The Dubrovnik Natural History Museum and the Museums and Galleries of Konavle invite you to the opening of the exhibition "The Silkworm in Konavle" on Monday, October 21, at 6:30 p.m. at the Dubrovnik Natural History Museum. This exhibition is the result of the first inter-institutional collaboration between cultural institutions, the Dubrovnik Natural History Museum and the Museums and Galleries of Konavle, and it will be opened as part of the central celebration of the UNESCO World Heritage Year in Dubrovnik.

It is a redesign of the exhibition "Silkworm, Silk, Silk Thread" by Antonija Rusković Radonić, which was held in 2017 at the Konavle Homeland Museum. The authors of the redesign are senior curator of the Museums and Galleries of Konavle, Jelena Beželj, and academic painter Anita Arbulić Vujasin.

Silk is a fine natural protein fiber produced by various animals. Bees produce it to reinforce wax walls, wasps for sealing their brood cells, and ants for building nests. However, their silk is not strong enough to be used by humans. The silk used in textile production is made by spinners, which are mostly nocturnal moths with large, hairy bodies that are poor fliers. There are about 500 species of spinners, with the best-known species of domestic spinner being the silkworm (Bombyx mori).

The development of the silkworm consists of four life stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult moth. It feeds exclusively on mulberry leaves, and an average silkworm caterpillar spins about 1,500 meters of uneven-quality silk thread during the cocooning process.

In Konavle, silk production has a long history and is very personal. Traditionally, silk was produced only by girls before marriage for decorating their own garments. Besides being used for garments, it was also used for tying the navels of newborns and for binding the hands and feet of the deceased during burial. Thus, it was present in all aspects of life.