The discovery of the product silk from the silkworm species Bombyx mori occurred around 2700 BC. According to Chinese tradition the bride of Emperor Huang Ti, a 14-year-old girl called Hsi Ling Shi, discovered the invention of the first silk reel. Sericulture, the cultivation of the silkworm, spread through China making silk a highly valued commodity much sought after by other countries. In 139 BC the world's longest trade route was opened stretching from Eastern China to the Mediterranean Sea. It was named the Silk Road after its most valuable commodity. By 300 AD the secret of silk production had reached India and Japan.

    Silk manufacture eventually reached Europe and America. During the 18th and 19th centuries Europeans produced several major advancements in silk production. By the 18th century England led Europe in silk manufacturing because of English innovations in the textiles industry. These innovations included improved silk-weaving looms, power looms and roller printing. Between 1855 and 1865 an epidemic

    Silkworms possess a pair of specially modified salivary glands called sericteries, which are used for the production of a clear, viscous, proteinaceous fluid that is forced through openings called spinnerets on the mouthpart of the larva. As the fluid comes into contact with the air it hardens. The diameter of the spinneret determines the thickness of the silk thread, which is produced as a long, continuous filament.

Typical Commercial Silkworm Production

    The first stage of silk production is the hatching of the silkworm eggs, in a controlled environment such as an aluminium box, which are then examined to ensure they are free from disease. The female deposits 300 to 400 eggs at a time. In an area the size of this page around 50 moths would deposit more than 20,000 eggs, each about the size of a pinhead. The female dies almost immediately after depositing the eggs and the male lives only a short time after. The adult possesses rudimentary mouthparts and does not eat during the short period of its mature existence.