Sunday, September 21, 2014

Spider Jewelry- Part IV Ephebopus Cyanognathus


Talk about a color pop!


Like my spider jewelry Part IV and Parts II and I, I've mixed science with jewelry to make a creepily-unique accessory.


This time around, I've chosen to use a glass vial charm, purple metallic leather and a simple metal bead to create a colorful yet chic piece.


And as always, my science-y cousin Eric is the one obtaining the molts for me. He works at a spider lab at college- just as snakes molt their skin, spiders molt too! And because these specimens are too beautiful and unique to just ignore, highlighting them in jewelry I think is a great way to use alternative materials!

Here is an explanation of the certain spider who shed these fangs, straight from Eric:

"Ephebopus cyanognathus (or the "blue fang skeleton tarantula") is a species of the Ephebopus genus (subfamily Aviculariinae) with simply majestic looking metallic blue fangs. Being terrestrial, they love to burrow deep underground in the fallen flora and will support their burrows with a thick layer of silk the will spin all the way out to the entrance. You'll find them in Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana, and Brazil. They are pretty aggressive unfortunately, and as adults can grow to be 10 to 13 centimeters. Other cool things aside from the fangs is that babies have a super cool green abdomen, and with orange bands on their legs! Females remain pretty like this into adulthood, but sadly the males turn more plain brown and will lose a lot of their vibrancy"



I've been using resin in all other spider jewelry pieces, but I didn't use resin this time. Simply because I did a test-run with another blue fang and unfortunately the best part, the amazing color, faded and turned to brown after curing in the resin. So, encasing them in a airtight orb was the next best option! I love the look of the orbs, they appear more scientific in a way!


Also, the glass orbs allow you to see all the cool parts of these fangs better than resin would. 


I think the perfect match of the violet leather and violet-blue ombre fangs pulls the look together!


Don't you agree? Would you wear a necklace like this, or does this creep you out?!
And yet more spider jewelry to come, make sure you check back soon!

All photos copyright Allison Beth Cooling. Do NOT post/use images without linking and crediting to me!

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