As Christmas shopping continues here in the United States, fancy jewelry is on the minds as possible gifts. Most of the TV channels that I get have various commercials for Jared's Jewelry, Kay Jewelers, etc. all advertising their various diamonds, rubies, and other exotic and expensive wares as potential Christmas, New Years, and engagement gifts. Diamonds are forever, after all...not coffee makers or other gadgets that break, right? The message is to get something different, something that will really blow the receiver's socks off. Well, what if you could get bedazzled jewelry, but that its either from living insects or actually is a living insect?
Zoropheridae beetles used as living jewelery. Image by Shawn Hanrahan from TAMU and found on Wikipedia.com
In some cultures, its possible to actually purchase what is considered "living jewelry", called The Mexican Maquech Beetle, in Mexico. These beetles, which are also called Ironclad beetles because their exoskeletons are so hard, were sometimes used as jewelry by gluing rhinestones to their backs along with a chain, and then then the chain was pinned to a blouse. The insect then crawled, tethered, all along your shirt as living jewelery. As adults they only eat rotting wood and occasionally need water, so they are pretty hardy beetles that could last crawling along your blouse for long periods of time fairly easily. For more information about these beetles and the culture surrounding them, check out this link and video:
So, next time you look at another jewelry commercial on TV and you think you want to buy something really special, you could get one of these uniquely decorated beetles as jewelry instead!
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