One of the most interesting new additions to London’s prestigious Victoria & Albert museum is a exhibition showcasing the world’s largest pieces of cloth made from spider silk. On display is an elaborate embroidered cape and a 4 meter long scarf. The silk used to produce these items came from over one million female golden orb weaver spiders collected from the highlands of Madagascar. Everyday for seven years, 80 people collected wild spiders to produce enough silk to weave these striking pieces.  Not to worry, the spiders are kept safe. They are retained for about 12 hours, just enough time to extract the silk, and then they are returned to their natural environment. The display will run until June 5, 2012.

via BBC