lookit da babies!!!!

the Galerucella beetles are makin' babies (those are the beetles I'm raising in my backyard as biocontrol for the INVASIVE PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE!

( here's a closer look - a little blurry )

in RL they're TINY, just a fleck.

yes the black stuff on them is beetle poo (makes it less attractive to hungry predators - 'would you like some shit on those eggs?' Its a common deterrent among many insects.)

who said I have no maternal instincts.. haha