Not an insect fan? Look away now: the winning images in the Royal Entomological Society’s Photography Competition 2024 have just been announced.
This year's selection of close-up critters features a very menacing-looking beetle, an unfortunate mummified wasp and a peculiarly monochrome butterfly. However, the most intriguing picture according to the judges was that of a gnat ogre (a species of robber fly, not a relative of Shrek). Snapped by Benjamin Salb, the image showcases the bug's wide-set crimson eyes in incredible detail.
The ‘Under 18’ category overall winner was 17-year-old German photographer Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas for his image of a large female jagged ambush bug waiting for its prey on the head of a flower.
The Royal Entomological Society exists to increase public understanding and appreciation of insects and the diverse and important roles they play in our global ecosystems.
Insects in their environment category
A close-up photo of a bacillus arricus nymph, photographed on a mountain near Athens, Greece. Photo by Panagiotis Dalagiorgos/RES
Insect portraits category
A dor beetle (Geotrupidae) photographed in the sand dunes of Dorset, United Kingdom. Photo by Ben James/RES
Overall runner-up
A parasitoid braconid wasp (Braconidae) has attacked this sycamore aphid (Drepanosiphum platanoidis). Having emerged from the aphid, the wasp larva has constructed a disc-like cocoon beneath its 'mummified' body. Photo by Rupert Lees/RES
Insect behaviour category
A pteromalus wasp is pictured laying eggs, in a process known as 'ovipositing'. Photo by Jamie Spensley/RES
Smartphone category
A blue pierrots butterfly (Discolampa ethion) captured with a smartphone while resting and displaying its dynamic patterned wings dazzling in the Sun's rays. Photo by Sritam Kumar Sethy/RES
A large female jagged ambush bug (Phymatinae) is waiting for prey on a tansy flower head. Photographed in Montreal, Canada. Photo by Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas/RES
Insects in their environment category
An Azure damselfly settling down among the daisies at dawn, with the golden spring sun refracting through its wings Photo by Lee Frost/RES
Insects in their environment category
A tiny flower bee (Anthophora sp) sits on a corn marigold flower. Photo by Ryan Dale/RES
Insects in their environment category
An acorn weevil (Curculio glandium) photographed on an oak leaf Photo by Matthew Thomas/RES
Insects in their environment category
A backlit shot of a Mediterranean mantis (Iris oratoria) during sunrise. Photographed in Sikinos, Greece. The sun's reflection on the Aegean Sea is visible in the background, while the mantis in the foreground gives an unusual perspective. Photo by Panagiotis Dalagiorgos/RES
Insect portraits category
A male Ectemnius wasp emerging in the morning sun. Photo by Matthew Thomas/RES
Insect behaviour category
This common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) is unfolding its wings and taking off. Photo by Marc Brouwer/RES
Insect portraits category
Portrait of the mesmerising blue longhorn beetle (Anoplophora zonator). Photo by Douglas Barber/RES
Insects in their environment category
A type of grasshopper known as an endemic western horse lubber (Taeniopoda eques) photographed posing on a cactus. Photo by Rosemary Haleem/RES
Overall winner
This is a highly detailed stacked image of a living gnat ogre (Holcocephala fusca) photographed in the field. Photo by Benjamin Salb/RES
James Cutmore is the picture editor of BBC Science Focus Magazine. He has worked on the magazine and website for over a decade, telling compelling science stories through the use of striking imagery. He holds a degree in Fine Art, and has been nominated for the British Society of Magazine Editors Talent Awards, being highly commended in 2020. His main areas of interest include photography that highlights positive technology and the natural world. For many years he was a judge for the Wellcome Trust's image competition, as well as judging for the Royal Photographic Society.
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