Sericulture, the practice of breeding silkworms for the production of raw silk, has existed for at least 5,000 years in China,[1] whence it spread to India, Korea, Nepal, Japan, and then the West.

Compared to most members in the genus Bombyx, domestic silk moths have lost their coloration as well as their ability to fly.

Bivoltine varieties are normally found in East Asia, and their accelerated breeding process is made possible by slightly warmer climates.

The larvae then prepare to enter the pupal phase of their life cycle, and enclose themselves in a cocoon made up of raw silk produced by the salivary glands.

The final molt from larva to pupa takes place within the cocoon, which provides a layer of protection during the vulnerable, almost motionless pupal state.

[8][better source needed] If the animal survives through the pupal phase of its life cycle, it releases proteolytic enzymes to make a hole in the cocoon so it can emerge as an adult moth.

As the process of harvesting the silk from the cocoon kills the pupa, sericulture has been criticized by animal welfare and rights activists.

Mahatma Gandhi was critical of silk production based on the ahimsa philosophy "not to hurt any living thing".

[10] The moth is not capable of functional flight, in contrast to the wild B. mandarina and other Bombyx species, whose males fly to meet females.

Some may emerge with the ability to lift off and stay airborne, but sustained flight cannot be achieved as their bodies are too big and heavy for their small wings.

[10]Due to its small size and ease of culture, the silkworm has become a model organism in the study of lepidopteran and general arthropod biology.

[15] Even though synaptonemal complexes are formed during the pachytene stage of meiosis in B. mori, crossing-over homologous recombination does not occur between the paired chromosomes.

[16] Kraig Biocraft Laboratories[17] has used research from the Universities of Wyoming and Notre Dame in a collaborative effort to create a silkworm that is genetically altered to produce spider silk.

[18] Researchers at Tufts developed scaffolds made of spongy silk that feel and look similar to human tissue.

A first large-scale screening using transposon mutant library of Staphylococcus aureus USA300 strain was performed which identified 8 new genes with roles in full virulence of S.

[25] Another study by the same team of researchers revealed, for the first time, the role of YjbH in virulence and oxidative stress tolerance in vivo.

The domestic silk moths cannot fly, so the males need human assistance in finding a mate, and it lacks fear of potential predators.

The native color pigments have also been lost, so the domestic silk moths are leucistic, since camouflage is not useful when they only live in captivity.

The major objectives are improving fecundity, the health of larvae, quantity of cocoon and silk production, and disease resistance.

In the U.S., teachers may sometimes introduce the insect life cycle to their students by raising domestic silk moths in the classroom as a science project.

Students have a chance to observe complete life cycles of insects from eggs to larvae to pupae to moths.

The domestic silk moth has been raised as a hobby in countries such as China, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Iran.

[34] Silk moth pupae are edible insects and are eaten in some cultures: Silkworms have also been proposed for cultivation by astronauts as space food on long-term missions.

[37] In China, a legend indicates the discovery of the silkworm's silk was by an ancient empress named Leizu, the wife of the Yellow Emperor, also known as Xi Lingshi.

[38] About AD 550, Christian monks are said to have smuggled silkworms hidden in a hollow stick out of China, selling the secret to the eastern Romans.

[citation needed] Bombyx mori is essentially monophagous, exclusively eating mulberry leaves (Morus spp.).