A silkworm is the caterpillar of a moth that spins silk thread to make its cocoon. These small, pale larvae eat mulberry leaves constantly for about six weeks, growing plump and eventually reaching about three inches long. When they're ready to transform into moths, silkworms produce a single continuous thread of silk, sometimes over half a mile long, and wind it around themselves thousands of times to create a protective cocoon.

For over 5,000 years, people in China discovered they could carefully unwind these cocoons and weave the delicate threads into silk fabric. This made silk one of the most valuable materials in the ancient world. The famous Silk Road, a network of trade routes connecting Asia and Europe, got its name because merchants traveled thousands of dangerous miles to trade this precious fabric.

Today, silkworms are completely domesticated. They can't survive in the wild anymore and depend entirely on humans to feed them and care for them. While modern factories now produce many synthetic fabrics, silk from silkworms remains prized for its strength, smoothness, and natural sheen. Each silk scarf or tie requires the cocoons of hundreds of silkworms, making it a remarkable collaboration between humans and insects.