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What caterpillar spins golden silk?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

December 12, 2001

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The silk taken from the cocoon of the Bombyx mori is a well-known fabric, but there is a wild silk that has a truly rare quality. The caterpillars of Antheraea assamensis [an the ra' ee ah sa men' sis] are endemic (found no where else) to a small area of India, Myanmar, and Malaysia. In the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam the caterpillars are cultivated. Unlike Bombyx mori which can no longer survive without the intervention of humans, these caterpillars have a behavior which has not necessitated domestication.

Detail of Silk Cocoons, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Unlike mulberry silk which is bleached and dyed, muga silk has the
natural quality of appearing almost like spun-gold.
Detail of Silk Cocoons, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Photographic Print by Dennis Johnson
Buy Photographic Print at AllPosters.com

Antheraea assamensis are raised outdoors primarily on two trees--som (Machilus bombycina) [mak' e lus bom bi see' na] and soalu (Litsaea polyantha) [lit say' ee po li an' tha]. The caterpillars are placed on a tree and when they have stripped the tree of foliage, the caterpillars will make a mass exit down the trunk. They are collected by the keepers and placed on another tree. When ready to spin their cocoons, these caterpillars once again exit the tree where they were feeding. This behavior allows the keepers to collect and control the caterpillars.

Each caterpillar is placed into a jali, a container made of dried twigs. The peduncle (silk that anchors the cocoon) is very weak; the caterpillars prefer a low place with numerous twigs to protect them while in their cocoons. The silk is called muga, the Assamese word for the rich amber color of the cocoon.

Unlike mulberry silk which is bleached and dyed, muga silk has the natural quality of appearing almost like spun-gold. Muga silk is also very durable; articles of clothing have been known to last for 50 years. For six hundred years, muga silk was worn only by the Ahom kings and noble families of Assam.

The fabric was unknown to the outside world until 1662 when the French explorer Jean Joseph Tavernier traveled through Assam. It still is little known and like all things rare, there are muga silk counterfeiters.

The Review of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation has an on-line monograph of the Antheraea moths. To learn more about these beautiful moths and to view photographs, click on the link:

http://www.arbec.com.my/moths/saturniidae/saturniidae_2_4.php

To view garments made of muga silk, click on the link:

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050918/spectrum/main3.htm

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[More exquisite silk products...]
Click here for larger Picture

"I try to make something special and different from batik textiles. Along with Georg, I select the finest silk batik of Indonesia to create fashionable gift items, presented in an elegant box and marketed as 'Melati's Collection.' In my spare time, I also love to design jewelry."