The
silkworm is the
larva or
caterpillar of the
domesticated silkmoth,
Bombyx mori (
Latin: "silkworm of the
mulberry tree"). It is an economically important insect, being a primary producer of
silk. A silkworm's preferred food is
white mulberry leaves (
monophagous). Domestic silk moths are closely dependent on humans for reproduction, as a result of millennia of selective breeding. Wild silk moths are different (having not been selectively bred) from their domestic cousins; they are not as commercially viable in the production of silk.