Artisans Angkor
When the worms have grown enough, they are put in baskets. From there, they will spin their cocoons in five days and will produce about three hundreds meters of silk each. The cocoons are then put in sunlight to avoid them undergoing their metamorphosis into mature moths. However, 20% of them reach the breeding process and the female moths will lay and hatch its eggs within nine to twelve days.
The cocoons are soaked in hot water in order to soften the sericin (also known as silk gum) which coat the fibres and stick the cocoons together. Silk threads are then unwound and reeled together to produce a single thread. Weavers at Angkor Silk Farm make both raw silk and fine silk that do not have the same texture at all. Sericin has not been completely removed from raw silk threads, which will give a rougher texture to the fabric at the end.
Leucochloridium paradoxum
The worm in its larval, miracidia stage, travels into the digestive system of a snail to develop into the next stage,
a sporocyst. The sporocyst grows into long tubes to form swollen "broodsacs" filled with tens to hundreds of cercariae. These broodsacs invade the snail's tentacles (preferring the left, when available), causing a brilliant transformation of the tentacles into a swollen, pulsating, colorful display that mimics the appearance of a caterpillar or grub. The broodsacs seem to pulsate in response to light intensity, and in total darkness they do not pulse at all. The infection of the tentacles of the eyes seems to inhibit the perception of light intensity. Whereas uninfected snails seek dark areas to prevent predation, infected snails have a deficit in light detection, and are more likely to become exposed to predators, such as birds. In a study done in Poland, 53% of infected snails stayed in more open places longer, sat on higher vegetation, and stayed in better lit places than uninfected snails. Only 28% of the uninfected snails remained fully exposed for the duration of the observation period. Birds are the definitive hosts where the cercariae develop into adult distomes in the digestive system of the bird. These adult forms sexually reproduce and lay eggs that are released from the host via the bird's excretory system. These droppings are then consumed by snails to complete the life cycle of this parasitic worm.