

References

Natural History Museum Lepidoptera genus database

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