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Eastern Tent Caterpillar "Silk" (piefed.social)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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This is a little off the beaten track as far as usual foraging posts go, but I had a question. Has anyone tried spinning Eastern Tent Caterpillar webs into a usable thread/yarn? I'm definitely not one of those people who hates them and wants them gone; they're native here and relatively harmless, despite what naysayers would have you believe. However, they sure do make a ton of webs! I'm sure they could probably stand to part with a little here or there right? Like, after they're done with them?

Communal tent of the Malacosoma americanum caterpillar

Not sure if it would work, but if it is spinnable, seems like it might be a convenient local source for an ahimsa silk alternative.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

no, but interesting idea.

i remember I watched a guy spin spider silk into guitar strings, but it took an absurd amount of work and web to even make one string.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DzTHI-n7-E

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Wow, AND it broke despite being one of the strongest types of spider web! On the other hand, I think the way they plied it is not how things are supposed to be done, for good reason. Correct plying ought to make a world of difference. From what i saw in the video, it only seems like a lot of web if it needs to be continuous. To make yarn, it's not at all atypical to spin many shorter fibers together rather than few long ones. And caterpillar tents are super abundant! The differences in strength between insect webs might still be a real issue though.

Somebody else mentioned that they think caterpillar tent silk just balls up into a big stacky wad, so you might need to submerge it in something that would cut the stickiness first. That also made me think of another possibility. What if, instead of spinning it as-is, you dissolved it in a solvent and then electrospun it onto a rotating spool? And then plied the result?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

idk what electrospinning is, unless that's what these scientists are doing, but I do think you should try it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK52CJXaCy4

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

These bastards are far from harmless.