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!
This is AMAZING! Thank you! Gosh, those translucent jelly babies. Fascinating video (also TIL the "egg" becomes the abdomen, which is really cool).
As an aside, looking at the man's setup, I'm starting to think that bug keeping might just compete with photography in the "bottomless money pit" category. Tell me it isn't so.
I have (so far) been mercifully spared by the photography bug, so I’m not sure where it falls in terms of cost, but keeping inverts can actually be done really cheaply while still providing very good care. Now that I’ve said that…run for your life, lol.
I can’t really speak to insects, but I do keep tarantulas and have really had to set firm bounds on myself. Not just money-wise (because oh, the beautiful terrariums you can build), but also in terms of what I can reasonably care for, what I reasonably have space for, etc. That said, this is probably the most fun I’ve ever had with a hobby. I have two prepping to molt as I type this and I feel like it’s Christmas morning.
On the tarantulas: that's fantastic. Will you be posting pics somewhere?
On photography:
So I started out with a an entry level canon camera (eos 4000D) which was only 280€.
I immediately discovered that wasn't good enough for birds, so I ordered a 55-250mm telescopic lens two days later.
I then saw a heron on the other side of a river and I was salt incarnate because I couldn't zoom enough, so I impulse bought a 1500€ 150-600mm lens (and a tripod because that stuff weights around 2.5kg).
The whole process took two weeks. Then, maybe a month later, covid hit and I remembered I really like being inside and the gear collected dust for three years.
Cue this summer. "You should go outside and take pictures again," I told myself. And so I started taking pictures of bugs. But I was not satisfied with the quality of the pictures: bugs need a really fast shutter speed and an aperture that will allow to get more than a 2mm slice of them sharp.
So I ordered a 1500€ semi-pro camera.
But that camera came with a different type of mount, so my existing lenses were not compatible! And the adapter ring was out of stock for the foreseeable future!
So I bought a 600€ macro lens.
And then a led light to use with it on cloudy days.
And a monopod.
I might need a polarizing filter, a sect of reflectors, and extension tubes to get higher magnification.
...
I hope that horror story helped keep you (and anyone who reads this) away from photography. ADHD people especially: NO. DO NOT. DON'T.
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!
*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).