Jewelry Made From Bugs

The caddisfly, scientific name trichoptera, is quite the interesting little bug. In its adult stage it is very similar to a moth. They have tent-like wings and long antennae, but the adult stage is not near as interesting as the larval stage of this little creature.

As a larva, the caddisfly looks like a little, hairless caterpillar, and as any young creature it is susceptible to predation. The way that the caddisfly protects itself is really unique, and has benefits that stretch to us humans!

The larvae spin a silk, like a spider. They use this silk to catch prey, but they also do it to build a tube or a case in which they can live! The hollow tubes are spun together using tiny fragments of wood, pebbles and other plant material. When complete, these little shelters are really quite attractive and impressive.

People have even started collecting the tubes to make jewelry out of them! I have even heard of a case where a lady harvests the caddisflies just to get a bunch of cases in which to create jewelry. Jewelry out of bugs? Well it sounds a bit off, but the bug is not part of the tube, and the tubes can be washed!

I had no idea what these little things were until a class I took in college. Our teacher brought us on a walk through the woods; during which, he showed us how to find these hidden gems.

Caddisflies are normally found in flowing water. Smaller streams and brooks are easier to search through because they tend to be slower moving, and you can usually get right on the edge without any danger of falling in! Rivers are tougher because they have higher banks, and are generally deeper.

Each and every time I take a walk in the woods, I stop at each stream to try and find some of these little guys. Very rarely do I find them, mostly due to time of year or restrictions on time. (other people don't really understand why I look for stuff in streams) Today, I felt lucky. It was beautiful outside, and the streams were crystal clear. After striking out at the first stream, I was determined to make the second stop worth it. I couldn't accept that I haven't found any this season. Much to my delight, after a few minutes of sifting through the stones, I turned up a couple tubes!

They were not very impressive in color, however I still find it fascinating how these little bugs do this. Because these were rather bland, and had a living creature inside of them, I put them back where I found them and moved on.

Sometimes, however, you may stumble upon some tubes that are exceptional in color, and it may be in the cards to bring it home and create some jewelry.

Now, I'm no jewelry maker. I have absolutely no experience in doing so, but I'm fairly certain that if you can string some beads on a chain or piece of leather, then you will be able to do this!

Once you have a caddisfly tube that you want to make into something, there are a few things to be done!

• Find a bead store in your area. If you can't find one, then pick out some beads online that match your new found tube.
• To make a necklace, find some string, lace, chain, or leather to string up the beads. 
• You may also need to acquire some jewelry making wire, which can be found wherever you purchase the beads.
• Get creative, make some patterns and string up the beads!
• I've seen the caddisfly tube used in two ways. The first is to just string up the tube like the bead so that it hangs horizontally on the string. The second is to use a bit of the wire to hang the tube vertically from the chain. Both ways look good and use the caddisfly tube as the centerpiece of the necklace.

Beyond this, I'm useless to you for making jewelry. Luckily, we have many Hubbers who have Hubbed about how to make jewelry, so check them out as well! (links on the right)