Yet another amazing photography prize was announced this week, this time it was the turn of the Luminar Bug Photography Awards 2020(in association with Europe’s leading invertebrate charity Buglife) was won by a rather fighty-looking weevil.
The judging panel included Buglife PresidentGermaine Greer; TV presenter and naturalist Nick Baker; and ground-breaking invertebrates photographer Levon Biss.
We are big fans of bug photography here at Science Focus HQ, and these expertly-crafted images really caught our attention. Pay close attention to the doting ant parents, who turn out to be anything but...
The palm weevil, a rusty red colour Weevil larvae, can excavate holes in the trunk of a palm trees up to a metre long thereby weakening and eventually killing the host plant - Mofeed Abu Shalwa/Luminar Bug Photographer of the Year
2
Crab Spider - Runner Up
The flower crab spider is one of 27 species of crab spider. The flower crab spider can alter the colour of its body to match its surroundings and to hide from prey. It is not as common as other types of crab spider - Mofeed Abu Shalwa/Luminar Bug Photography Awards
3
Carder Bee - Young Bug Photographer Winner
A 41 image stack of a common carder bee in the UK - Jamie Spensley/Luminar Bug Photography Awards
4
Diamond Squid - Winner of Aquatic Bug Category
Diamond squid during a blackwater dive - Galice Hoarau/Luminar Bug Photography Awards
5
Larval wonderpuss - Runner-up
Larval wonderpuss, during a blackwater dive in in Lembeh, Indonesia - Galice Hoarau/Luminar Bug Photography Awards
6
Home Sweet Home - Winner of Bug Homes Category
Two different species of bees emerging from the bug hotel, Willughby's leaf cutter Bee & Andrena mining Bee - Lee Frost/Luminar Bug Photography Awards
7
Microspur - Winner of Arachnids Category
A lynx spider (Oxyopidae) with its young, shot in the mountains of Taiwan - Lung-Tsai Wang/Luminar Bug Photography Awards
8
Tug Of War - Winner of All the Other Bugs Category
Not a couple of doting parents, but in fact two weaver ants pulling apart a smaller one, possibly a fire ant. How lovely - Reynante Martinez/Luminar Bug Photography Awards
9
- Winner of Slugs and Snails Category
A garden snail (Cornu aspersum)photographed in the UK - David Lain/Luminar Bug Photography Awards
10
Dancing Spider - Runner Up
A male Phidippus insignarius performs his courtship dance for a female, or in this case, the photographer - Raed Ammari/Luminar Bug Photography Awards
11
3... 2... 1... Take Off! - Winner of the Beetle Category
Acorn weevil (Curculio glandium) taking off from a leaf, or perhaps a diving board - Christian Brockes/Luminar Bug Photography Awards
12
Swallowtail - Winner of the Butterflies and Moths Category
A newly-hatched swallowtail butterfly getting ready to take flight - Sara Jazbar/Luminar Bug Photography Awards
13
Shadow-Puppeteer Stag Beetle - Runner Up
A stag beetle hides behind a leaf, and tries to scare us with his shadow-puppet skills - Martijn Nugteren/Luminar Bug Photography Awards
14
Mayflies on Crested Dogstail - Winner of Flies Bees Wasps & Dragonflies Category
A large hatch of mayflies on the River Kennet near Kintbury UK - Peter Orr/Luminar Bug Photography Awards
15
Potter Wasp - Winner of Extreme Close-up Category
Potter wasp (Eumeninae) photographed using 173 photos stacked and combined together to make a stunning final image - Riyad Hamzi/Luminar Bug Photography Awards
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.
