Photos: Part insect, part timepiece

Portland, Maine, artist Mike Libby customizes real insect specimens with antique watch parts and other technological components.

"Some of the most advanced 'aircraft' is no bigger, or heavier, than a dragonfly, and NASA scientists are making big steps in walking rovers and 'swarm theory' probes for planetary exploration," the artist says in a statement. "Manmade technology is finding that the most manuverable and efficient design features really do come from nature."

Here, one of Libby's creations, a 5-inch-wide tarantula, gets tricked out with brass and steel gears and parts.

Libby, who holds a degree in sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design, says his Insect Lab began after he found a dead, intact beetle. He located an old wristwatch, noting how the beetle also operated and looked like a little mechanical device, and decided to combine the two. Other beetles, like this one, followed.

The artist found this bumblebee in his grandfather's back yard and went on to embellish it using brass gears and parts, a tension spring, and dial. When Libby doesn't salvage insects from nearby, he gets "safe, non-endangered high-quality specimens" from around the world, including Africa, China, New Guinea, Brazil, and Texas.

Libby mainly collects his components from antique pocketwatches and wristwatches, and uses almost every little part. He also uses electrical components and other odd bits from sewing machines and typewriters. This scorpion even has a faux red gem on top.

This 5-inch long grasshopper has parts and springs made from brass, copper, and steel/copper. Libby has shown his work around the country, most recently at the Smithsonian Craft Show in Washington, D.C., which ended Sunday.

Libby sells his robo-bugs, displayed in glass domes. He also photographs his work and makes prints, which go for $120 each.

This dragonfly, which measures about 5 inches wide, has steel gears and parts. Libby says his work celebrates the contradictions and confluences between nature and technology.