Eggs: Tiny Jewels on a Leaf

We go out regularly to work in our vegetable/flower garden in the community garden.

One evening, I removed a leaf from a tomato plant where an insect had laid these stunning eggs. They looked in the evening sunlight like tiny jewels. The pictures do not begin to do justice to their shining beauty.

I assume they are those of a butterfly or moth whose larvae would feed on our plants, so I removed the leaf. These are the only eggs I have seen….for now.

I was surprised that the eggs were placed in plain view on the top of a leaf near the top of the plant. It seems so exposed to the elements, as well as to predators. If they had been on the underside of the leaf, I might easily have missed seeing them.