A stunning weevil eye, an Asian hornet’s sting and a mouse oviduct all win acclaim in Nikon’s 44^th annual Small World Photomicrography Competition.

Insects dominate the Nikon Instrument’s top 20 annual competition designed to unveil the microscopic beauty hidden from the naked eye.

Pest management professionals will be familiar with a couple of the pest insects included on the list however, it’s unlikely you’ll ever have seen them from this perspective.

First place was awarded to Emirati photographer Yousef Al Habshi, who sees the eyes as the windows to stunning insect artwork and research.

The 2018 winning image captures part of the compound eyes and surrounding greenish scales of an Asian Red Palm weevil.

This type of Metapocyrtus subquadrulifer beetle is typically less than 11mm in size and is found in the Philippines.

Because of the variety of colouring and the lines that display in the eyes of insects, I feel like I’m photographing a collection of jewellery. Not all people appreciate small species, particularly insects. Through photomicrography we can find a whole new, beautiful world which hasn’t been seen before. It’s like discovering what lies under the Ocean’s surface.

Yousef Al Habshi, Small World Competition winner 2018

While beautiful to photograph, weevils present infestation problems worldwide.

Al Habshi’s photography has helped advance the work of his partner, Professor Claude Desplan, of New York University Abu Dhabi.

His lab and Al Habshi’s photos have contributed a better understanding of the Red Palm Weevil and how to better control the population.

THIRD PLACE: SPITTLEBUG NUMPH

Saulius Gugis, Naperville, Illinois, USA

5TH PLACE: SPIDER EMBRYO

Dr Tessa Montague, Harvard University, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

8TH PLACE: WEEVIL

Pia Scanlon, Government of Western Australia, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, South Perth, Western Australia, Australia.

15TH PLACE: MITE ON HONEYBEE

Antoine Franck, CIRAD - Agricultural Research for Development, Saint Pierre, Réunion, Reunion Island.

16TH PLACE: MOUSE OVIDUCT

Dr Amanda D Phillips Yzaguirre, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California, USA

19TH PLACE: ASIAN HORNET STINGER

Pierre Anquet, La Tour-du-Crieu, Ariège, France

ALL THE WINNERS AND HONORABLE MENTIONS

The full top 20 gallery of winning images, along with images of distinction, can be viewed at nikonsmallworld.com  

Source: Online