Kapok Dubbing from Semperfli are moisture-resistant, quick-drying floating fibers and weigh only one-eighth the weight of cotton. It comes from a tropical tree native to Mexico and Central America (now elsewhere), and the hairs we use wrap the seeds inside its pods. Kapok was used in life jackets and lifeboats, supporting 30 times its own weight in water. So when used on flies it is arguably the best material out there. Individual Kapok fibers average 1.8 cm in length and 30 to 36 micrometers in diameter, making it finer than even superfine dubbing. It is very difficult to color, but Semperfli presents us with a very rich range of colors, completely covering the insects we imitate.
