Insect Art

(Hat tip to Michael Barton over at the Dispersal of Darwin)

This week's edition of Nature is chronicling the art of Californian entomologist Steven Kutcher. Kutcher uses the most unorthodox of paint brushes, the insect, to paint brilliant hues with creative strokes.

"Kutcher controls the direction and movement of his arthropods — such as hissing cockroaches (pictured), darkling beetles and grasshoppers — by their response to external lighting.[...] Kutcher's art is more than just a novelty, because it reveals the hidden world of insect footprints. 'When an insect walks on your hand, you may feel the legs move but nothing visible remains, only a sensation,' he says. 'These works of art render the insect tracks and routes visible, producing a visually pleasing piece'. "

For more of Steven Kutcher's art, visit Bug Art by Steven Kutcher, where I found this beauty coauthored by none other than Gromphadorhina portentosa (hissing cockroach).

Starry Night