Truly wish that I had more subjects to practice with, however when weather gives you lemons, you make Stink Bugs.

This is another one of my many, many attempts at light diffusion and I believe that this one shows some promising results for a first attempt with it. It's made by taking two 2-ounce Dixie Cups and cutting the bottoms out of them. I stick-glued some Viva Paper Towel around one and stacked them together so that the paper towel is sandwiched between the two cups.

The specimen (my Stink Bug) is placed on the X/Y/Z positioner with it looking into the camera. A 'third-hand clamp' holds the diffuser over the specimen and it is illuminated so that the lamps shine away from the lens and toward the specimen. Angle and distance are adjusted to suit the best situation for the camera's light meter and shutter speed.

Thanks in advance to those who view and your comments, suggestions and critique are highly appreciated.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7890/47203255301_77f14a9848_h.jpgStink Bug Face 2-24-19 by Herman Munster, on Flickr

The insect aficionados will know about treehoppers -- the small plant sucking insects that are often brightly colored and curiously shaped. A dorsal shield called the 'pronotum' is often elaborately expanded into weird and wonderful shapes in the treehoppers.
National Geographic has an article with great photos about these insects, as shown here:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/03/treehoppers-could-be-worlds-weirdest-insects/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=sunstills_20190224::rid=44075408895

Click on a picture, and that takes you to an extended series of pictures that you can scroll thru. It is a real treat! Most of these species are tropical, but i recognize a few that are like species I see in the U.S.

Here are some more facts about the pronotums of treehoppers:
1. The ones that are black, knobby, and spiky are mimicking ants or small wasps. To us that may not be so convincing, but to another insect these look sufficiently ant-like that the treehopper is avoided.
2. There are species that have an irregularly shaped pronotum, and are generally given a yucky brown color and porous-looking texture. Those are mimicking dead insects that were infected by cordyceps fungus. I did not know that! The closeness of the mimicry is amazing.
3. Others are clearly using their decorations to mimicking plant parts. Dead leaf bits or thorns.
4. Others... I don't know what they are trying to look like. They are just weird.