Small Damselfly (Ishnura posita) Photo by Benjamin Salb/Royal Entomological Society
Dear Readers, the Royal Entomological Society’s Insect Week runs from 19th to 25th June this year, with all sorts of interesting events, but to get us in the mood, here are some of my favourite photos from the 2022 photography exhibition. I am always astonished at the detail that these photographs manage to pick up, and the strange beauty of some of the images. I’m not sure why we get so excited about life on other planets when there is such variety so close at hand.
To see more details about these photos and more, have a look here.
Spotted tiger beetle (Photo by Benjamin Salb, RES)
Ashy Mining Bee (Photo by Rory Lewis RES)
Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) Photo by Raymond J. Cannon/RES
Male Orange Tip Butterfly (Photo by Sarah Perkins/RES)
Twin-lobed deerfly (Photo by Marc Brouwer/RES)
Beautiful Antlion(Euroleon nostras) (Photo by Dennis Teichert)
As beautiful, fantastic and interesting as these creatures are seen from such very close quarters, I am glad they are not the size of a cat or dog, for example, for then they would be terrifying to come across!
I know! Fancy walking a tiger beetle the size of a German Shepherd! Very scary…
We seem to only value what we don’t have! Although I will say that science fiction has long used insects as models for aliens, so in that way, they have been sort of appreciated.
Maybe people would be less fearful of insects if we regularly saw how beautiful they are.
Agreed…