Firehole Stones Bug Bands are a slim specialty bead that is made of fully machined brass. As an integral part of the weight management system the Bug Band has several purposes. The most common use of the Bug Band will likely be the immediate addition of a hotspot behind the bead of your fly. Their size, shape, and construction also allow them to be added to any part of the fly, should you require intermediate hotspots, while maintaining the profile of the fly you are tying since varying sizes can be added anywhere in the fly profile. As a brass bead the weight of the bug band is roughly 20% of that of a comparably sized tungsten bead.Fly Weight Color Coding System - One of the most advantageous purposes of the Bug Band is that they work very well as a fly weight color coding system in your fly box. Using the Additive Weight Calculations charts (see pages 7 & 8) or the online calculator you can choose how to weight your flies and then select bug band colors to represent those weights in your fly box.