Jeweler's 287th original popular science, unauthorized, please do not reprint!
For a person who is afraid of all kinds of insects, whether it is a flying squirming insect, it is a matter of respect. For me, I was already a warrior when I liked to collect insect specimens, until one day, I saw jewelry made of insects!
Gidding bug bracelet | Bibi van der Velden
At that time, my mood was broken, and I was a little curious, so I went to collect some information. Hey? It seems that this bug is also a little bit good-looking.
To be precise, this insect, called giddings, is a general term for insects of the Coleoptera gidding family, and about 16,000 species are known.
It is known as the most beautiful family of insects, ignoring the appearance of insects, only admiring the elytra wings that shine with a rainbow of metallic luster, looking at different angles of different lights, and different colors, I have to say that it is really a jewelry feeling.
Various elytra geding | with rainbow luster Image source: blogspot.com
As a result, the fantastic and colorful gidding worm is also called "Jewel beetle" in English, "Prachtkafer" in German, and "Richard" in France.
Of course, not all giddings can be used to make jewelry. Most of the gidding insects are less than 1 cm long, the body color is inconspicuous brown or black, and only a few are the darlings of the sky, not only large, but also have a beautiful metallic luster.
Various giddings | Image: Genera Insectorum
Myrtle Gidding, commonly known as Chrysochroa fulgidissima, is the chosen son of the Gidding Family and is recognized as the most beautiful Gidding.
Myrtle gidding
It is 3 to 4 cm long, golden green in color, full body like a boat, the ends are upturned, the head is covered with irregular thick dots, and the front chest back plate and the elytra each have a purple-red longitudinal band.
In addition to the myrtle gidding, there is also the red and green chrysochroa vittata, which shimmers with the bright green light of Tsavray.
Red-green gold giding Chrysochroa vittata | Image: Ben Sale/wikipedia
The green dot oval Sternocera Acquisignata has bright metallic green elytra wings that resemble a lump of electric emerald.
Green dot oval Geding Sterling Sternocera Acquisignata
The color of these beautiful elytras is not derived from the chemicals or pigments in the body, but from the unique structure of the body - the several tiny layers of structure on the surface of the body reflect and interfere with the light in a specific wavelength field, producing color, which is called structural color.
The carapace near the eye of the Gidding worm | Image: Charles Krebs
Even if the gidding worm dies, these brilliant colors will not change unless the surface of its body is physically damaged. This unfading property makes it a unique ornament.
Silver gidding bug ring | Bibi van der Velden
During the Victorian period in England, the gidding worm was worn as a living jewel and became popular in high society. Because of the brilliant colors of the gidding insects, they feel like delicate ladies, so they are also known as the "eyes of the rainbow".
Gidding Bug Jewelry Set, circa 1884, Wartski, London
In New Guinea, people use the wing sheath of the gidding insect to make collars. In India, women cut the wings of the large glazed giddingii into circles and attach them to their foreheads for decoration. In northern Thailand, you can also see pins and key rings made from Sternoceataspp, which is known locally as "Men Tep".
Megaloxantha bicolor stamps
These metallic elytras are not only made into specimens, jewelry, pendants, but also adorn clothing as patches.
19th century Geding worm elytra decorated Indian dress | Image: blogspot.com
Embroidered dresses made from Geding elytra from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection (from India)
In some ethnic minorities in Taiwan, only the elders of the clan are eligible to sew the wings of rainbow gidding insects on their clothes as decorations.
Artists were particularly fond of this material with its own gradient effect, and Belgian artist Jan Fabre was extremely fond of giddings, creating a series of artworks based on the gyrings' elytra.
Jan Fabre's decorative painting made of gidding's elytra | Image: designcloud.nl
In 2002, he even used the elytra wings of 1.4 million jeweled beetles to decorate the ceiling of the Royal Palace in Brussels, which was a sensation.
However, the favorite of the gidding insects is the Japanese.
In Japan, the gidding worm is called the jade worm (many times the word jade worm will refer specifically to the myrtle of the golden geding), and in Japanese, "jade (tama)" and "soul (tamashii)" are homophonous, so the ancients believed that the jade worm was a soul worm with special spiritual power.
Gidding worm earrings | Bibi van der Velden
The Japanese believe that keeping the gidding worm in the closet is not afraid of not wearing clothes for a lifetime, and putting the gidding worm in the makeup box, the fragrance of the foundation will never change. In addition, unmarried women can find a good relationship with a pair of gidding worms, on the contrary, if the collection of gidding worms changes color, there will be ominous things.
Beetle brooch | Delfina Delettrez
Some treasures related to religious Buddhism also use the elytra wings of jade worms as decorations, and one of Japan's national treasures, the "Jade Worm Cook", is made from gidding worms. "Jade worm" refers to the gidding worm, while "cook" is the cabinet where the Buddha statue is placed. To create this national treasure, the craftsmen used a total of 9,083 myrtle gidding's forewings to decorate it. Today, this national treasure is housed in Horyu-ji Temple in Japan and is worshipped by many Buddhist devotees.
Japan National Treasure Jade Worm Box | Image: matome.naver.jp
<h1>Gidding worm cold knowledge</h1>
1. In ancient China, Li Shizhen's Materia Medica records the use of giddings as an aphrodisiac (people take it with them, making people like to love each other and charm medicines).
2. Gidding worms can be dead for more than 5 hours at low temperatures (Fabre's "Insects").
3. Gidding insects are highly drought-resistant and can develop in wood that has been dried into furniture. The American red-edged gidding insect once created a longevity record of eating dry wood in furniture and suffering for 30 years to become an adult insect.
4. The larvae of the long flat gidding insect can only live in the trees that fall on the ground after a forest fire, so the female can smell the smoke of the fire 50 kilometers away.
Small squares cut by the elytra of the Gidding worm
5, most of the gidding insects are active in the sun during the day, and the glittering appearance of the female insects is full of charm for male giddings. When the male sees the glittering female, he will quickly descend from a height of two meters like a paratrooper and fall directly on the female, ready to mate.
Manu Propria decorates the Tammamushi Timepiece Jade Worm watch
bibliography:
Zhu Yaoyi / The Splendid Gem of the Insect World, Science Monthly
Species Calendar 2018
<h1>Jeweler, the good designs you can buy are all here! </h1>
Customer service number: zhubaoj02