2025 Photography Competition Winners – 18 and over

Parasitic Play

Eggs of Banana skipper (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae (Erionota thrax)) and a solitary parasitic wasp (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae (Agiommatus sp.))

Raghuram Annadana

 

Banana skipper (Erionota thrax) eggs being parasitized by a wasp (Agiommatus sp.)

Photographer notes: “On a macro walk earlier this year, I spotted Banana Skipper (Erionota thrax) eggs on a banana leaf. But through the lens, the scene turned dramatic — a tiny parasitic wasp (Agiommatus sp.) was sneaking its eggs into them. Each butterfly egg is just 1.8 mm, the wasp, even smaller.”

Photo location: India

• Ants, bees, wasps and sawflies
• Butterflies and moths

Nature’s Drama: A Leafhopper Overtaken by Parasitic Fungus

Leafhopper – Hemiptera: Cicadellidae

Dara Ojo

 

A striking macro image showing a leafhopper overtaken by vivid green parasitic fungus. The fungal growth visibly spreads across its body, highlighting nature’s delicate balance and the dramatic interactions occurring within tiny ecosystems.

Photographer notes: “While exploring Tinamaste, I encountered this Leafhopper overtaken by Metarhizium fungi, its body turning an unnatural green as the fungus consumed it from within. This parasitic fungus is a natural insect pathogen that eventually kills its host, spreading spores to infect others”

Photo location: Costa Rica

• True bugs

El baile efímero de la efímera – The ephemeral dance of the ephemeral

Mayfly – Ephemeroptera

Julián Fernandez Quilez

 

Made on a September night by the river, with a very slow camera speed, using continuous light and the shot went to the second curtain to capture the wake of the flight of the mayfly.

Photographer notes: “One night by chance, while I was working with other species. However, when I saw her, something about her caught my attention. I changed the camera parameters and started photographing it with more intention. It was an unexpected moment, but it turned out to be one of the captures.”

Photo location: Spain

• Mayflies or upwing flies

Pile of Trash

Assassin Bug – Hemiptera: Reduviidae

Raghuram Annadana

 

What looks like a pile of trash is actually the Ant Stacking Nymph of an Assassin Bug. These young predators use ant carcasses as camouflage and armour – turning their victims into a gruesome disguise that hides them from both prey and predators.

Photographer notes: “One night during a stroll in a nearby garden, I spotted this Ant Stacking Nymph of an Assassin Bug hunting on a wall. Draped in a cloak of dead ants, it was a fascinating watch – I couldn’t resist capturing the moment.”

Photo location: India

• True bugs

Wasp larvae on their host caterpillar

Eulophid wasp larvae – Hymenoptera: Eulophidae (Euplectrus sp.) on host caterpillar (Lepidoptera)

Wayne Sayers

 

A cluster of wasp larvae on their host caterpillar. The larvae stay on the outside of the caterpillar which will eventually die as a result.

Photographer notes: “I found this scene at a local reserve early one morning and spotted an odd shape in the grass. At first I thought it was eggs on the caterpillar. which was alive at this point, but later discovered it was the larvae of a parasitic wasp.”

Photo location: United Kingdom

• Ants, bees, wasps and sawflies
• Butterflies and moths

Chalcidoid Wasp Parasitising Cynipid Wasp Gall

Parasitic wasp – Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae (Sycophila sp.)

Rupert Lees

 

This focus stacked image shows a 2.5 mm hyperparasitoid wasp in the genus Sycophila injecting her egg into the bright pink gall of a Smooth Spangle Gall Wasp, Neuroterus albipes. A tiny mite also sits on the leaf just below the gall.

Photographer notes: “This autumn I spent some time photographing oak galls; fascinating structures induced on oaks by cynipid wasps to house their larvae. Even more interesting are the hyperparasitoid wasps that seek out these galls and in turn lay their eggs in the original parasite’s larvae within.”

Photo location: United Kingdom

• Ants, bees, wasps and sawflies

Colours of Nuptial Flight

Termites – Blattodea

Anirban Dutta

 

These are flying termites. Before start of monsoon some species of termites fly swarms in the late afternoon and in early evening. This is called nuptial flight. They fly around light to find their partner. Most nocturnal insects, the pests will be drawn to light sources.

Photographer notes: “This is the unique behaviour of this species. We can find the mound of termites in wet abandoned places. Each mound is built by a king and queen. They also have soldier and worker termites. And in a mound there are millions of termites of a single colony.”

Photo location: India

• Cockroaches and termites

Multi tasking

Striped Slender Robberflies – Diptera: Asilidae (Leptogaster cylindrica)

Beverley Brouwer

 

A pair of Striped Slender Robberflies mating.

Photographer notes: “I spend many evenings, in the fields behind our house, looking for interesting insects to photograph. These mating robber flies caught my attention and the extra insect was an added bonus.”

Photo location: Netherlands

• True flies

Weaving its World

Caterpillar of a moth – Lepidoptera

Hardeep Solanki

 

Photographer notes: “This caterpillar was actively spinning a thin stand of silk from its mouth. After taking few of the side macro shots I moved my position and took front profile shots which shows the origin of the silk thread, also the front legs appear almost claw-like.”

Photo location: India

• Butterflies and moths

Miniscule but deadly dive bomber

An ant-decapitating Phorid fly, Diptera: Phoridae, dives towards a sugar ant, Hymenoptera: Formicidae (Camponotus sp.)

François Brassard

 

An ant-decapitating fly dives towards a sugar ant. Its goal is to inject an egg in the ant’s head. The emerging grub will burrow in the ant’s head to grow. The grub will ultimately emerge from its pupa, which can decapitate the ant, thus giving the fly their macabre name.

Photographer notes: “While hiking fellow entomologist Charlotte Raven spotted this phorid fly harassing ants. I was happy to finally get photos of an ant parasitoid in action.”

Photo location: Australia

• Ants, bees, wasps and sawflies
• True flies

Miniature version of the stork and baby tale

Worker ant, Hymenoptera: Formicidae (Rhytidoponera metallica), and phasmid egg, Phasmatodea.

François Brassard

 

This pony ant carries the egg of a stick insect back home. Ant larvae will eat the capitulum of the egg only. The rest is left alone in the ant nest until it hatches. In this mutualism ants get food whereas stick insects get a fortress to gestate in.

Photographer notes: “This is the only instance in nature where I witnessed an ant carrying a capitulum-bearing stick insect back to its nest. I was lucky to have my camera ready with me as this is an interaction I meant to photograph for a long time.”

Photo location: Australia

• Ants, bees, wasps and sawflies
• Stick-insects

Tafano

Common horse fly – Diptera: Tabanidae (Haematopota pluvialis)

Alessio Cipollini

 

Photographer notes: “The horse fly is an annoying insect for animals and also for humans, but seen up close, it is fascinating – it seems to come from another planet.”

Photo location: Italy

• True flies

Blue

Mating pair of blue longhorn beetles – Coleoptera: Cerambycidae (Phytoecia caerulescens)

Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas

 

Photographer notes: “While photographing these beautiful blue beetles in on a bright sunny day, I decided to use a low angle and use the blue sky as a background to match the blue of the beetles. By shooting a focus stack I was able to get the faces of both beetles sharp and in focus.”

Photo location: Germany

• Beetles

Ruby Tailed Wasp

Hymenoptera: Chrysididae (Chrysis ignita sensu lato)

Lee Frost

 

Ruby tailed wasp (Chrysis ignita) looking for an opportunity to lay eggs in the nest of a solitary bees.

Photographer notes: “I spotted this absolute gem in my garden, hanging around my bug hotels. I quickly grabbed my camera and managed to focus stacked 22 images together to show all the details of this beautiful wasp.”

Photo location: United Kingdom

• Ants, bees, wasps and sawflies

Horsehead grasshopper

Orthoptera: Proscopiidae (Pseudoproscopia scabra)

Jeremiah Winden

 

A detailed portrait of a horsehead grasshopper shot in the Amazon jungle of Ecuador.

Photographer notes: “A long sweaty hike deep into the amazon jungle. The amount of biodiversity is almost overwhelming as a photographer. One particular species I loved shooting the most, are these docile and friendly horse head grasshoppers that seem to resemble a stick insect more than grasshopper.”

Photo location: Ecuador

• Grasshoppers, crickets and bush-crickets

Bristletail portrait

Jumping Bristletail – Archaeognatha: Machilidae

Adam Ferry

 

This image shows a detailed portrait of a Bristletail. As it was resting on a coastal wall I was able to get a detailed focus stack. I shot at this angle to reveal the beautiful detail in the eyes of the Bristletail.

Photographer notes: “This image comprises of a focus stack of 117 photos in order to gain greater detail at the high magnification this was shot. I found some Bristletails on a coastal wall and I searched for a long time to eventually find this one staying still enough for a focus stack.”

Photo location: United Kingdom

• Bristletails

Buffalo Treehopper

Hemiptera: Membracidae (Stictocephala bisonia)

Jeremiah Winden

 

Photographer notes: “Shot in Canada this summer. I had flown to meet friends and fellow macro photographers looking for pink katydid. While we did not see any, we had a great time exploring the park and photographing species like this treehopper that I have never seen before.”

Photo location: Canada

• True bugs

Dragon sill

Shiny Long-Jointed beetle – Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae, Lagriinae

Willem Kruger

 

I saw this little insect sitting on the edge of a twig in a botanical garden one morning while doing some macro photography. I got down flat on my backside and shooting upwards towards the sky.

Photographer notes: “I used the surrounding trees to form a natural frame around the insect. I hand-held my camera while lying on my back. I did not use my flash because I want to use the blue background to be visible while the insect is just a silhouette.”

Photo location: South Africa

• Beetles

Bombylius venosus

Bee-fly – Diptera: Bombyliidae (Bombylius venosus)

Sven Damerow

 

The picture shows the bee-fly resting on a spring plant.

Photographer notes: “Here I was lucky enough to find him still resting in the morning, and shortly after taking the picture, he took off. I always call them little jet fighters.”

Photo location: Germany

• True flies

Environmental Defender Chironomid

Non-biting midge – Diptera: Chironomidae

Jifeng Yu

 

Photographer notes: “As a key link in the ecological chain, chironomids can purify water quality and affect sediment properties, making them harmless to humans.”

Photo location: China

• True flies

Sir Hopper of de Grass

Egyptian grasshopper – Orthoptera: Acrididae (Anacridium aegyptium)

Pedro Isidoro

 

Close-up portrait of a grasshopper perched on a twig, captured at night with a macro lens and a printed yellow background card to highlight its striking striped eyes and textured exoskeleton. Focus stack of three images for depth and detail.

Photographer notes: “While exploring at night, I found this grasshopper calmly perched on a twig. Its striped eyes and stoic pose inspired a bold, minimal portrait. I used a yellow background card and a short focus stack to emphasize its textures and strong stance.”

Photo location: Portugal

• Grasshoppers, crickets and bush-crickets

Lacewing on windowpane

Common green lacewing – Neuroptera: Chrysopidae (Chrysoperla carnea sensu lato)

Martin Buhlig

 

Photographer notes: “This photo was taken when I spotted a lacewing on my windowpane. I managed to capture a nice portrait. Since I like the picture so much, I decided to submit it.”

Photo location: Germany

• Lacewings, antlions and mantidflies

Mayfly

Ephemeroptera: Baetidae (Baetis sp.)

Jacek Hensoldt

 

It is a focus stack of a live mayfly photographed in its natural habitat near the Wupper River in Solingen.

Photographer notes: “I discovered the mayfly by chance on a yellow leaf lying on the ground. It was completely motionless, allowing me to place my camera on the ground and take several focus stacks without any trouble. The LED light didn’t bother it at all.”

Photo location: Germany

• Mayflies or upwing flies

Who you lookin’ at?

Barklouse – Psocodea: Mesopsocidae (Mesopsocus sp.)

Rupert Lees

 

This is a 60 frame handheld focus stack of a tiny barklouse in the genus Mesopsocus, only around 2.5mm in length.

Photographer notes: “Having seen a few of these bizarre insects in the past without managing to get a good detailed portrait shot, I was really pleased to spot and photograph this individual at the end of a day ecology volunteering at East London’s Cody Dock. I love the intense looking eyes!”

Photo location: United Kingdom

• Booklice, barklice and parasitic lice

Angel in disguise

Grecian streamertail, a species of spoonwing lacewing – Neuroptera: Nemopteridae (Nemoptera coa)

Panagiotis Dalagiorgos

 

A low angle shot of Nemoptera coa on Helichrysum

Photographer notes: “I took this photo in May 2025 on a mountain near Athens, Greece. I went for a low angle approach because it had its wings wide spread, and I felt I was peeking at heaven and seeing an angel.”

Photo location: Greece

• Lacewings, antlions and mantidflies

Dance of the psyche

Psyche butterfly – Lepidoptera: Pieridae (Leptosia nina)

Swastika Mukherjee

 

A delicate Psyche butterfly from my garden. Its rhythmic flight and sunlight bokeh made a dreamy scene, captured using multiple exposure to show nature’s poetry in motion.

Photographer notes: “I followed this tiny butterfly in my garden, amazed by its gentle dance. The sunlight added magic, so I used multiple exposure to capture its beauty and rhythm.”

Photo location: India

• Butterflies and moths

Oil painting in the Stream

Demoiselle damselfly – Odonata: Calopterygidae

Bo Lei

 

In Jiuling Mountain, Jiangxi Province, China, the damselfly perched in the stream is like an abstract oil painting.

Photo location: China

• Dragonflies and damselflies

The froghopper in foam

Froghopper – Hemiptera: Cercopoidea

Jianguo Mao

 

The nymph of the froghopper secretes mucus through its abdominal glands and mixes it with the air to form foam to wrap itself and prevent dryness and natural enemies. There are two froghoppers living in this foam

Photographer notes: “In the field shooting, I found the froghoppers on the grass stems. They are very small. I found a bubble like a big drop of water. There are two froghopper living in it. It looks so magical”

Photo location: China

• True bugs

Parabellum

Stag beetle – Coleoptera: Lucanidae (Lucanus cervus)

Bertrand Bascoules

 

Emergence of a male Lucanus cervus in the heart of a century-old forest, at the foot of an old oak tree, on a stormy June evening.

Photographer notes: “Lucanus cervus is a Proust madeleine, each of my encounters with him takes me back to the time when the summer holidays were just around the corner and the days were nothing but contemplation and wonder at an ever more surprising nature, especially in the eyes of a child.”

Photo location: France

• Beetles

Fragile Balance

Leaf-footed bugs – Hemiptera: Coreidae

Ádám Fáth

 

It is as if the two arms of a ‘scale’ were holding each other in balance, so the insect takes its place in this silhouette photograph. The composition and colour scheme are clean and simple, which helps the viewer concentrate on the image’s message

Photographer notes: “I was on my way to photograph birds at a nearby lake, but before I sat down in the grass for a short break. Suddenly, I saw this bug climbing upwards on the grass and turned into position. I quickly took the macro lens out and already knew the best photo of the day was done.”

Photo location: Hungary

• True bugs

Zero Gravity

Phantom crane fly – Diptera: Ptychopteridae

Martin Tampier

 

A Phantom Crane Fly hovering above the grass of a wetland

Photographer notes: “These flies have a particular black-and-white pattern and spread out their legs when flying. this may give them extra lift and makes them somewhat slow, suggesting they are hovering almost without gravity.”

Photo location: Canada

• True flies

Termite nest with colourful Termitomyces fungi

Termites – Blattodea

Madhumay Mallik

 

Termites are known to farm fungi as their primary source of food and to better digest plant matter. However, this particular fungi colony had picked up vivid colours, perhaps reasoned by specific raw materials that the termites might have sourced from the neighbourhood.

Photographer notes: “Unused plant pots had been kept upside down in my backyard for a long time in a corner of our garden. When I picked up one to be able to use it, I found this termite nest that had formed inside.
In nature, even the tiniest beings can amaze you, only if you choose to look closer!”

Photo location: India

• Cockroaches and termites

Metamorphosis

Dragonfly – Odonata

Dumortier Frédéric

 

Dragonfly emerging from its larval exoskeleton. 

Photographer notes: “I was hiding in the grass at the edge of Lac du Héron (Villeneuve d’Ascq, France) to photograph birds when I spotted this dragonfly exuviae in the tall grass. I immediately changed lenses. Focus stacking of 28 photos.”

Photo location: France

• Dragonflies and damselflies

The Butterfly in the Morning

Lepidoptera: Pieridae (Eurema sp.)

Yong Miao

 

Photo location: China

• Butterflies and moths

Ascension of the Mantis

European Praying mantis – Mantodea: Mantidae (Mantis religiosa)

Steven Grogin

 

A praying mantis hovers mid-air, its wings glowing like stained glass against the sky. Captured handheld, with no burst mode or tripod, this image reveals the rare grace of mantis flight in a fleeting instant.

Photographer notes: “The mantis was already in flight as I sprinted through a meadow beside it, trying to align for a perfect frame. With no burst mode or tripod, I caught the split second its wings spread in full – a rare moment frozen in motion.”

Photo location: United States

• Mantises

Hovering Grace: Hummingbird Moth Approaches a Bloom

Clearwing hummingbird moth – Lepidoptera: Sphingidae (Hemaris thysbe)

Steven Grogin

 

A Clearwing hummingbird moth hovers with its proboscis extended, captured mid-flight as it prepares to land on a flower. The frame reveals the elegance of a rarely seen insect, its delicate movement frozen at the threshold between air and bloom.

Photographer notes: “Using a macro lens, I timed the shot precisely as the moth darted toward the flower, still airborne and moments before landing. Taken handheld without burst or tripod, this image reflects persistence and anticipation in chasing an elusive subject.” 

Photo location: United States

• Butterflies and moths

Mayan Euglossa

Orchid bee – Hymenoptera: Apidae (Euglossa sp.)

Luis Raúl Martínez García

 

Euglossa flying through the heart of the Maya jungle.

Photographer notes: “While doing fieldwork in Yaakunah kaax, Yucatán, as part of the course Ecology of Fragmented Tropical Forests, taught by Dr. Victor Arroyo, I came across a group of male bees biting a wild aromatic plant from the genus Ocimum. I managed to capture this beauty mid-flight.”

Photo location: Mexico

• Ants, bees, wasps and sawflies

Crimson Explorer on Forest Moss

Beetle – Coleoptera

Parakrama Keerthisinghe

 

A red and black beetle makes its way across a bed of vibrant green moss in a shaded Sri Lankan forest. The contrasting colours and quiet movement of the insect reflect the delicate balance of nature at ground level.

Photographer notes: “While walking through a damp forest trail in Sri Lanka, I spotted this beetle navigating the mossy terrain. Its striking color and calm movement against the lush background captured the quiet beauty of everyday insect life.”

Photo location: Sri Lanka

• Beetles