Bugs

One of two useless cats.

We moved into our ocean side apartment a little over two years ago, though it feels like longer. It was a dream place: gorgeous view, historical building, renovated interior. It felt too good to be true. Sure, a couple things hadn't yet been fixed by the time we moved in. Maybe the windows still needed screens, but big deal, right? Crack the tops and smell that sea breeze. We called the super a couple of times, and he was busy, he was getting around to it, he was waiting on the screens to come in. Okay, we figured, let's not cause trouble in our first couple of months.

Then came a fateful day in September, three months after we moved in. My BF works late on Wednesdays, so I usually walk home: a treat in the summer months. It's about a mile home from the train station, so I used to go straight to the beach and walk in the water all the way home. Listening to good music, watching volleyball players trying to squeeze in a couple more rounds in the fading light of those magnificent Long Beach sunsets. Upon arriving home, I notice the kitties in a frenzy, more so then usual. Then I see them: swarms of black flies have made their way into the apartment and taken over. They dotted the ivory walls like specks of ash. I was more aggravated then anything. BF wasn't getting home til later and I had to deal with this alone; the cats weren't much help. Then the flies started biting me. The super wasn't home, couldn't help. As the evening arrived, I was curled up in the bathroom with the cats, a can of bug spray in one hand and a fly swatter in the other. When BF came home (after several increasingly panicked calls from me), we hunted down and killed every one of those flies.

This weekend, we had another mini-insect issue and we promptly closed all the windows, even though we've got screens. They latched onto the windows and I went around counting them. Sometimes as many as 20 were hanging on. I'm not sure what this type was, but they had stingers and that was enough for me.


And then, well, you must have read about the baseball game, right? I was tooling around in the kitchen on Friday night when BF said, "Jeter looks crazy on the field! He's swatting at something."
"Should I come see?" I replied.
No answer.
"Should I come see?"
Silence.
Finally I huffed over, imagining that he was in that familiar state of baseball hypnosis, only to see that the team was being swarmed with bugs. The pitcher's neck looked black from the solid mass of bugs swarming. Yes, it was disgusting. We couldn't step away from the television; I was under a spell as the swarms became thicker.


New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain is surrounded by flying insects during the eighth inning of Game 2 of the American League Division Series game against the Cleveland Indians.

Anyhow, it seems like lately, my life has been a site of confluence for all things insect, and that only spells one thing for you people:
On to the jewelry!


Wasp Necklace, $129



Real Butterfly Wing Pendant, $21.95
(I think this is interesting, kind of like an insect's version of opal, but I'm concerned about the acquisition. Where do these butterflies come from?)



Fly Ring, $45
(P.S. This website, Elegant Insects, is also happy to work with you to create a piece of jewelry featuring your very favorite insect!)




Brown Recluse Spider Pendant, $85



J. Herwitt Ant Ring, $2,560



Theo Fennel Bee Necklace as seen on Luxist

(I've never seen Luxist before today, but I will surely be revisiting it in the future. Lovely website...)




Vintage Insect pin, $95



My Honey Babies Necklace, $60



Paige Howorth Wing Bracelets



Amber pendant with Insect, $149


Do you remember this?
From Trendhunter:
Giant Madagascar Hissing Cockroach Brooch - Live Insect Jewelry




The Giant Madagascar Hissing Cockroach Brooch is a live cockroach encrusted with Swarovski crystals for the low, low price of $80.

“These insects come in varied patterns and are decorated with the finest Austrian Swarovski crystal. Each roach takes about an hour of painstaking work to achieve his final magical glory. All roaches are male to ensure sterility, and come complete with a leash set. This consists of a gorgeous pin you attach to your clothing with a chain that clasps to the cockroach’s carapace to keep him from running amok. The lifespan of these animals is approximately one year if housed and fed properly. This is not a guarantee, it is an estimate. Roaches love fresh bananas and must have access to fresh water at all times, a very damp paper towel or cotton ball will do the trick.”