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Unique Spider Silk Tapestry on Exhibit at AMNH

The American Museum of Natural History has unveiled in New York something never before seen: an 11-by-4-foot tapestry made completely of spider silk. Weavers in Madagascar took four years to make it, with the help of more than 1 million spidersand the museum says there’s no other like it in the world. The color is […]

Oct 02, 2009 | By Anakin

The American Museum of Natural History has unveiled in New York something never before seen: an 11-by-4-foot tapestry made completely of spider silk.

Weavers in Madagascar took four years to make it, with the help of more than 1 million spidersand the museum says there’s no other like it in the world.

The color is a radiant gold — the natural color of the golden orb-weaving spider, from the Nephila genus, one that’s found in several parts of the world.

To produce this unique golden cloth, 70 people spent four years collecting golden orb spiders from telephone poles in Madagascar.

The spiders were then silked by another dozen workers and released back into the wild each day.

Read the full article @ NPR.org


 
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