On the 10th Day of Christmas...

... this blogger gave to thee...

... ten ugly bugs...

... nine simple posters...
... eight great old movies...

... seven shoes to choose from...
... six party frocks ...

... five gold rings!..

... four micro art forms...

... three tubby little cubbies...

... two fancy pens...

... and a lego man made of a tree.

This year, I started collecting bugs. Only not really, unless you count the odd spider lurking around the house, only on Pinterest, their all there for The Ugly Bug Ball. Which is a completely misleading board title because these bugs are beautiful! 

Stolas Implexa

Pachyscelus sp.

Coptocycla Ruficornis

Coccinellidae - Ladybird Psyllobora Vigintiduopunctata

Some look like they have intricate cloisonné enamelling - a jewellery technique where fine wires are placed on a piece of metal, then filled with enamel paste before firing to create intricate patterns.

Leaf beetle - Chrysolina fastuosa

Cassida rubiginosa Muell. (Chrysomelidae)

Monocesta Equestris

Others have highly metallic finishes, which create an iridescent shine on the surface of the insects shell. Making them look like jewels or pieces of anodized titanium.

Runibia Decorata

Chrysolina Perforata Perforata

Aspidomorpha miliaris (Fabricius)

See, they're not particularly scary, or horrible. They may scuttle around and appear where they're not wanted, but they at least have the redeeming feature of being curiously beautiful. I think most thing/people wouldn't mind that accolade.

I guess the main reason I like these ugly bugs so much, is because they remind me of jewellery and the techniques I learnt during my degree. How different temperatures or electrical currents on titanium can create blues, greens, purples and golds. How cloisonné enamel work is fiddly but worth the effort. How colour can make or break a design.

It's funny how certainly things remind you of other parts of your past, and these bugs manage that.

If you'd like to see some more, go over to my Ugly Bug Ball board, which I will continue to fill with more curious insects.


Happy New Years and a Merry Christmas! Part eleven tomorrow...


Link || Stolas implexa via Pinterest
Link || Pachyscelus sp, by Kohichiro Yoshida on Flickr (via Art is a Way)
Link || Coptocycla ruficornis via Pinterest
Link || Coccinellidae - Ladybird Psyllobora Vigintiduopunctata by K.V. Makarov via Zin.Ru*
Link || Leaf beetle Chrysolina fastuosa by K.V. Makarov via Zin.Ru*
Link || Cassida rubiginosa Muell. (Chrysomelidae) by K.V. Makarov via Zin.Ru*
Link || Monocesta equestris via Pinterest
Link || Runibia decorata via Pinterest
Link || Chrysolina perforata perforata by M.E. Smirnov via Zin.Ru*
Link || Aspidomorpha miliaris (Fabricius, 1775) by Udo Schmidt via Flickr

*Zin.Ru -  Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences

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Listening: Small Hands - Keaton Henson