{"id":12146,"date":"2016-07-21T07:34:34","date_gmt":"2016-07-21T05:34:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arttrav.com\/?p=12146"},"modified":"2016-10-20T16:34:44","modified_gmt":"2016-10-20T14:34:44","slug":"bugs-specola","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arttrav.com\/florence\/bugs-specola\/","title":{"rendered":"Bugs that look like jewels at La Specola"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Deep in the tropical rainforest, insects<\/strong> have developed surprising forms and colours that are so beautiful, you cannot but look at them – even if it gives you the heebie jeebies! This Summer, La Specola<\/strong> museum in Florence displays these bugs as jewels in the exhibit “Six-legged jewels: art by natural selection”.<\/p>\n

\"Display
Display of the exhibit of bugs at La Specola<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


\nThe collection of rare specimens reflects decades of collecting around the world. Curators have displayed a selection of some 100 butterflies and rare types of beetles in glass cases, presented in open jewelry boxes to suggest the jewel-like value of these “pieces”. Large-scale photography and explanations are presented alongside.<\/p>\n

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lo scarabeo d\u2019oro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Amongst the stars of the exhibition are a Hercules Beetle<\/strong>, part of the Rhinocerous beetle family, one of the largest insects in existence, that grows up to 17\u00a0cm (6.5\u00a0in) in length.<\/p>\n

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I don’t know what it is but i don’t want it in my house.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The show is put on in collaboration with the Udine-based association Farfalle in Testa, whose goal is to make the natural sciences more attractive to children and adults.<\/p>\n

\"This
This too would not be nice to find in the bathroom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Scientists are still baffled by why these insects would be so beautiful, why they have adapted to this form. Thus the exhibit outlines a small natural history of beauty, trying to make sense out of unexplained evolutionary routes.<\/p>\n