silk
From the east and the ancient times when there were emperors and dynasties sericulture existed. A fabric so delicate and so soft that it was indeed a financial statement for the powerful and the mighty manufactured their clothes and garments. However, as the eastern cultures began to spread into the western and those who now were their fellow citizens knew more and more of their activities, the use of silk fabric began to be more noticed and demanded.
Currently there is almost no one who does not know what silk is. Silk is yet another fabric that comes from an animal by-product; unlike wool, the animal from which it comes does not need to pasture outdoors and it is not to be sheared, the animal that produces silk is a worm, to be more precise of the larvae of a moth that cannot fly or see.
It seems that the only purpose of this moth is to lay eggs and produce silk worms. Nonetheless, it is believed that the Chinese in their aim to produce more and more silk for their masters and well as their dynasty members bred only those moths that had these handicaps so that they would not have to deal with hunting and stalking moths in the wilderness.
In any case or event, it is the larvae of this particular moth who produces the silk that will adorn the back of any human; sadly, to have the silk means that the worm has to be killed to be able to harvest the cocoon and this is done mainly by steaming or heating the worms. This makes the silk harvesting process a very cruel one.