#pentatomidae

seen in Costa Rica, alongside an equally beautiful juvenile of the same species. they are quite common in this habitat but no less pretty for it!

even by pentatomid standards, this green shield bug (Palomena prasina) nymph has a pathetically sad looking face, as if it's weakly asking me not to take a photo of it

had the pleasure of witnessing the growth of some tiny little stinkbugs last year. at the time I had no expectations that any of them would hatch, but sure enough I checked on them one day and 10 perfect little guys were looking back at me.

soon enough they had moulted a few more times, and began to disperse into the garden.

once they dispersed I was no longer able to keep track of them, so I'll likely never know what species they are. around the time I found the eggs, I saw this adult bug hanging around the area, so I like to speculate that they might be the parent.

Knock knock! Who's there? A minstrel bug! Although adults sport all the livery of a medieval jester, their black and orange stripes are actually a way to warn potential predators that they don't taste good. They can be found throughout most of Europe, despite being often referred to as an Italian striped bugs.