Hi! Sorry, very new at the whole “bugs” thing, and I’m still learning. I spotted this the other day (not sure of the stink bug species, possibly Nezara viridula), promptly spent hours watching macro timelapses of stink bugs hatching, going from gooey babies to hard shelled nymphs…

Now to the question which has been bugging me: is there such a thing as “too late to hatch”? Can they “harden” inside the egg and just die there (maybe in the blackened eggs)?

Thanks!

Edit:

I found another nest of the same species and took it home. So: have a top view of the hatched eggs and some first instar nymphs while I’m at it!

  • gina@lemm.eeEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    I think we might be kindred spirits. The stuff I own because suddenly Hobby X was the most critical thing in my life… There is a recorder (the instrument) sitting on my desk right now because I decided a couple of months ago at 2AM that it was high-time I learned to read music. Thank goodness I didn’t buy a violin.

    I took a couple photos mid-molt today, but they are so stinking blurry. It’s a mix of low-skill, low-light, a phone camera, and trying to photograph through reflective enclosures, I think. I have thought about looking into better equipment before, but having read your story I don’t think that’s a good idea!

    • mostlypixels@programming.devOP
      2·
      1 year ago

      *Looks guiltily at the kalimba sitting on her bookshelf.* I absolutely do not see what you mean. At all.

      Reflective surfaces are horrible to photograph through and I have no tips. For the low light, is it because brightness might disturb the tarantulas? Otherwise, DIY photo light boxes might be of help and they are cheap-ish to make. Maybe try to put your phone on a stand/bean bag, adjust the focus (if your phone lets you), and set a timer, so the phone will not move while it takes the picture (if the spiders are very mobile, you might be out of luck).