GrrlScientist is an evolutionary biologist, ornithologist, aviculturist, birder and freelance science and nature writer. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she relocated from Seattle to NYC with her parrots after earning a BS in Microbiology (emphasis in Virology) and PhD in Zoology (Ornithology) from the University of Washington. In NYC, she was the Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History for two years, pursuing part of her "dream" research project by reconstructing a molecular phylogeny of the parrots of the South Pacific islands. GrrlScientist and her five parrots are currently relocating to Germany, where she will continue writing her blog while also writing a book and learning German. (Meanwhile, her parrots will continue to nibble on her extensive personal library.) If you appreciate GrrlScientist's writing, you can help pay her living expenses by hiring her to "blog" your conference, speak at your club or write articles for your publication (or by clicking on the Paypal button below). If you read an essay on this blog that you especially enjoyed, please nominate it for inclusion in 
tags: spider silk, Madagascar, tapestry, textile art, AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, NYC, streaming video
A spectacular and extremely rare textile, woven from golden-colored silk thread produced by more than one million spiders in Madagascar is now on display at the American Museum of Natural History in the Grand Gallery.
Drawing on the legacy of a French missionary, Jacob Paul Camboué, this contemporary textile measures 11 feet by 4 feet and took four years to make using a painstaking technique.
Hear from Dr. Ian Tattersall, Curator, Division of Anthropology at AMNH, as well as Nicholas Godley, co-creator and owner of the silk along with his partner Simon Peers as they discuss this rare work.
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Comments
That's amazing!
Posted by: Gini | September 25, 2009 9:39 AM
Spider webs don't last very long in nature, how long will this last?
Thanks,
Mike
Posted by: Michael Kmiotek | September 27, 2009 5:52 PM
Very amazing!
Please correct your title. It is NOT a tapestry. It IS a textile, a shawl. Thanks you!
Posted by: Dawn | September 28, 2009 8:59 AM