Yes, real ones! The wings of jewel beetles were used to decorate fabric. Emerald green wings became a symbol of high status in India during the Mughal period (1526-1756), and western traders ...

It took 1,000 beetles to make one of the most celebrated dresses of the 1880s. Audiences gasped when Ellen Terry made her entrance as Lady Macbeth, her costume shimmering with the sheeny wings of ...