In a tiny gallery on Post Avenue in Westbury, Andrea Feinberg presides over her menagerie; Exotic moths share a shelf with scorpions, butterflies decorate the walls, and brightly colored beetles and walking sticks abound.

And not one of them is alive.

"I deal in the dead," explains Feinberg, carefully pinning a Painted Lady butterfly onto a board. Behind her, drawers spill over with specimens in glassine envelopes. In her studio, Feinberg transforms what many consider to be ugly and disgusting, into artwork and decorative objects fit for royalty.

"There is a real benefit to giving people the opportunity to see something close up that ordinarily might repel them, or that they might never had seen," said Feinberg. "They begin to appreciate the form, the function, the beauty of everything nature has to offer."

Feinberg calls her 11-year-old business "Chrysalid," after a stage in the metamorphosis of a butterfly. But the word could also be used to describe her life. After a ten year stint on Wall St., Feinberg decided, while dating an entomologist, to focus on a new venture. Chrysalid is now a thriving business, and Feinberg has branched out to doing custom design work, not only for individuals, but for museums and nature preserves, as well.

Out of the gallery, which is open to the public by appointment only, she sells wall hangings, displays, even furniture, all ornamented with members of the insect world.

To those who might consider Feinberg's form of art inhumane or environmentally damaging, she has a ready answer. "This is actually a symbiotic and ecologically sound business."

Fifteen years ago, government agencies began thinking up ways to preserve endangered environments, particularly rain forest communities around the world. Farming was the solution. There are natural resources in the forest that have economic value and can be cultivated, such as insects, nuts, honey bees, and berries. Indigenous populations are trained how to farm these resources so they will not have to resort to cattle ranching, which is environmentally unsound.

In the case of insect farming, entomologists ensure that various specimens are not being decimated, and various populations are not being quickly destroyed. Import and export of insects is strictly regulated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Agency.

It is a very natural process to raise and harvest insects. From egg, to larvae, to caterpillar, to chrysalid (or cocoon), to adult butterfly, all of these insects thrive on the same plant life. Butterflies and moths will lay their eggs, and when the eggs hatch, the larvae will munch the leaves, and as the caterpillars grow, they will continue to feed on the same leaves. When they spin their cocoons, they hang from the same plant life.

"The only reason a butterfly lives is to lay eggs," explained Feinberg. "After they do that, their bodies tend to age very rapidly, and they die. So it is easy to harvest butterflies, knowing that they have already laid their eggs, that the next generation is already guaranteed and there won't be any extinction."

Feinberg answers another frequently asked question: What is the difference between a moth and a butterfly? "The only difference is that a moth has an additional vein in its wings that a butterfly does not have. So, when a moth sits on a branch, its wings point downward, while a butterfly's wings point upward." The myth that butterflies fly during the day and moths fly at night is not true, according to Feinberg. "Some butterflies come out at night, some moths in the day. The only universal constant is the way the wings point when they are at rest."

The ever-versatile Feinberg is moving beyond her unusual occupation. She currently practices a relatively new profession called

"coaching." Coaching provides insight for individuals, managers, and employees within their business situation. "A coach is someone who is there to offer assistance, not therapy," Feinberg explained. "Coaching helps someone who is healthy find extraordinary results in their lives."

To visit Chrysalid, located at 213 Post Ave., call 876-0271 for an appointment. For more information about a coaching session, call 334-4307. There is generally no charge for the first session.