insects

How-To: Collect and Display Insects

How-To: Collect and Display Insects

In the midst of the current 17-year cicada emergence here on the East coast, the good folks over at Radiolab have posted an interview with Dr. Louis Sorkin, in which he describes how to collect and display insects in shadowboxes (or cigar boxes if you want that DIY aesthetic).

Continue Reading
Watch Parts Made into Mechanical Creatures

Watch Parts Made into Mechanical Creatures

Chicago-based jeweler Justin Gershenson-Gates crafts these mechanical creatures from watch components, using winding stems for legs and watch faces for exoskeletons.

Continue Reading

Golden Cicada Wing Earrings

Growing up in Chicago, I remember the first time I heard the sound of cicadas, a loud, unmatched symphony. Despite the fact that cicadas are pretty large insects and can be kinda scary as they fly around, they have an undeniable beauty, especially in their delicate wings. Based in Lawrence, Kansas, Sudlow Jewelry has a […]

Continue Reading
Live insect bracelet-cage

Live insect bracelet-cage

Thingiverse user themauxfaux, who does seem to enjoy his word-play, just posted these plans for a laser-cut bangle that incorporates a hollow passage, complete with air-holes, so you can display your favorite live insect specimens on your wrist.

He calls it “Putrefashion,” which I think is a tactical error. I mean, I understand: I have a hard time resisting a good pun myself, but the whole point here is to keep the critter alive. And if you were to, you know, keep wearing it after it died and started to rot, well…just…ew. Even moreso “ew” than wearing bugs around on your wrist in the first place.

Now, apart from the name, there’s still plenty to criticize here, if I were inclined to do so. But I prefer to focus on the positive, and in spite of all my little quibbles with the design, I say this still counts as a win on the basis of originality alone.

Continue Reading