1The commercially bred caterpillar of the domesticated silk moth (Bombyx mori ), which spins a silk cocoon that is processed to yield silk fibre.
‘The domesticated silkworm is one of a few lepidopteran species that have been used for genetic analysis.’
‘Silk is a continuous protein filament spun by the silkworm to form its cocoon.’
‘The silkworm is a lepidopteran insect with a long history of significant agricultural value.’
‘Although this order represents an extremely diverse and economically important group of insects, mapping studies have been conducted only in the silkworm, Bombyx mori.’
‘As is well known, the silkworm, Bombyx mori, is reared for the production of silk and its diet consists solely of mulberry leaves.’
1.1with modifierA commercial silk-yielding caterpillar of a saturniid moth.
‘Tussah silk, often called shantung, is made from the cocoons of wild tussah silkworms that eat oak and juniper leaves.’