Bombyx

Bombyx is a genus of moths in the family Bombycidae, one of about 24 genera in that family, which has long been commercially exploited for silk production. The genus includes the domestic silk moth, native to and long domesticated in northern China, and its closest wild relative, the wild silk moth, found from northern India across northern China, Korea and Japan to the far eastern regions of Russia. Compared to most other Bombyx species, the domestic silk moth has lost its coloration and its ability to fly through the process of domestication.