An artistic form of recycling has an artist in Belgium creating exceptionally unique sculptures from the bits, bones, and barbs of insects.

Joos Habraken creates these insectoid sculptures, measuring from 8 to 15 centimeters tall, out of between 30 and 100 pieces of dead insects.

Each sculpture can contain parts from up to 30 individual insect species including beetles, grasshoppers, mantises, and butterflies.

Joos harvests the bug body parts from insects he finds on walks or purchases them from wholesalers.

"I feel like I'm creating a new species with a new life and story," Joos says. "I start with an archetype like father, mother, witch, or benevolent king. These are things that people know, without them knowing they recognize them."

Then Joos takes apart the bugs, modifies the pieces he wants to use, and mounts them on a stick before gluing them together.

"The hardest part is getting the details right because you're using 30 different bugs, so you don't know if the head will fit the body," said the 28-year-old rock climbing instructor from Ghent, Belgium.

Each piece takes between 30 and 40 hours of work and Joos makes three or four pieces a year. So far, he's sold every piece he's made, with the exception of the last three, as he is preparing for an exhibition.

The figures come with their own detailed backstories and portray characters and species from a fictional universe.

"It's definitely therapeutic and meditative to create these, but I don't think about what it brings to me, it's just the creation of something beautiful," said Joos.

"100% of the time people are interested when I tell them, they ask what I mean, then I show them and they love them."

"Sometimes I don't touch my art for a month. You just don't always have the time, but it's always nice to come back and see the work come together, that moment is just a super good feeling."

WATCH Joos at work below… 

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