My business card reads ” larvae and curiosities from home bred, happy beetles” – What does that even mean?
It means that All beetles are reared at Coleoptera Crypt with respect for their FULL life span. No beetles are ever killed or harmed for the purpose of any creations.
I admire the life of any insect and safeguard the beetle population and their next generations by rearing them myself and providing optimal living and breeding conditions (to my best ability) in captivity.
I take it one step further even, in that I object to purchasing dead specimens from insect dealers for the sake of increasing profit and inevitably supporting a business where beetles and insects in general are taken from the wild and killed to be sold as dried specimens for an ever growing popular taxidermy market. – As if deforestation of their natural habitat isn’t bad enough.
I do not mask my beetle specimen source or lack of knowledge about the source by using fancy hashtags like #vultureculture or #itwasdeadwhenwemet.
Simply put, I know the source of every single beetle specimen because I am the source. Everything is bred in house at the crypt. I only process beetles that I’ve actually reared myself. And I also know the origin as I work very closely with other beetle breeders in the hobby as well as a reliable importer for live specimens.
Here’s an info sheet that I’ve made to show you how things work here at the crypt. I hope you’ll find it interesting.
Furthermore, I do my best to keep everything I offer very conscious and eco-friendly as much as I can:
For example the totes and drawstring baggies for jewelry are made from organic chlorine free cotton, usually even fair trade because I appreciate the idea that everyone is getting fair pay and don’t want to support child labor. The gift wraps I use are made from natural and recycled materials such as burlap or kraft paper. I re-purpose bubble wrap, foam peanuts, and cardboard for packaging.
Lastly, I cycle to the post office to get your beetle ornaments across the globe! The truth!