Holy Buprestidae Batman!

Some things just stop you in your tracks. I found myself engrossed in aquakej's Etsy shop while checking on the best tags to use for my items. Here I've been trying to mimic insectine beauty for years, and this woman has simply used the insects themselves!















In addition to just looking awesome, the use of real insects can be environmentally beneficial. Instead of cutting down their land to grow corn or graze cattle, an insect farmer usually requires a rain forest to stay in place. In the examples which I have read, a farmer grows an abundance of the desired insects food plant, and the insects lay their eggs in this patch. Some of the chrysalis' (chrysalises? chrysali? chrysalie? chrysalahhh-haa!) are gathered up to pupate in controlled circumstances while some are left to grow into a wild adult which will later lay eggs in the farmers patch (we hope).
An alternative to this method is to propagate host plants in a more controlled environment and keep a breeding stock supplemented with wild populations. This generally requires a stable stand of native plants including host and non-host varieties (for various reasons, one being so you can control the population growth of the bugs your breeding), and a stable wild population.

Anyway, the jewelry is cool, bug farming is interesting. Check it out :3