How is silk obtained from a cocoon?

Answer 1

The mulberry silkworm caterpillar spins about one mile of thread for its cocoon. The farmers who specialize in this production arrange special frames for the caterpillars, and the caterpillars are killed with heat when they have finished building their cocoon. This is then immersed in hot water to soften the adhesive part, and wound up on spools. Several threads are wound together to make a usable fibre.

The thread from the Bombyx mori (silkworm) is triangular in section, and is about 5 - 10 microns wide.

The earliest silk fabric dates from about 3500 BCE, and the silk trade had spread such that an Egyptian mummy of about 1070 BCE had some silk in the hair.

Spider silk is about one-third the diameter of silk from the mulberry moth.

Answer 2

The mulberry silkworm caterpillar spins about one mile of thread for its cocoon. The farmers who specialize in this production arrange special frames for the caterpillars, and the caterpillars are killed with heat when they have finished building their cocoon. This is then immersed in hot water to soften the adhesive part, and wound up on spools. Several threads are wound together to make a usable fibre.