View source for Live insect jewelry

{{Short description|Jewelry made with insects}}
[[File:Zopheridae jewelry sjh.jpg|thumb|right|[[Zopheridae]] examples of jewelry taken at the [[Texas A&M University]] Insect Collection in College Station, Texas]]
'''Live insect jewelry''' refers to [[jewelry]] made from living creatures – usually bejeweled [[Insect|oversized insects]] – which is worn as a [[fashion accessory]]. The use of insects as live jewelry has existed for many centuries, with the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]] believed to have been the first to have worn insects as jewelry. Ancient Egyptian soldiers commonly wore [[Scarabaeoidea|scarab beetles]] into battle as the beetles were considered to have [[Magic (paranormal)|supernatural powers of protection]] against enemies.<ref>{{cite web|title=Beetle Brooches And Diamond Dragonflies|url=http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/agcomm/newscolumns/archives/OSL/1990/January/012590OSL.html|work=On Six Legs|publisher=Purdue Extension|access-date=2 November 2012|author=Tom Turpin|date=25 January 1990|archive-date=19 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119060336/http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/agcomm/newscolumns/archives/OSL/1990/January/012590OSL.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Walking jewels: the beauty of beetles|url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/nature-live/video-archive/videos/beetles/|work=The Natural History Museum|publisher=The Natural History Museum|access-date=2 November 2012|author=Quentin Wheeler|date=15 January 2003}}</ref>
==The Mexican maquech ==
Although live jewelry has featured in [[Maya civilization|Mayan cultural traditions]] for many centuries,<ref>{{cite web|title=Maquech Brooches: Living Beetle Jewelry|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/27/maquech-broach-beetle-jewelry_n_1383319.html|work=The Huffington Post|publisher=TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.|access-date=2 November 2012|date=27 March 2012|archive-date=28 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628133233/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/27/maquech-broach-beetle-jewelry_n_1383319.html|url-status=live}}</ref> it was not until the 1980s that the Mexican [[maquech]] made from a subspecies of the [[Zopherus|zopherus beetle]] achieved mainstream popularity as live jewelry. The beetle is large, docile, and wingless, and is decorated with gold and [[gemstone|semi-precious gemstones]] and is attached to a [[safety pin|decorative safety pin]] by a [[leash|chain leash]]. Marketing for the brooch states that during the Mayan period, women from the [[Yucatán Peninsula]] wore maqueches pinned to their chests, over their hearts, to attract and sustain loving relationships.
The tradition is attributed to a story from Mayan folklore though more likely a recent fabrication for tourists considering a purchase. It tells that when a Mayan princess was not permitted to marry a prince from a rival clan whom she loved, she stopped eating and drinking, preferring to die than to live without her lover. In compassion with her plight, a traditional healer with magical powers transformed her into a maquech 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bejeweled scarabs, roaches, and other fantastic bugs|url=http://theholyenchilada.blogspot.com/2009/06/bejeweled-scarabs-roaches-and-other.html|work=TheHolyEnchilada|publisher=TheHolyEnchilada|access-date=3 November 2012|author=TheHolyEnchilada|date=30 June 2009|archive-date=1 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501141521/http://theholyenchilada.blogspot.com/2009/06/bejeweled-scarabs-roaches-and-other.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  The current brooch, however, is only worn by women.
A live bejeweled Mexican maquech can trade for as much as US $500 although importation of the beetle to the United States is outlawed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Live Beetle Jewelry Seized at U.S. Border|url=http://insects.about.com/b/2010/01/25/live-beetle-jewelry-seized-at-u-s-border.htm|work=About Insects|publisher=About.com|access-date=2 November 2012|author=Debbie Hadley|date=25 January 2010|archive-date=18 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118215053/http://insects.about.com/b/2010/01/25/live-beetle-jewelry-seized-at-u-s-border.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==The giant Madagascar hissing cockroach==
In 2006, the [[Madagascar hissing cockroach|giant Madagascar hissing cockroach]] (or ''Gromphadorhina portentosa'') achieved high profile, short-lived popularity as live jewelry.<ref>{{cite web|title=Giant Madagascar Hissing Cockroach Brooch|url=http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/giant-madagascar-hissing-cockroach-brooch-live-insect-jewelry|work=TREND HUNTER|publisher=Trendhunter.Inc|access-date=2 November 2012|author=Jeremy Gutsche|date=17 April 2006|archive-date=28 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628105840/http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/giant-madagascar-hissing-cockroach-brooch-live-insect-jewelry|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Fashion design]]er, [[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 [[Austria]]n [[Swarovski|Swarovski crystals]], accessorized with a leash set and were sold as "ready to wear" jewelry.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fashion Trend? Bejeweled Cockroaches|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/20/DI2006042001287.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2 November 2012|author=Jared Gold|date=21 April 2006|archive-date=10 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110193623/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/20/DI2006042001287.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Response==
A number of [[animal rights]] groups have expressed huge concern in over the use of live jewelry, stating that it is exploitative to the creatures  as they "have a similar capacity to feel pain as other more mainstream pets".<ref>{{cite web|title=Live jewelry or bling slavery?|url=http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/live-jewelry-or-bling-slavery--.html|work=Yahoo! Travel|publisher=Yahoo! Inc.|access-date=2 November 2012|author=Vera H-C Chan|date=28 March 2012|archive-date=8 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708120229/http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/live-jewelry-or-bling-slavery--.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2006, a ''[[New York Post]]'' story quoted an animal rights spokesman as describing the "roach brooch" as "just the gift for the person who doesn't mind a small animal excreting on them throughout the day."<ref>{{cite web|title=Hissing cockroach brooch roams on chain Pepper Lake City...|url=http://articles.southbendtribune.com/2006-05-07/news/26988834_1_baa-black-sheep-hissing-cockroach|work=South Bend Tribune|publisher=South Bend Tribune|access-date=3 November 2012|date=7 May 2006|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304075401/http://articles.southbendtribune.com/2006-05-07/news/26988834_1_baa-black-sheep-hissing-cockroach|url-status=live}}</ref> [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals|PETA]] spokesperson Michael McGraw was quoted as saying that the "roach brooch" product "Gives a new, sad meaning to the term '[[fashion victim]]'. Roaches will inherit the Earth, and if it's between the desperate people who wear them and the roaches, our money's on the roaches."<ref>{{cite web|title=Customers Scurry to Buy Designer's 'Roach Brooch'|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-apr-15-fi-roachbrooch15-story.html|work=The Associated Press|publisher=Los Angeles Times|access-date=3 November 2012|author=Debbie Hummel|date=15 April 2006|archive-date=25 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625105821/http://articles.latimes.com/2006/apr/15/business/fi-roachbrooch15|url-status=live}}</ref>
However, proponents of live jewelry have stated that as the wearing of live jewelry is a traditional practice amongst [[Maya peoples|indigenous groups in the Yucatán]], the practice would be difficult to cease. Similarly, companies selling live jewelry have stated that with proper care (including storing the insect in a well-heated [[vivarium]]) and adequate feeding, many insects used as live jewelry can expect to achieve - or exceed- the average 2-3 year life span of an insect living in a natural environment.
<ref>{{cite web | url=https://universaldomainexchange.com/vivacue2/meet-the-makech/ | title=Meet the Makech – Viva Cuernavaca | access-date=2022-07-13 | archive-date=2022-07-13 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713185738/https://universaldomainexchange.com/vivacue2/meet-the-makech/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
Following the "roach brooch" featuring on ''[[America's Next Top Model, Cycle 89]]'', Black Chandelier, the producer of the Giant Madagascar Hissing Cockroach Brooch, announced that they were temporarily discontinuing the production of "roach brooches" due to "ethical debate" about the product.<ref>{{cite web|title=Madagascar Hissing Cockroach Brooches|url=http://www.blackchandelier.com/products/madagascar-hissing-cockroach-brooches|work=Black Chandelier|publisher=Black Chandelier|access-date=3 November 2012}}{{Dead link|date=July 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
== References ==
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{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Jewellery]]
[[Category:Insects in culture]]