Jewel Caterpillar .x

We live in a strange, beautiful, and often alien-looking world. Case in point: the crystal-clear Jewel Caterpillar of Central and South America, pictured here in all its translucent glory.

This particular caterpillar (which is known more formally as Acraga Coa, and metamorphoses into this equally stunning orange moth) was spotted by photographer Gerardo Aispuru near Cancun, Mexico. Pictured up top is just one in a series of photographs that Aispuru submitted to Project Noah, where he writes:


Photo take in a mangrove area , found this Stoning translucent caterpillar lay on a Red Mangrove tree leaf this morning early. Just can believe there is some species like this around the world. looks like made of glass whit small red mushroom inside every pic. about 3 cm long.


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beautiful!

So unusual as well first time i have seen or heard of these .x

yeah, not heard of them before. Love seeing stuff like this though. So many amazing things in nature, and so many that haven't even been discovered yet probably. x

I agree with that .. lol x

Would make lovely jewellery!!!

haha, oh Sheila! Apparently a guy came into the museum once, one of the ones I work in, and he had a beetle on some kind of broach. But the beetle was alive. It was very beautifully coloured and was attatched to the broach somehow, so it could walk around. Think there was some kind of chain attached to its carapice. One of my friends was on the reception desk, and the guy brought it to him, as he'd bought it in South America or something. Not sure i'd want to wear it! x

How on earth would it get through customs?

Live insect jewelry refers to jewelry, made from living creatures- usually bejeweled oversized insects- which is worn as a fashion accessory. The use of insects as live jewelry has existed for many centuries, with the Egyptians believed to have been the first to have worn insects as jewelry. Ancient Egyptian soldiers commonly wore scarab beetles into battle as the beetles were considered to have supernatural powers of protection against enemies.

Although live jewelry has featured in Mayan cultural traditions for many centuries,[3] it was not until the 1980s that the Mexican Maquech Beetle, a sub-species of the Zopherus beetle, achieved mainstream popularity as live jewelry. The Maquech Beetle is a large, docile, wingless insect which is decorated with gold and semi-precious gemstones and is attached to a decorative safety pin by a chain leash. During the Mayan period, women from the Yucatán Peninsula wore Maquech Beetles pinned to their chests, over their hearts, to attract and sustain loving relationships. The tradition is attributed to a story from Mayan folklore, which believes that when a Mayan princess was not permitted to marry a prince from a rival clan whom she loved, she stopped eating and drinking, prefering to die than to live without her lover. In compassion with her plight, a traditional healer with magical powers transformed her into a Maquech beetle, so that she could spend the rest of her life living as a beautiful brooch on the chest of her lover, close to his heart.[4][5]
A live bejeweled Mexican Maquech Beetle can trade for as much as $500USD, although importation of the beetle into the United States is outlawed.[6]
[edit]The Giant Madagascar Hissing Cockroach

In 2006, the Giant Madagascar hissing cockroach (or Gromphadorhina portentosa) achieved high profile, short-lived popularity as live jewelry.[7] Fashion designer, Jared Gold, popularized the "roach brooch" trend with the inclusion of the Giant Madagascar Hissing Cockroach in his 2006 collection. Gold's cockroaches were hand-decorated with Austrian Swarovski crystals, accessorized with a leash set and were sold as "ready to wear" jewelry.[8] "Roach brooches" have subsequently been worn by celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Melina Kanakaredes, Uma Thurman, Carmen Electra, Ashlee Simpson and Maddox Jolie.[9]

No idea. It was quite some time ago, but still would have thought they'd find it. Was quite small apparently. I didn't see it, only heard about it from one of the guys I worked with, but he seemed pretty genuine about it. Had some weird things brought in to the museum before though. I think some people thing it's a dropping off point for weird stuff! Some apparently came in once with a centipede attached to their arm once. It had clamped on apparently. We have a natural history center with staff who know about insects, so I suppose people bring stuff like that thinking they'll be able to advise. We had a bat handed in to us once too. I got to see that one, he was gorgeous. So little. We had a 'bat lady' who used to come in to give talks, so they called her and got her to collect him and take him to be released.

oh wow, great find! Must have been one of those. Seems a bit cruel to the beetle to me.

oh, poor things. That looks like the description he gave of it. What a shame.

Sad isn't it...x

Very.x

Oh that is sad x

looks like one of those jelly things you squeeze and theres a light in it and it flashes.... xx

Ha ha it does about Jakeo x