Many may ask the simple question: Why Beetles? Well for starters the most obvious answer is that Fabre was fascinated with the beetles unique shine and hue. Fabre thought the insect was the perfect, slightly morbid media to decorate the modernist ceiling. The beetles were collected from universities and the open market, quite easily since this species is non-protected and found abundantly in Thailand (Amy). In fact in some countries the jewel beetle is a delicacy and is fried and eaten with the shell being tossed afterwards. Fabre ensures that the beetle wings are extremely strong and one of the other reasons he chose the beetle wing was that the color of the wing will never fade and because of the chitin material the wings are made of they are the most durable and lightest material on earth (Amy). In fact they are so strong that they will probably outlive not only the owners of the palace but also the building itself. Many of this jewel beetles have been found fossilized with their bright vibrant colors intact from around 4.7 million years ago (Headley). Jan Fabre, in his interview with The Sculpture magazine States another importance of the jewel beetle, “They symbolize our passage to death, though death understood in the sense of a positive energy field.”