Jewel Beetle

In Japan, the jewel beetle — known as tamamushi — has been revered for centuries. The famous Tamamushi Shrine at Horyu-ji temple is decorated with over 9,000 jewel beetle wing cases, applied as a kind of iridescent lacquer. That was 1,300 years ago and the colour still glows.

The shell is made of dozens of thin layers, each reflecting light at a slightly different angle. Tilt the beetle and you get greens, reds, golds, and coppers that shift and swim like oil on water. No paint, no dye — just physics.

This specimen was found on a warm stone wall in Kyoto prefecture. It sat perfectly still for almost twenty minutes, which is unusual for a beetle this skittish. I shot about forty frames. This was the one.