Check out some award winning photos of weird and wonderful insects

A close-up picture of a horsefly with big, detailed eyes that are a mixture of green, black and red. It has a hairy body in shades of grey and brown. It's in front of a blurred green and blue background — Image caption,
Highly Commended in the 'Portraits' category: "Tafano (Horsefly)" by Alessio Cipollini

12 February 2026

Get ready to see close-ups of some creepy crawlies.

The Royal Entomological Society has announced the winners of its annual insect photography competition.

The 2025 competition received more than 3,000 entries – its highest number ever – with photos taken in more than 110 different countries.

One of the judges was Matt Doogue, who is a professional macro photographer.

He said: "The entries demonstrated incredible technical skill, field craft and patience, revealing behaviours that never cease to amaze me."

Check out some of the winning pictures below if you dare.

A close up picture of a grayish brown insect hiding in some sand. Its body has some dark brown markings and is covered in tiny bristles. It has a square shaped head with long, pointed jaws — Image caption,
'Under 18' category 1st place: "Tyrant of the Dunes" by Benji Cook

The overall winner in the Under 18 category was 12-year-old Benji, for a photo he took in France of Antlion larvae.

It shows the larvae waiting in a pit it had dug in the sand, perfectly camouflaged, lurking to pounce on its prey.

Benji explained that his sister was making sandcastles when she found the "strange looking creature" on their holiday.

He said: "We watched with curiosity as it vibrated its abdomen and retreated backwards into the sand, leaving just its head protruding, fearsome jaws outstretched."

A very close up picture of a bee with yellow and black stripes, big greenish yellow eyes and transparent wings. It is hovering above a bright yellow flower. — Image caption,
'Under 18' category runner-up: "Four-banded flower bee" by Jack Brackley

Another talented young photographer is 13-year-old Jack, who came runner-up for his amazing picture of a four-banded flower bee.

He noticed it zooming between flowers at a nature reserve called Lackford Lakes, which is in Suffolk.

Jack said taking a photo of the bee while it was flying was "very challenging" because it was moving so fast.

He added: "I was really pleased to capture one in focus."

A very close up picture of twelve dome shaped butterfly eggs resting on a bright green leaf. The eggs are red and orange with thin white stripes. A tiny wasp with big eyes and a shiny green body is on top of one of the eggs as it lays its own eggs inside of it. — Image caption,
'18 and over' category 1st Place: "Parasitic Play" by Raghuram Annadana

In the '18 and over' category, Raghuram Annadana won 1st place for a picture he took of some Banana Skipper butterfly eggs.

He spotted the tiny eggs resting on a banana leaf when he was out for a walk in India.

But when he looked at them through his camera lens, he noticed something surprising - a tiny parasitic wasp was laying its own eggs inside the butterfly eggs.

The wasp was so small that it was impossible to see with the naked eye.

He said: "To give a sense of its size, each butterfly egg is just 1.8 mm and the wasp is even tinier."

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