its The pits
You'll Never Look At Tying Materials The Same Way Again
It doesn't take a genius to see that my second love in life is food. That said, I grabbed and olive off the table not long ago and after eating the good stuff, I was in a position where spitting out the seed was not possible. So I put it in my pocket. Next time I wore the pants, I reached in the pocket and was surprised to see it still there. When I looked at it closer, it reminded me of the rear section of a beetle body. It also showed a unique texture many beetles have which is almost impossible to duplicate. That's when my mind overtook my sanity and I began to think "what if".
I thought of another tyer who used to pistachio hull to make the back of a baby turtle. It was Fred Hannie. One of my favorite tyers. So I thought I need to make this olive pit into a beetle, so here goes. I slightly modified the underside of the pit with my Dremel sander and made a slight slot for the hook to ride in. I put a couple of holes on each side to crazy glue the legs into the body and you are halfway home. For the thorax I chose closed cell foam with legs under. The foam also worked well for the head. For the thorax cover I crazy glued a shaped piece of artificial fingernail, and stuck in some tapered Mono strips for antennae. For the finish, paint with a flat clear lacquer protective finish. Notice the rear body texture and tapered shape from the pictures. I don't think I could ever duplicate that.
You may never look at an olive pit the same way again. I know I won't. Fly tying can be so much more in depth when you allow your creative thought to ask "what if". Like looking at an apricot seed. Don't you see a crab? How about a watermelon seed. A few legs and it's a tick.
