Live insect jewelry
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Live insect jewelry refers to
jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...
made from living creatures – usually bejeweled oversized insects – which is worn as a
fashion accessory In fashion, an accessory is an item used to contribute, in a secondary manner, to an individual's outfit. Accessories are often chosen to complete an outfit and complement the wearer's look. They have the capacity to further express an individua ...
. The use of insects as live jewelry has existed for many centuries, with the
Egyptians Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...
believed to have been the first to have worn insects as jewelry. Ancient Egyptian soldiers commonly wore
scarab beetles The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change in recent years. Several sub ...
into battle as the beetles were considered to have supernatural powers of protection against enemies.


The Mexican maquech

Although live jewelry has featured in Mayan cultural traditions for many centuries, it was not until the 1980s that the Mexican maquech made from a subspecies of the zopherus beetle achieved mainstream popularity as live jewelry. The beetle is large, docile, and wingless, and is decorated with gold and semi-precious gemstones and is attached to a decorative safety pin by a chain leash. Marketing for the brooch states that during the Mayan period, women from the
Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...
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) which 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. 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 into the United States is outlawed.


The giant Madagascar hissing cockroach

In 2006, the giant Madagascar hissing cockroach (or ''Gromphadorhina portentosa'') achieved high profile, short-lived popularity as live jewelry.
Fashion design Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...
er,
Jared Gold Jared is a given name of Biblical derivation. Origin In the Book of Genesis, the biblical patriarch Jared (יֶרֶד) was the sixth in the ten pre- flood generations between Adam and Noah; he was the son of Mahalaleel and the father of ...
, 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 Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n Swarovski crystals, accessorized with a leash set and were sold as "ready to wear" jewelry.


Opposition from animal rights activists

A number of
animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
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". A 2006, a ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'' 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."
PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...
spokesperson Michael McGraw was quoted as saying that the "roach brooch" product "Gives a new, sad meaning to the term '
fashion victim "Fashion victim" is a term claimed to have been coined by Oscar de la Renta that is used to identify a person who is unable to identify commonly recognized boundaries of style. Fashion victims are "victims" because they are vulnerable to faddish ...
'. 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." However, proponents of live jewelry have stated that as the wearing of live jewelry is a traditional practice amongst 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 A vivarium (Latin, literally for "place of life"; plural: ''vivaria'' or ''vivariums'') is an area, usually enclosed, for keeping and raising animals or plants for observation or research. Water-based vivaria may have open tops providing they a ...
) 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. 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.


References

{{Reflist Jewellery Insects in culture