2006-08-01 06:31:59 · 10 answers · asked by beth 1 in Beauty & Style ➔ Fashion & Accessories
"Wild silks" are produced by a number of undomesticated silkworms. Aside from differences in colours and textures, they all differ in one major respect from the domesticated varieties. The cocoons, which are gathered in the wild, have usually already been chewed through by the pupa or caterpillar ("silkworm") before the cocoons are gathered and thus the single thread which makes up the cocoon has been cut into shorter lengths.
A variety of wild silks have been known and used in China, India and Europe from early times, although the scale of production has always been far smaller than that of cultivated silks.
Wild silks are produced by caterpillars other than the mulberry silkworm (Bombyx mori). The term "wild" implies that these silkworms are not capable of being domesticated and artificially cultivated like the mulberry worms.
Commercially reared silkworms are killed before the pupae emerge by dipping them in boiling water or with a needle, thus allowing the whole cocoon to be unravelled as one continuous thread. This allows a much stronger cloth to be woven from the silk. Wild silks also tend to be more difficult to dye than silk from the cultivated silkworm.
There is ample evidence that small quantities of wild silk were already being produced in the Mediterranean and Middle East by the time the superior, and stronger, cultivated silk from China began to be imported.
2006-08-01 06:37:32 · answer #1 · answered by Michelle S 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Silk Worms. It was the greatest secret of the ancient chinese. They would feed the silk worms on Mulberry leaves, and the silk worms would spin silk cocoons all over themselves. The people would then take the cocoons and put it in boiling water in order to kill the worms and unspin the thread around the cocoon carefully, cleaned the thread and made it into silk. One silkworm can make up to a kilometre of silk thread.
2006-08-01 13:37:51 · answer #2 · answered by Mujareh 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Raw silk from silk worms.
2006-08-01 13:35:36 · answer #3 · answered by Diana C 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
from the silk worm
2006-08-01 13:36:30 · answer #4 · answered by Jue 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a silk worms cocoon about halfway the the metamorphing phase the silkworm is killed via special chemicals and the cocoon is harvested
2006-08-01 13:36:07 · answer #5 · answered by angelbunny_90 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
soy beans it's soy milk they just call it silk
2006-08-01 13:42:45 · answer #6 · answered by K B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
look it up .... silk worms
2006-08-01 13:35:23 · answer #7 · answered by Spaceman spiff 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
silk worms...
2006-08-01 13:34:27 · answer #8 · answered by jake78745 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Silkworm cocoons.
Read below.
2006-08-01 13:36:27 · answer #9 · answered by Brian L 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
silkworms
2006-08-01 13:35:56 · answer #10 · answered by zestful12 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋