When we hear the word ‘silk’, we often think of smooth and shiny silk fabrics. Technically speaking, silk does not refer to a fabric, but to the silk fibers that are used to make these fabrics. Silk is a natural protein fiber.

Natural means that it is derived from animals, such as moths, spiders, and even a type of clam. While many insects are capable of producing silk, the silk we are most familiar with is made by the larvae of moths, also known as caterpillars. To be even more specific, silk fibers are found in the cocoons of these moth larvae. The larvae make cocoons to grow in before they pupate and emerge as moths. These cocoons are each made of one long silk fiber that the larvae produce using their saliva. On average, a strand of silk from a cocoon ranges anywhere between 300 to 900 meters long. However, a silk fiber can measure up to 1600 meters in length. To put that into perspective, that’s about five times the length of the Eiffel Tower.