Jewelry

All of my handmade jewelry is inspired by nature and is meant to encourage people to appreciate its beauty, and invoke a sense of wonder.  The green vibrantly colored jewelry is made from the elytra (hardened wings) of wood boring beetles in the family Buprestidea, which are commonly referred to as jewel beetles.  The completely natural colors are created by structural coloration, where light is refracted off of microstructures in the wings, resulting in bright, beautiful hues, which will never fade with time.  These wings, which are part of the insect exoskeleton, are extremely strong and lightweight due to chitin- a long chain polymer also found in crustaceans and fungi.  The bright green wings serve as camouflage and help the beetles blend in with shiny wet leaves in the tropics.

​

Many of my jewelry pieces are available on my Etsy page EntoWhimsy