Female stink bugs 'select' the color of their eggs

Stink bug mothers will lay darker or lighter eggs depending on how much light is reflecting off of a surface. The newly discovered adaptation is likely related to how some species of stink bugs are able to deposit their eggs on top of leaves, as the darker-colored eggs are better protected from UV radiation. Surprisingly, the eggs are not darkened by melanin, but by a previously unknown pigment. The findings, published July 23 in Current Biology, were driven by the curiosity of a University of Montreal PhD student, who uses the stink bugs as hosts for parasitic wasps.

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