Silkworms


 The stages in the labour intensive process from hatchling to completed silk products are the moths lay the eggs that hatch into caterpillars.

 It takes 30 to 40 days for tiny hatchlings to grow into adult caterpillars, and they increase in weight by an incredible fourteen thousand times.

 When they are full grown they stop eating and spin their cocoons. Seven to ten days later the caterpillars will have completed their cocoons. 

 A cocoon is a casing spun of silk  by many moth caterpillars and numerous other insect larvae  as a protective covering for the pupa.

 Next step is the process of extracting the silk. The cocoons are heated to kill the pupae.

 Next the spinning stage: threads are unwound and reeled together, forming a single length of strong thread.