From the cocoon to the yarn, how silk is born
For many centuries, the silk rearing in particular and the sericulture in general have been a prerogative of China and of its emperors, as seen in the article about silk history. The silkworm and the silk production process comes / arrived from Sicily in XIII century and from there it spread firstly in Italy and then all over Europe. Still, how does a silkworm become silk? How can a butterfly larva produce a filament so precious and fine?...