Comments on: Bejeweled beauties

Bejeweled beauties

madamjujujive — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:40:52 -0800

Form and Pheromone - truly lovely beetle mosaics and insect art. (via recogedor) Previously: Living Jewels.

By: carsonb

carsonb — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:49:18 -0800

Wow! The mosaics are amazing eye candy. They way they are arranged has my eyes flitting around the piece; they have a skittering, restless energy in the arrangement appropriate to the subject matter. And then when my attention alights on any particular bug, it is glorious in its own right. Great find, madamjujujive, thanks!

By: philomathoholic

philomathoholic — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:19:16 -0800

This pretty much answers the question, "Have humans made a color that isn't already found in nature?" that I've wondered for a little while.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:25:41 -0800

God, I'd love to own one of those mosaics! Handsome site, too. This pretty much answers the question, "Have humans made a color that isn't already found in nature?" Now, I'm just a drummer, not a scientist, but based on my understanding of color and light, it wouldn't be possible for humans to "make" a color.

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:27:01 -0800

Fantastic photographs, but it leaves me wondering if any insects were harmed in the process?

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:30:51 -0800

Not harmed, just killed.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:32:55 -0800

Seriously, though, this might answer some of your questions.

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 03:55:48 -0800

Thanks flapjax at midnite. Entomologists have long affirmed that it is not the collecting of insects out of the wild that adversely affects their populations, but the destruction of their habitats and hostplants (the plant an insect species requires to reproduce.) That't what the Japanese and Icelanders said about their whalehunts..... Obviously, killing one beetle isn't going to "adversely affect" their populations, but it is one hell of an adverse effect on that particular creature. If every LOLcats photo involved killing a cat, I doubt most people would easily overlook this. Knowing all those awful, scary creatures were killed to make these pretty pictures takes away a great deal of their beauty.

By: mattoxic

mattoxic — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 05:00:56 -0800

Knowing all those awful, scary creatures were killed to make these pretty pictures takes away a great deal of their beauty. Thats somewhat how I felt admiring the site, I always thought butterfly collecting a tad ghoulish, but then again, I can admire some nice crocodile skin boots, or a lovely suede sofa. And I do have a collection of dog heads.

By: R. Mutt

R. Mutt — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:29:42 -0800

Dog heads? Cool. I hear that collecting and displaying dog heads is actually great for the dog population as a whole. Just think of the dog awareness that is being spread!

By: carsonb

carsonb — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:29:00 -0800

I'll feel sorry for bugs dying when they don't have over twice the number of species as all other living organisms combined. Get to work, artists!

By: Leon

Leon — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:51:36 -0800

Knowing all those awful, scary creatures were killed to make these pretty pictures takes away a great deal of their beauty. I wouldn't worry about most insects, but I would worry about th is. (Found whilst looking for preserved insects).

By: heatherann

heatherann — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:53:38 -0800

These are stunning.

By: R. Mutt

R. Mutt — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:06:35 -0800

It would bother me less is it was somehow for more than decorative purposes.

By: R. Mutt

R. Mutt — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:18:45 -0800

*if it was...

By: philomathoholic

philomathoholic — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:29:57 -0800

Now, I'm just a drummer, not a scientist, but based on my understanding of color and light, it wouldn't be possible for humans to "make" a color. I'll try to be clearer. We have color wheels that show all possible colors perceivable by the average person. From the linked pictures above, it appears that all of the exotic colors one might think have been neglected in nature are actually present. What I meant by "make" was picking a new color from a color wheel that hasn't previously been seen in human constructions, and creating a product that has that new color.

By: snofoam

snofoam — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 14:17:54 -0800

i used to have a coffee table book about coleoptera with a similar group photo as the inside cover.

By: madamjujujive

madamjujujive — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:10:30 -0800

I forgot about the prior awesome beetle and insect art post by jonson, in which the issue of insect harvesting was raised. That thread discussed the ceiling of the Royal Palace in Brussels which artist Jan Fabre lined with the carapaces of nearly a million jewel beetles - he claimed he collected them for three years from entomology departments of universities and restaurants, where he says they are cooked an eaten for protein the way we eat mussels. The artist really doesn't share much about how these beetles were harvested. I admit, it appears to be insecticide, but I can't throw too many stones since I've killed a lot of bugs in my day, just not such pretty ones. But then again, my crimes were ones in the heat of passion (eeek, eeek!) not in premeditation.

By: petersn1

petersn1 — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:08:50 -0800

Pretty Sad.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:59:59 -0800

Wow! Opening the first page was such a delightful surprise. Just my kind of eye candy. Amazingly beautiful.

By: dhruva

dhruva — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 16:37:02 -0800

Great Post MJJ.