Bombyx mori
Enable an AI agent to recognise Bombyx mori, assess its developmental and husbandry state, and choose appropriate care, breeding, research or cocoon-management actions.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
Researched by: Codex + Grok
Purpose and description
Enable an AI agent to recognise Bombyx mori, assess its developmental and husbandry state, and choose appropriate care, breeding, research or cocoon-management actions.
The domestic silkworm moth (Bombyx mori), a fully domesticated lepidopteran whose larvae spin commercial silk cocoons and which no longer exists as a wild, free-living species.
It can be Identify stock and link individuals or cohorts to authenticated Bombyx mori lines.; Adjust larval feeding and rearing conditions using stage- and strain-appropriate evidence.; Monitor moulting, spinning, pupation and emergence to time handling and transfers.; Separate suspect cohorts and request appropriate diagnostic assessment.; Select documented breeding pairs and manage eggs according to supported developmental state.; Route cocoons toward continued development, observation or authorised harvest after assessing the occupant and intended use..
Distinguishing features
Distinguish Bombyx mori from Bombyx mandarina using documented stock origin and stage-appropriate identification evidence; escalate ambiguous or potentially hybrid stock to a validated genetic assessment.
Distinguish it from other animals called silkworms through species-level identification rather than silk production or cocoon presence alone.
Compare larval and adult morphology with authenticated references for the stated strain; do not treat body colour, markings or cocoon colour as universal species tests.
Check that an egg, larva, pupa or adult belongs to the same documented Bombyx mori developmental lineage rather than treating its different life stages as different registered things.
Distinguish a living cocoon occupant from an empty cocoon or harvested silk by recording occupant evidence separately from the silk enclosure.
Scope
+ Species identification, strain identity and documented parentage
+ Egg, larval, pupal and adult states, including moulting and diapause
+ Stage-specific feeding, rearing conditions and human-care dependencies
+ Health observations, diagnostic evidence and cohort exposure
+ Mating, egg production and maintenance of breeding lines
+ Silk spinning and the relationship between a cocoon and its occupant
- Mulberry cultivation and the condition of host plants as independent organisms
- Bombyx mandarina and other silk-producing species as independent models
- Pathogen biology beyond its effects on and detection in Bombyx mori
- Reeled silk, textiles and downstream material processing
- Sericulture facilities, equipment and enterprise economics
- Experimental protocols and engineered constructs as independent research objects
Characteristics
- Identification evidence
- Authenticated reference, supplier accession, identification assessment or genetic result; confidence and date Determines whether Bombyx mori-specific expectations can be applied.
- Strain and breeding background
- Named strain or accession, parent lines, generation, documented cross or unknown Development, appearance and useful traits must be interpreted against the actual stock.
- Developmental stage
- Egg, larva with observed instar, prepupa, pupa, adult or unresolved Controls which feeding, handling and transition expectations apply.
- Time since developmental event
- Hours or days since oviposition, hatching, observed moult, pupation or adult emergence Makes delayed development distinguishable from an uncertain starting date.
- Egg developmental condition
- Developing, suspected diapause, supported diapause, post-diapause development, hatched, nonviable or unknown Prevents unhatched eggs from being classified as dead solely because development is delayed.
- Voltinism classification
- Univoltine, bivoltine, multivoltine or unverified; linked to strain and conditions Informs breeding-cycle expectations without replacing observations of the current eggs.
- Rearing exposure
- Temperature in degrees Celsius, relative humidity in percent and light duration in hours per day, with time intervals Supports interpretation of growth, survival and developmental timing.
- Diet and feeding response
- Mulberry leaf source or artificial-diet formulation, batch, feeding interval and observed acceptance Connects larval performance to what was actually offered and eaten.
- Body mass
- Milligrams or grams per animal, with stage, sampling method and cohort distribution Tracks growth and uneven development within comparable stages.
- Health assessment
- No abnormality observed, abnormality observed, infection suspected, diagnosis supported, recovering, dead or unknown Separates observable condition from unsupported disease labels.
- Cocoon and occupant condition
- Spinning, completed, damaged, emergence opening present or unresolved; occupant assessed separately Informs handling and the choice between preserving emergence and harvesting.
- Reproductive condition
- Sex assessment, mating observation, oviposition status and fertility evidence, each with uncertainty Prevents mating or egg laying from being mistaken for demonstrated reproductive success.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 7 bundles · 13 layers · 20 findings · 32 questions.
Species and stock identity Establish which Bombyx mori stock is represented and how securely it is identified.
A common name or silk-producing phenotype cannot establish species, strain or breeding background.
Taxonomic recognition
Resolve domestic silkworm identity and close-species ambiguity.
Supported species assignment
Record the evidence supporting Bombyx mori identity, including unresolved Bombyx mandarina or hybrid ancestry questions.
- Which observed characters, authenticated provenance or validated genetic results support identification as Bombyx mori? definition
- What evidence would require treating this stock as taxonomically uncertain or potentially hybrid? boundary
Strain continuity
Preserve the connection between an observed animal and its maintained line.
Documented line background
Capture accessions, parentage and documented mutations or modifications; maintained genetic diversity makes strain identity consequential. [NBRP Silkworm resources](https://nbrp.jp/en/resource/silkworm-en/).
- Which stock accession, supplier record and parental cross identify this generation? provenance
- Which claimed strain traits are documented, and which have been observed in this cohort? measurement
Development and diapause Interpret life-stage transitions and delayed egg development.
An inactive animal or unhatched egg requires different decisions depending on its developmental state.
Stage and moult
Track development using observed events rather than age alone.
Developmental position
Record stage, observed instar, moulting evidence and variation within a cohort without imposing a fixed schedule.
- Which observations establish the current stage, instar and most recent developmental transition? measurement
- Does reduced feeding coincide with moulting or preparation for spinning, or does it require a health assessment? action
Egg developmental arrest
Separate diapause interpretation from viability assessment.
Strain-dependent diapause assessment
Retain strain and parental environmental history when interpreting egg arrest; experimental evidence shows that diapause induction depends on biological background and environmental cues. [Comparative diapause study](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8044193/).
- What evidence distinguishes diapause from ordinary development, nonfertilisation or embryo death in these eggs? definition
- Which strain-specific protocol and recorded parental and egg exposures justify continued storage or a change in incubation conditions? action
Larval feeding and rearing Connect diet and rearing exposure to larval condition.
An agent must assess the actual feeding and care context before interpreting poor growth or changing husbandry.
Diet suitability
Identify the food offered and the larvae's response.
Accepted and traceable feed
Record mulberry leaf or artificial-diet identity, freshness, batch history and acceptance by the specified stock.
- What mulberry material or artificial-diet formulation was offered, and what establishes its suitability for this strain and instar? provenance
- Are larvae consuming the feed and maintaining expected growth relative to an appropriate comparison cohort? measurement
Rearing exposure and support
Assess environmental history and continuity of care.
Stage-appropriate rearing state
Connect temperature, humidity, ventilation, crowding and cleaning history to the animals' current stage and observed condition.
- What environmental exposures and stocking conditions occurred during the current instar? measurement
- Which feeding, spacing or environmental adjustment is supported by the applicable husbandry evidence and present observations? action
Health and cohort exposure Evaluate abnormal development, illness and shared exposure without diagnosing from appearance alone.
Disease, normal developmental inactivity and unsuitable rearing conditions can demand different responses.
Clinical and diagnostic evidence
Separate observed signs from suspected causes.
Supported health interpretation
Record feeding changes, failed moults, abnormal appearance and mortality alongside evidence for infectious or husbandry-related explanations.
- Which abnormalities occur at which stages, and how many animals are affected out of the observed cohort? measurement
- What diagnostic evidence is needed before assigning a suspected silkworm disease rather than a developmental or environmental explanation? boundary
Shared exposure and separation
Determine which other animals may share a relevant exposure.
Cohort response boundary
Trace shared egg origin, feed, trays, tools and handling events to define observation and separation decisions.
- Which cohorts share parent stock, feed batches, equipment or handling with the affected animals? provenance
- What evidence supports separating stock, pausing breeding or seeking diagnostic testing before further transfer? action
Spinning and cocoon fate Track silk enclosure formation and its consequences for the animal inside.
Cocoon quality and organism viability are separate assessments, and intended use changes permissible handling.
Spinning transition
Recognise preparation for spinning and assess enclosure formation.
Spinning readiness and completion
Record behavioural evidence of spinning readiness, available supports, spinning progress and incomplete or shared cocoons.
- Which observations indicate readiness to spin, active spinning or completed enclosure formation? measurement
- Does the animal need suitable spinning support, reduced disturbance or assessment of an interrupted spinning attempt? action
Occupant and use decision
Keep animal condition distinct from cocoon material condition.
Cocoon disposition
Record occupant viability evidence, pupation or emergence status and the intended disposition before processing or opening the cocoon.
- What evidence establishes whether the cocoon contains a developing animal, a dead occupant or no occupant? measurement
- Is this cocoon designated for breeding, observation or harvest, and what consequences would the proposed handling have for its occupant? action
Reproduction and line maintenance Assess breeding readiness and continuity into the next generation.
Observed mating, egg production and successful maintenance of a defined line are different outcomes.
Adult pairing
Connect adult condition and mating observations to a breeding objective.
Traceable breeding pair
Record sex assessment, emergence timing, parental identities and mating evidence before attributing offspring to a cross.
- How were the adults' sex, condition and parent-line identities established? provenance
- Does pairing these adults preserve the intended line or create a deliberately documented cross? action
Egg batch outcome
Evaluate reproductive output while preserving developmental context.
Next-generation establishment
Distinguish eggs laid, evidence of fertility, expected diapause, hatching and surviving offspring for each parental pairing.
- How many eggs were laid, assessed as developing and hatched, using what denominator and observation interval? measurement
- What parentage, health and developmental evidence supports retaining this egg batch for the next generation? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Kinds and varieties
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Chinese races (univoltine and bivoltine temperate stocks)
- Japanese races
- European races
- Tropical polyvoltine races (including Indian and Southeast Asian stocks)
- Mulberry silkworm hybrids used in commercial sericulture
- Diapausing (univoltine/bivoltine) versus non-diapausing (polyvoltine) strains
- Sex-limited and genetically marked breeding lines
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of Bombyx mori this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- NCBI Taxonomy - 7091 - NCBI taxid for Bombyx mori.
- ITIS TSN - 117431 - Integrated Taxonomic Information System taxonomic serial number.
- Wikidata - Q134747 - Wikidata item for the domestic silkworm.
- GBIF usageKey - 1864837 - GBIF accepted-usage key for Bombyx mori Linnaeus, 1758.
- Catalogue of Life / CoL+ ID - pattern: accepted binomial Bombyx mori Linnaeus, 1758 - Zoological binomial under ICZN; no separate ISO species code.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of Bombyx mori this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- WOAH (World Organisation for Animal Health) Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals, Chapter 3.2.2 Pebrine (Nosema bombycis infection) - diagnostic and health standard for silkworm stocks.
- OIE/WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code historically lists pebrine among diseases of silkworms subject to international trade measures.
- India: Central Silk Board / Government of India sericulture seed legislation and quality-control rules for silkworm seed (eggs) and disease-free layings.
- China: national sericulture germplasm and silkworm-egg quality standards administered under agricultural/sericultural authorities.
- CITES: Bombyx mori itself is not CITES-listed; trade controls, where they exist, are phytosanitary/animal-health rather than wildlife-trade listings.
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of Bombyx mori this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Commercial sericulture: larvae reared on mulberry (Morus) leaves to produce cocoons reeled into raw silk (mulberry silk).
- Silkworm-egg (seed) production: controlled mating, egg laying, and hibernation or acid treatment to supply commercial rearers.
- Biomedical and biomaterial use: fibroin and sericin from cocoons used in sutures, scaffolds, hydrogels, and cosmetics.
- Laboratory model: B. mori is a classical genetic and developmental model (silk-gland, metamorphosis, baculovirus research).
- By-products: pupae used as food/feed in parts of East and South Asia; moths used in breeding rather than as a free-living insect.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of Bombyx mori this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Larval instars to spinning - 5 instars; about 20-28 days from hatch to spinning under commercial conditions - days
- Cocoon weight (fresh, commercial hybrids) - 1.5-2.5 - g
- Shell ratio (cocoon shell / whole cocoon) - 18-25 - %
- Filament length per cocoon - 600-1500 - m
- Adult wingspan - 30-50 - mm
- Voltinism (generations per year) - 1 (univoltine) to 5-8 (polyvoltine tropics) - generations/year
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of Bombyx mori this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Pebrine (Nosema bombycis): transovarially transmitted microsporidiosis that collapses seed lots and is the classic regulated silkworm disease.
- Flacherie, grasserie (NPV), muscardine (fungal) and bacterial septicemia: common rearing-house losses under heat, humidity, or poor hygiene.
- Starvation or off-feed from poor mulberry quality; pesticide residues on leaves cause acute larval mortality.
- High temperature and humidity in late instars: non-spinning larvae, melted cocoons, stained silk.
- Inbreeding depression and loss of hybrid vigor when commercial F1 hybrids are multiplied as if they were pure races.
- Human/occupational: sericin and moth-scale dust can provoke respiratory allergy in rearing and reeling rooms; pupae can be a food allergen.
- B. mori is flightless as an adult and cannot persist without human rearing; escape is not an ecological invasion hazard, unlike some wild Bombyx/Bombycidae.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of Bombyx mori this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- China, Japan, Korea: temperate bivoltine/univoltine races and F1 hybrids dominate; diapause eggs overwintered.
- India and much of tropical Asia: polyvoltine/multivoltine races and bivoltine × polyvoltine hybrids; continuous rearing without winter diapause.
- Europe (historically Italy, France, Spain): European races now largely germplasm/conservation rather than large-scale industry.
- Common names: silkworm / mulberry silkworm (English); 家蚕 jiācán (Chinese); カイコ kaiko (Japanese); resham keet (Hindi); Bombyx du mûrier (French).
- Product naming: 'mulberry silk' versus non-mulberry silks (tasar, eri, muga) which are different species.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of Bombyx mori this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Bombyx mandarina (wild mulberry silkworm) - Wild progenitor; adults fly, larvae are camouflaged and not fully dependent on humans. B. mori adults do not fly and require human rearing. Molecular and morphological characters (e.g. adult wing use, voltinism management) separate them; they can still hybridize.
- Samia ricini (eri silkworm) - Saturniid, not a bombycid; feeds on castor (Ricinus) not mulberry; cocoons are open-ended and spun into spun silk, not reeled mulberry silk.
- Antheraea spp. (tasar/tussah silkworms) - Wild or semi-domestic saturniids on forest hosts (oak, Terminalia, etc.); coarser brown silk. Host plant and cocoon color/reelability distinguish them from B. mori white/yellow mulberry cocoons.
- Antheraea assamensis (muga silkworm) - Assam muga; golden silk from Machilus/Persea hosts. Geographic, host-plant, and fiber color tests separate it from B. mori.
- Galleria mellonella (greater wax moth) and other 'silkworm' misnomers - Wax moths are pyralids of beehives, not silk producers. Taxonomy (family) and habitat (comb vs mulberry tray) separate them.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of Bombyx mori this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Sources
- Bombyx mori (domestic silkworm) - Accepted scientific name, taxonomic rank, and NCBI Taxonomy identifier.
- Bombyx mori (Linnaeus, 1758) - ITIS taxonomic serial number and nomenclatural status as a valid species.
- Conservation Status of Sericulture Germplasm Resources in the World - Practical race groupings (Chinese, Japanese, European, tropical), voltinism, and commercial use of hybrids.
- Chapter 3.2.2 Pebrine (Nosema bombycis infection) - International animal-health standard for pebrine, the principal regulated silkworm disease.
What the second pass must settle
- Which authenticated morphological and genetic identification methods reliably distinguish the intended stocks from Bombyx mandarina and documented hybrids?
- Which strain-specific ranges for temperature, humidity, feeding and stocking conditions are supported at each developmental stage?
- Which observations or assays establish egg viability and diapause state, and which storage or incubation protocols apply to each represented strain?
- Which silkworm disease tests and cohort-response criteria are validated for the intended breeding, educational or research setting?
- Which non-destructive methods can assess cocoon occupant viability accurately enough to support breeding and harvest decisions?