Silkworms and Their Legacy

You're driving along Rt. 495 in MA and meet an "Attraction" sign on your way. So, you turn onto exit 32 and swerve to Depot Road, turn left and... You're there! Swiftly strolling into the atrium, you see a million brightly illuminated mini-kites, soaring across the glass windows of the atrium. You slap yourself in your face to make sure you're not dreaming. Awe-struck, your mouth gapes open. How could this be?

"Welcome to the butterfly place!" a voice erupts behind you, "Do you need any help? The name is Bob Wilson."

"But what the heck, oh, hi, Bob." You stammer

"Come!" He beckons you forward to his desk. You carefully edge to the tip of his table and quickly duck as a queen butterfly comes careening over your head. You then spy a tray with deeply unattractive, 3-inch long caterpillars. "Hmm."

On the desk, you see some eggs hatching. Immediately the caterpillars start eating. Turning your head, you see some thick, white loppers, munching heavily. You wonder....

"Are these silk worms?" you ask Bob.

"Ugly, aren't they?" answers Bob with a wink.

The silk worm is not a worm. It is a caterpillar. It starts out as a single egg spherical and about 2mm in diameter. It is dull brown and uglier than a caterpillar, yet the ugliest insects grow up to make the finest garments ever. After the silkworms hatch out of their eggs, they explore the world. They constantly eat, pausing only to molt their skin when they outgrow it. After approximately four weeks, the caterpillar starts to spin their cocoons.

"It takes about one and half weeks to form a cocoon and one and half weeks to hatch out of it," says Bob, "Before the pupa emerges from the cocoon, the moth is killed. Few moths are left alone to continue the population. The adult moth is white and creamy. They mate, they lay some more ugly eggs and they die happily".

Silk is made by killing the pupae inside of the cocoon. "The thread of a cocoon is one, long, continuous thread. When the moth emerges, the thread breaks and becomes useless," explains Bob, "that's why they kill the moth first." Just think about how many silkworms sacrificed their lives to make one beautiful blouse.

However, there is a new kind of silk, which is called peace silk or vegetarian silk, coming to the rescue of silkworms. Peace silk is produced differently than normal silk. The moths are allowed to emerge normally from the cocoons. The resulting pieces of cocoon silk are then spun like cloth. The resulting threads are fluffy, and light like cloud. This is the warmest silk of all (Aurora, 2003).

Silk was originally produced in China as early as 2640 B.C., after Princess Ni Ling Shi experienced a silkworm dropping into her tea cup. She was the first person to reel a cocoon of silk. The Chinese then interpreted the life cycle of silkworm and started making fabric silk industries (Insects and Human Society, 2003). The production of silk remained a secret to the Chinese for about 2000 years. But in the 3rd century B.C, the silk began to sneak its way out of China, transporting to the West, Japan, and India (Wild, 1992).

As Wild indicated in his paper, the Silk Road is not a road but it is a course of many roads. The Silk Road did not just carry silk, it carried many goods, and caravans setting a journey toward China carry gold and other precious metals, ivory, glass, and precious stones. Caravans traveling the opposite direction heaved jade, ceramic, furs, bronze objects, iron and lacquer in their carts.

The "silk road" was a relief to the Romans, and as Wild indicated, the Parthian was middle men, buying from the "silk road" and selling to the Romans for a higher price. The Romans then sent secret agents to the "silk road" to purchase goods at a lower price. The name of the "silk road" was not originated by the Romans, but by Von Richthoten, a German scholar in the nineteenth century.

Soon there was a problem, a problem almost big enough to shut down the whole "silk road". Bandits learned of the caravans of goods cavorting across the dirt roads. Most plunged into the goods and stole them. Then the Han dynasty rulers soon learned about the bandits and from the on the rulers sent armed forces for each caravan (Wild, 1992). The Silk Road was safe again.

You begin to leave the atrium, still stained with monarchs and painted ladies, but you don't forget to say a pleasing "thank you" to Bob for all he has done. You walk into the gift shop, buy a cocoon, and open the door to your car. Suddenly, a creamy white head pops out of the cocoon....