SHOES made of INSECTS

THE CAPE TIMES – 1933, 10 August

Japanese had perfected the process for making shoes out of BAGWORMS, according to this small article.

Bagworms (Family Psychidae) are interesting little creatures found in almost every part of the world. They are shaped like a cigar and about an inch and a half long. Bagworms construct their protective cases from things like soil, sand, silk and plant materials, and the case itself is attached and hanged on the surface of rocks or trees using their silk. Male bagworms leave their protective cases when they reach adulthood and become moths. Female bagworms remain inside their cases waiting for males to breed with them.

Interesting that this article was confirmed in POPULAR MECHANICS MAGAZINE (March 1933). They mentioned that Bagworms, one of the commonest of American insect pests, were going to be used for making shoes, purses and other articles. Apparently, a quantity of bagworms had been shipped to Japan from South Africa, and it is this type of insect, larger than either the American or Japanese varieties, which the Japanese hoped to use.  

https://books.google.co.za/books?id=qvEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA350&lpg=PA350&dq=japan+shoes+made+of+bagworms&source=bl&ots=NJ2sOU_-fZ&sig=ACfU3U36sRb3d5W_8jnHUU0_mw9q9YTf2w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj9jpLjqcPjAhVoSBUIHfTWCmoQ6AEwEnoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=japan%20shoes%20made%20of%20bagworms&f=false

Aki Inomata, a Japanese artist, tasked BAGWORMS with something a little different. She provided them with scraps of fabrics, allowing them to fashion their cocoons into unconventional fabric habitats. 

https://www.designindaba.com/articles/creative-work/%E2%80%98girl-girl-girl%E2%80%99-aki-inomata