thumb|right|Woven silk textile from tomb no 1. at Mawangdui in Changsha, Hunan province, China, from the Western Han dynasty, 2nd century BC thumb|Rearing of wild Eri silk worm, Assam Several kinds of wild silk, produced by caterpillars other than the mulberry silkworm, have been known and spun in China, South Asia, and Europe since ancient times. However, the scale of production was always far smaller than for cultivated silks. There are several reasons for this: first, they differ from the domesticated varieties in colour and texture and are therefore less uniform; second, cocoons gathered in the wild have usually had the pupa emerge from them before being discovered so the silk thread that makes up the cocoon has been torn into shorter lengths; and third, many wild cocoons are covered in a mineral layer that prevents attempts to reel from them long strands of silk. Thus, the only way to obtain silk suitable for spinning into textiles in areas where commercial silks are not cultivated was by tedious and labor-intensive carding.
thumb|right|Woven silk textile from tomb no 1. at Mawangdui in Changsha, Hunan province, China, from the Western Han dynasty, 2nd century BC thumb|Rearing of wild Eri silk worm, Assam Several kinds of wild silk, produced by caterpillars other than the mulberry silkworm, have been known and :spun in China, South Asia, and Europe since ancient times. However, the scale of production was :always far smaller than for cultivated silks. There are several reasons for this: first, they differ from the domesticated varieties in colour and texture and are therefore less uniform; second, cocoons gathered in the wild have usually had the pupa emerge from them before being discovered so the silk thread that makes up the cocoon has been torn into shorter lengths; and third, many wild cocoons are covered in a mineral layer that prevents attempts to reel from them lo:ng strands of silk. Thus, the only way to obtain silk suitable for spinning into textiles in areas where commercial silks are not cultivated. was by tedious and labor-intensive carding.