Robots

[hidden forms]

Just looking at this pic which i took late last year, just reminds me of robots, don't know what they are but if anybody knows id would be helpful

http://www.pbase.com/hidden_forms/image/69028889/original.jpg

[canonloader]

Interesting shot. Whatever they are, their making more of the same. :)

[Lester Wareham]

Interesting little bugs, how big are they?

(reminds rather of a squashed version of the robot from "Forbiden Planet" if any of you go back far enough to remeber that)

[LordV]

Good capture- they do look like radio controlled somethings. They look more like nymphs than adults- do you know if they are adults and were responsible for the egg laying?
Brian V.

[canonloader]

Aren't those eggs inside the one in the lower right?

[Lester Wareham]

Aren't those eggs inside the one in the lower right?

Can't see that but the one on the left edge looks like 'she' is laying a string of eggs. Could be asexual reproduction though so it might really be an 'it' :)

[hidden forms]

thanks everyone, forgot to say that this pic has been cropped alot, they are about 1mm and no bigger, used the 105mm lens with 68mm ETs, at first i thought they were Nymphs of some kind but noticed the one on the left looks like it's laying a egg, will post later the uncropped photo if i can find it

[racketman]

anyway there is a much smaller specimen behind the pile of eggs. I will be interested to read what they are and great shot considering how small they are.
Surely Hemiptera at least - which narrows it down to 82,000 known species?

[Shutter22]

They're incredibly small! Maybe you discovered a new species.

[zman]

They really do look like robots; interesting!

[Stefano]

Very nice pic and funny title!

[hidden forms]

thanks everyone, RM i did notice the smaller specimen behind the eggs, first thought it was baby ones , have to set up my old computer to search for the original,will do that tomorrow morning

[Cactuspic]

Whimsical title and interesting image. The egglayer caught in the middle of laying eer eggs is amazing.

Irwin

[RockOne]

About the closest thing I can find in my CSIRO book on insects is the last-instar nymph of the family Peloridiidae, although they aren't supposed to have antennae. They are distributed through Aust/NZ and inhabit moss around the base of Nothofagus trees.