#bombyx

B. mori (domestic silkmoths) have been pretty rigorously bred from the wild silkmoth (B. mandarina) over the last five thousand years (at least!) with the goal of high silk production, tame behavior, and egg production. It's likely that these moths began to turn lighter on their own at the start of their domestication due to low predation, but at some point a bright white larva and subsequent moth became the gold standard of a quality animal. Some strains of mori are expected to have tan or lightly marked wings, but the "white seductress" strain that I am rearing, which happens to be the standard, should be pure white. Hybrids between the two species are poorly documented, but mainly because there is little economic interest in crossbreeding. The hybrids that we do have show nearly the exact same expression of mandarina genes that are seen on this moth, and most other aberrant mori specimens. The markings that are indicative of wild genes are actually far less visible on the true wild moth than on the hybrid!