Assistant Editor, Science and Innovation

When turning their lenses toward wildlife, nature photographers often thrill to majestic bison, otherworldly whales and the varied behaviors of birds.

But perhaps not as many look to the smaller, six-legged creatures that crawl, swim and fly—sometimes under cover of darkness—even though their numbers are legion and they inhabit nearly all parts of the globe.

To put a spotlight on insects, the Royal Entomological Society, a United Kingdom-based charity dedicated to insect science, holds a photography contest each year. In connection with its annual Insect Week outreach event, the group recently announced the winners of its most-recent competition.

“It’s wonderful to know that so many individuals have engaged with insects in this way, capturing some incredible moments for their world and showcasing the beauty and diversity of insects,” contest judge Ashleigh Whiffin, entomology curator at the National Museum of Scotland, says in a statement.

Amateur photographers from all over the world are invited to enter the contest, calling attention to the wonders of our planet’s insects at a time when roughly 40 percent of them may be threatened with extinction.

The Royal Entomological Society shared online galleries of all the commended photos in this year’s competition, from both adult and youth photographers. Here’s a selection of ten stunning images recognized by the judges.

Sleeping cuckoos by Luke Chambers

two black, white and red bees grip onto a brown blade of grass with their mandibles
Black-thighed cellophane-cuckoo bees sleep holding onto blades of grass. © Luke Chambers, First Place

Gripping onto grasses with their jaws—yet still fast asleep—two black-thighed cellophane-cuckoo bees are the peaceful subjects of the winning image for this year’s contest.

Named for the birds that lay their eggs in other birds’ nests, cuckoo bees also parasitize the nests of other bees. They do not collect pollen or nectar, since they lack some of the specialized body parts for it, such as pollen-carrying hairs. This gives cuckoo bees a shinier and less fuzzy appearance.

Coming across these tranquil creatures was “one of my best encounters to date,” says photographer Luke Chambers in a statement. “Finding any sleeping invertebrate is always brilliant, but two so close together, well that’s like winning the photography lottery.”

Caddisfly larvae in a jelly egg sac by Tim Jonas

more than a dozen larval caddisflies clumped together against a green leaf background
Larval caddisflies in an egg sac under a leaf © Tim Jonas, Second Place

Adult caddisflies are moth-like, known for flocking toward light bulbs at night. But for most of their lives, the insects live in water, providing an important food source for fish.

In this image, which took second place in the contest, larval caddisflies have just hatched within a gelatinous egg sac, positioned on a leaf hanging over water. When they are ready, the insects will drop into the water where they live as larvae. In the pupal phase of their lives, they will build aquatic cocoons and undergo metamorphosis, then take to the air as adults.

“Having photographed a caddisfly laying her eggs at this location the previous year, I was keen to document the next stage showing eggs and larvae inside the gelatinous mass,” photographer Tim Jonas says in a statement. “I captured images of several egg masses near water, returning a few days later to find they had hatched.”

Nature’s jewels by Nikita Richardson

roughly 17 brightly colored beetle-like bugs in red and green all in a clump and overlapping
A cluster of brightly colored male cotton harlequin bugs © Nikita Richardson, Behavior Specially Commended

Cotton harlequin bugs, which sport vibrant colors in a captivating pattern, are each less than one inch long. But together, they often form large clusters as an anti-predator adaptation.

“When one bug emits a bad smell as a deterrent for predators, it will trigger the others to do so as well,” says Nikita Richardson, who captured this photo in Australia, in a statement. The bugs pictured here are males, while females tend to be mostly orange.

Robber fly by Steven Mahy

a close-up of the front of a fly's face and its legs holding onto a plant in front of a blurred purple flower
A brown heath robber fly stares into the camera lens, its compound eyes on display. © Steven Mahy, Portraits Specially Commended

Also known as “assassin flies,” robber flies are notorious for their lethal predatory habits. From its perch on a plant or rock, the fly will watch for an insect passing by, then swoop down and snatch it out of the air. Robber flies use venomous saliva to quickly immobilize and kill their unfortunate prey.

But to photographer Steven Mahy, finding this robber fly was a stroke of luck. “I was looking for butterflies an hour or so before sunset, in an area where I had seen plenty in the daytime,” he says in a statement. “Could not find a single butterfly but then noticed this robber fly.”

Picasso bug by Robin Backhouse

a stinkbug-like insect grips onto a thin green plant and faces the camera, its head and back are yellow with black and blue scalloped stripes on its back and a yellow background
A portrait of the aptly named Picasso bug © Robin Backhouse, Portraits Specially Commended

The Picasso bug looks like an artist has painted on its back—atop its base green hue, one of these creatures has 11 ring-shaped spots in various colors, which are meant to serve as a warning to predators. Residents of tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, the insects give off an unpleasant odor when threatened, revealing their relation to stink bugs.

Robin Backhouse photographed this individual in Kenya. “They don’t sit still for long, so I had to be patient to get the face-on composition,” Backhouse says in a statement.

Brown argus roosting at sunrise by Richard Sheldrake

a small butterfly appears in profile and as a silhouette against the orange orb of the sun, gripping to some blades of grass and facing the ground
A brown argus butterfly at sunrise © Richard Sheldrake, Portraits Specially Commended

At dawn, a brown argus butterfly awakens, backlit by the rising sun. Often, groups of these butterflies—which, despite their brown color, belong to a subfamily known as the “blues”—roost communally on blades of grass overnight. These congregations can present a golden opportunity for photographers.

“I start very early, before dawn and search for the butterflies as they start to climb higher up grass stems to get the early sun warmth,” Richard Sheldrake says in a statement. “On this day, I found this beauty on a long grass stem on the top of a bank, so I could get right down low to catch the sun in the background.”

Look into my eyes by Pete Burford

close-up of the face and front legs of a dragonfly-like creature, its compound eyes black and green and its body blue; it sits on a leaf against a blue background
A damselfly covered with drops of dew sits on a leaf in this close-up photo. © Pete Burford, Portraits Specially Commended

Being cold-blooded, damselflies and other insects cannot generate their own body heat. At night, when temperatures drop, this can render the creatures unable to move. Damselflies, long-bodied creatures akin to dragonflies, can sometimes be covered by dew at night as they lie still.

Photographer Pete Burford was outside at 2 a.m., looking for resting damselflies in the United Kingdom. “I lucked out near a fishing pond and found a couple of them still on the reeds covered in dew,” Burford says in a statement. “I was able to get quite a few interesting poses of them whilst I was there.”

Evening prayer by Leela Channer

a silhouette of the full body of a praying mantis on a reed in the upper left in front of a pink sky, the sun visible as an orange circle at the lower right
A praying mantis stands on a reed in front of the setting sun. © Leela Channer, Environment Specially Commended

Praying mantises might look peaceful, but they are pretty fearsome hunters, capable of taking down prey three times their size. As such, mantises are sometimes considered beneficial to gardens, since they eat damaging insects. Here, one sits at the edge of a plowed field in France.

“[I] lay on the ground to photograph it silhouetted against the sky just before the sun dipped behind the hills,” photographer Leela Channer says in a statement.

Jumping bristletail by Tim Jonas

seen slightly from above, a long, brown and slightly iridescent-looking bug with black eyes and two short mouthparts and two long antennae
A portrait of a jumping bristletail, which resembles a silverfish © Tim Jonas, Portraits Specially Commended

The odd-looking jumping bristletails are among the most primitive insects known today—their lineage appeared with the arachnids during the mid-Devonian period, and it predates dinosaurs by roughly 200 million years. Though the creatures may look a bit like silverfish, they have a distinctive hump on their backs—and they can leap several inches into the air.

When walking at Brockadale Nature Reserve in England, Tim Jonas often finds jumping bristletails hidden under stones. They’re “one of my favorite subjects to photograph,” Jonas says in a statement.

Les fleurs du mal by Panagiotis Dalagiorgos

blurred pink petals of flowers surround a green praying mantis, just its head and a bit of its front legs visible; it is looking at the camera
A praying mantis peers through walls of pink petals. © Panagiotis Dalagiorgos, Portraits Specially Commended

Nestled among some pink cyclamen, a flower in the primrose family, a praying mantis is seen through a gap in the petals—in sharp focus, even as the plants blur.

“I love the way she peeks through the cyclamens,” says Panagiotis Dalagiorgos in a statement. “I think it adds some mystery and danger to the beautiful flower scenery.”

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Carlyn Kranking is the assistant web editor for science and innovation.