Hint

They are very, very tiny.


Spoiler

They are insect eggs.

It's so cool how stick insect eggs look like little clay pots and have so much variety.

Tweet

It's a neat thread so here's an archive.today page of a Nitter instance - archive.today.


These insects are masters of disguise—even before hatching - National Geographic

Photo caption...

Photographer Levon Biss specializes in tiny objects in order to make “the invisible visible.” He spent hours cleaning these phasmid eggs with distilled water and one paintbrush hair under a microscope. The eggs in this composite grid of images average about 0.12 inch long.


They remind me of netsuke.

Netsuke

A netsuke (根付, [netsɯ̥ke]) is a miniature sculpture, originating in 17th century Japan. Initially a simply-carved button fastener on the cords of an inrō box, netsuke later developed into ornately sculpted objects of craftsmanship.

  • @charlie
    hexbear
    11
    4 months ago

    That’s neat! I had no idea, but thought maybe pollen. Turn out Pollen also looks cool under a microscope!

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      • @charlie
        hexbear
        7
        4 months ago

        Nature makes the coolest shapes! I see like 4 different fidget spinners in there too, lol

  • Infamousblt [any]
    hexbear
    9
    edit-2
    4 months ago

    These are seeds that's my guess

    spoiler

    I looked I wasn't that far off honestly! Neat stuff

    • InevitableSwing [none/use name]
      hexagon
      hexbear
      8
      4 months ago

      These are seeds that's my guess

      If I didn't know and I guessed - I probably would have spent literally a minute or two trying to figure out how the trick question misdirection worked because obviously they are pots or something manmade.

      It makes me laugh because I used to make fractals. The program I used - Chaoscope - produced some natural looking 3d shapes. I could make them one after another by pushing a button. And I could vary the randomness from 1 to 100. Every time I made such fractals it was a reminder that nature (and/or chance) can make very surprising and fantastic varieties of stuff. Also - just a few days ago I googled "are no two snowflakes alike" after I watched the movie Snow Cake.

  • TheCaconym [any]
    hexbear
    8
    4 months ago

    I thought it was some pottery work at first glance. This is very neat.

  • NephewAlphaBravo [he/him]
    hexbear
    7
    edit-2
    4 months ago

    I guessed insect shells or seashells, not bad

    I guess insect shells is technically correct lol

  • SpiderFarmer [he/him]
    hexbear
    4
    4 months ago

    My first guess was plankton, so I was in the right field, at least.

  • Comp4 [she/her]
    hexbear
    4
    edit-2
    4 months ago

    Ugly and unsettling. Looks like AI generated teeth

  • Tachanka [comrade/them]
    hexbear
    4
    4 months ago

    i was gonna guess bug fossils and not eggs, so I was pretty close I guess

  • D61 [any]
    hexbear
    2
    3 months ago

    Cursed necklace beads...