The Diagram below describes the lifecycle of the silkworm and how silk cloth is produced in South east Asia.

The illustrations portray the different stages in the

life

of the

silkworm

and how

silkworm

cocoons

are used to make

silk

cloth

.

Overall

, silkworms have an average

life

span of ten weeks, and there are four main stages in the

life

cycle: egg, larvae, cocoon, and adult moth, and six in the

silk

cloth

production process: selecting, boiling, unwinding, twisting, weaving, and dying. The journey of the

silk

worm's

life

begins with eggs, which are laid by an adult female moth on melburry leaves. After around 10 days, the eggs hatch and

silkworm

larvae emerge. The larvae feed on the melburry leaves for about 4 to 6 weeks and

then

start to create protective layers called

cocoons

by spinning a single strand of

silk

around themselves. It takes them approximately 3 to 8 days to produce enough

silk

to surround their whole body. They stay in their

cocoons

for a fortnight to transform into adult moths.

Finally

, after the female moths lay eggs, the

life

cycle begins again. To produce

silk

cloth

,

silkworm

cocoons

are first selected. Those found suitable for production,

subsequently

boiled in water before being unwound into strands of

silk

that measured about 300 to 900 long.

Further

, they are twisted to form thicker

silk

threads.

Finally

, some of the threads go straight to the dyeing process,

while

the others are woven into

cloth

, which is

then

dyed.The produced

silk

threads are used in the embroidery textile industry for sewing clothes.