Use the links above to see more photos.

Raw silk - about 300 meters of filament in each of these spoon-sized cocoons. The filaments are about 10 micrometers in diameter - human hair averages 80. At the right moment, before the moth has a chance to break out and ruin the continuous thread, the cocoons are boiled.

The worms themselves are savory morsels that are often fried with garlic.

You need about 5 thousand cocoons to make a kilo of silk which would sell for about $20 here in Laos. It's a long and laborious process.