Creepy Crawly Masterpieces by Hubert Duprat & Friends

Warning: The following post isn’t recommended for the squeamish or insectophobic. When we saw these beautiful pieces on The Gem Standard, at first we were blinded by turquoise…then we noticed the antennae.

French artist Hubert Deprat found himself captivated by the behaviors of Caddis Fly larvae. The tiny bugs forage for bits and pieces in their natural environment to built a nest of sorts. Really, they’re more of a cobbled together chrysalis bound by each little larvae’s spun silk. Deprat wondered what would happen if the pebbles and twigs were replaced by gold and precious gems.

True to form, the critters used their luxurious new found materials to create their gilded casings. Since the 1980’s, this highly controlled scientific experiment/artistic collaboration has been going strong, with insect-designed pieces consisting of gold, turquoise, coral and lapis lazuli, as well as sapphires, pearls, rubies, and diamonds.