Domestic Metalspinner

As you can see, this silk wire is as strong as this steel wire.

— Heard at a demonstration of Metalspinner silk

There a few materials that are as widely used and as widely useful as the silk from Metalspinners. The strength of the material allows it to replace steel in some circumstances.

Basic Information

Growth Rate & Stages

Metalspinners have four distinct stages of growth.

The first starge is in the form of eggs laid upon the base of grassand weed types found in the plains.

The second stage is as a larva. In this stage it exclusively eats the plant it was placed upon as an egg. The larve molt six times before moving onto the third stage.

About a tenday after the sixth molt the larva starts producing silk in order to create a cocoon. This stage takes about two tendays.

Lastly there is the adult stage where the butterfly lives for a short amount of time laying eggs.

Additional Information

Domestication

The big difference between the wild and domesitc Metalspinner is that the domesticated one stays in the larval stage for much longer, growing larger and using that to spin more silk.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Metalspinners are bred solely in order to extract the silk from its larvae. The silk is stronger than steel and much tougher while being lighter. For this reason the silk often replaces iron based products.

The process of extracting the silk begins when the larvae begin spinning their cocoon. It is at this point when a person grabs hold of the thread and starts collecting it up until the larvea stop producing the silk. When that happens the thread is cut and the larvae are put in small containers with silk lids, allowing the larvae to pupate.

Use of the silk has been going on for a long time, but over the last few decades it became more widely used as a new food imported from the Halalan mountain range.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Metalspinners are found in the large plains. The tough silk is believed to have evolved as protection against predators.