Sleeping cuckoo bees by Luke Chambers are the winner of this year’s Royal Entomological Society Insect Week photography competition.
Chambers’ photo shows two cuckoo bees resting on a blade of grass.
“It’s always great to find any sleeping invertebrate, but finding two so close together is like winning the photo lottery,” says Chambers.
Tim Jonas’ photo of domesticated insect larvae came in second.
The jury was led by broadcaster, photographer and Falmouth University lecturer Dr. Tim Cockerill said: “Insects are the most diverse group of animals on the planet, but we know very little about most of them. “Photography provides a window into the surprising complexity and beauty of the insect world,” he says.
“At a time when insects face major threats, I hope this stunning collection of photographs will help show how important and beautiful they truly are.”
17-year-old Swedish photographer Gustav Parenmark won the under-18 category with his photograph of the banded damselfly.
“Waking up early is the key to photographing sleeping damselflies. This species of damselfly is generally very skittish, I went out at 4am to capture and photograph them while they were still.”
“I didn’t realize he was actually eating another fly until I looked it up on the computer,” says eight-year-old Jamie Smart.
Abi Batten’s shot using a smartphone, “A wasp joined us for tea”, received special praise from the jury.
Nikita Richardson’s “Nature’s jewels” of cotton clown bugs received special praise in the behavior category.
In the environment category, Thomas Roberts’ orange-tipped butterfly caught the jury’s attention.
Leela Channer’s iparhan butterfly was also praised.
Panagiotis Dalagiorgos’ photo of a European praying mantis stood out in the portrait category.
Robin Backhouse photographed this brightly colored Picasso bug.
The name of this photo by Pete Burford is: Look into my eyes.
All photographs used with permission of the Royal Entomological Society.
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2024-06-25 05:39:50