Fey Silkworm

The Fey Silkworm is an nonnative species of moth found throughout the Colliennan forest. The species spread from the Fey realm throughout Colliennach with a steadily growing population. Although the moth carries innate magic, it can not utilise it. It is speculated that they lost most of their magical abilities over the generations, though it remains unclear whether they ever had magical abilities.
  The thread from their cocoons is commonly utilised in the production of silk, with Colliennans often making use of this lighter, more shiny material for their clothes.
 

Description

Adults

Adult moths come in three colours; white, lavender, and pale yellow (sometimes called golden). The colouration usually covers the entire body, with some variations in shading and rarely also with mixed colours. Their antenna are bioluminescent, and they are covered in fine, magically charged fur-like hairs that shed towards the end of their lives. Adult Fey Silkworm moths can reach up to 7 inches in length.
 

Caterpillars

The larvae are between 4.5 and 6 inches long. While visually similar colours as in their adult forms, the caterpillars do not yet have the hairs that they do as adults. Instead, they are almost perfectly smooth, with near to no features.
 

Geographic Range and Habitat

While the species originated in the Fey realm, they have since spread into the Colliennan Forest. Their reliance on foliage for food in their larval stage has limited their spread outside of Colliennach, although the adult moths are occasionally observed in southern Farmer's Triumph during spring.
 

Life Cycle

Fey Silkworms typically live for two years, being born in the beginning of Lifleges. They spend their first year as caterpillars, feeding and eventually hibernating on the forest ground. After their first summer they begin their pupal stage, spinning their cocoons against the foot of tree trunks and remaining there over their second winter. In the early spring they begin to emerge, cutting a thin line into the top of their cocoons and crawling up the trunk. The moths are active mostly in the evening and night, and they feed primarily on nectar. Towards the end of Vindames, they mate and lay their eggs on the forest ground. After that, they will settle on the highest branches, shed their hair, and die by the end of Lifliges. The shed hair only remains for about four days, after which it has fully decomposed (the magical energy acting as a catalyst).
  Due to the irregular migration from the Fey realm, there is generation overlap between adult moths of one part of the population and larvae of the other.
 

Silk Production

The silk thread produced by the larvae for the cocoons is harvested after the adults hatch, since before then it is impossible to detach the cocoons from the tree trunks without damaging the thread. The cut made by the hatching moths loosens the wrapped threads in a way that makes separating them from the tree a lot easier. The single threads are then spun together to make silk thread that can be used to weave fabrics.