Bombycidae

Bombycidae
Caterpillars of the silkmoth
(Bombyx mori), age 30 days
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.

Diversity

The family consists of 21 genera and about 150 species, most of which belong to the nominate subfamily Bombycinae.

Taxonomy

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.[1]

Genera

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).

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/14/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.