June means warm nights, summer solstice, fireflies … and the seldom-seen giant silk moths. Giant silk moths are members of the family Saturniidae and include some of the most spectacular native large ...

A mention of silk moths may conjure up images of China where, for millennia, fibers teased from cocoons of domesticated silk moths (Bombyx mori) have been used to manufacture silk, and the producers, ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. A domesticated animal is one that has been bred and adapted ...

Late fall and early winter are the best times of year to spot giant silk moth cocoons in New England. Perhaps you’ve seen these creatures in the summer, fluttering by your porch light in the evening ...

Most people think of moths as small insects fluttering across porch lights, but some species greatly challenge that image.

Those precious silk garments in your closet were made by the caterpillar of a fuzzy, white moth — thousands of them. Silkworms spin a cocoon with a single strand of silk up to 10 city blocks long.

I talked about your question with my friend Allan Felsot. He’s an insect scientist at Washington State University. He told me cocoons are mostly silk. But they’re usually made by moths. A butterfly ...