A photograph of a sleeping cuckoo bee, captured by photographer Luke Chambers from Yorkshire, won this year's insect photography competition organized by the Royal Entomological Society. The image shows two cuckoo bees resting on a blade of grass. The photographer remarked, "Finding any single bee or insect that is asleep is truly amazing, but finding two of them very close to each other is like winning a photography bet."
The head judge, Dr. Tim Cockerill, who also works as a broadcaster, photographer, and senior lecturer at Falmouth University, stated, "Insects are the most diverse group of animals on this planet, yet we know very little about most of them." He added, "Photography like this provides a window into the astounding complexity and stunning beauty of the insect world." He expressed hope that this remarkable collection of images would help showcase their significance—and beauty—effectively, especially as insects face tremendous threats.
Seventeen-year-old Swedish photographer Gustav Barinmark won in the under-18 category with his image of a resting dragonfly. He said, "Waking up early is key to photographing sleeping donors." He added, "These types of dragonflies are usually very skittish—but I went out at 04:00 to take pictures of them while they were still asleep, which made it easier to photograph."
Jimmy Smart's photo of a robber fly took second place. Eight-year-old Jimmy shared, "I woke up early one morning and decided to wander our wild garden with my camera, and I saw this fly on the grass." He added, "I didn't realize until I looked at the computer that it was eating another fly."
Photographer Abi Patton included the phrase "Join us for tea, wasp" with her highly praised photo taken with a smartphone. Many particularly praised the image titled "Nature's Gems" by photographer Nikita Richardson, showing cotton-candy bugs in the behavior category. Thomas Roberts' photo of an orange-tipped butterfly caught the judges' attention in the environment category.
Judges commended the image captured by photographer Lila Channer of a Glanville fritillary butterfly. Panagiotis Dalagiorgos received praise for his image of a European mantis in the portrait category. Photographer Robin Backhouse captured a vividly colored Picasso bug, while Pete Burford's image was titled "Look into My Eyes."
