That's amazing
I've never seen the silk from the cocoons just stretched out to a massive sheet - it's got incredible properties. I thought it was always pulled off the cocoon in a single thread, which in itself seems quite implausible - it's bad enough trying to undo a small ball of tangled string. Now I'm wondering how the hell they find the start of the thread - time for a bit of research!
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tarka_dall Like normal dall, only a bit more spicy, Fri 10 May 2019, 20:50,
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They always leave out that crucial part.
I think the larva extrudes a mess back and forth on twigs before making the cocoon to hold it in place on the bush. I think that's where they start.
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kombu dashi, Sat 11 May 2019, 1:15,
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Of course - it has to attach the end to something!
Cheers for that - I read that they use a brush on the wet cocoon to find the end, but on its own that doesn't give much detail. If there's going to be a thicker bit where it was joined to the twig I can see how it would work. I still find it incredible that you can pull the single thread off without it snagging or getting tangled.
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tarka_dall Like normal dall, only a bit more spicy, Sat 11 May 2019, 9:14,
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