In the new exhibition ‘Six-Legged Jewels: Natural Selection as Art’, around one hundred insects of strange shapes and unusual colours can be viewed close up at La Specola, part of the multi-site Natural History Museum of Florence.
The museum has worked in collaboration with ‘Farfalle nella Testa’, an organisation aiming to popularise scientific study, to bring this exhibition to fruition. Specimens from across the world, collected over many decades, have been brought together. The mysterious stories of how these insects were discovered are revealed by explanatory panels at the show. A small selection of live creatures is also on display.
Beauty and biology meet in this breathtaking exhibition: a special “Jewel” scarab stands out for the golden iridescence of its armour, while a Rhinoceros beetle of record-breaking size is another highlight. The exhibition will be open until September 30, 2016.
