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Sleeping cuckoos, by Yorkshire-based Luke Chambers, has won this year’s Royal Entomological Society Insect Week photography competition.
Chambers’ photo shows two cuckoo bees resting on a blade of grass.
“Finding any sleeping invertebrate is always brilliant – but two so close together, well that’s like winning the photography lottery,” he said.
Tim Jonas’s picture of caddis-fly larvae came second.
Head judge, broadcaster, photographer and Falmouth University senior lecturer Dr Tim Cockerill said: “Insects are the most diverse group of animals on the planet yet we know so little about most of them.
“Photography like this provides a window into the astonishing complexity and beauty of the insect world.
“At a time when insects face huge threats, I hope this collection of stunning images helps to showcase just how important – and beautiful – they really are.”
Swedish photographer Gustav Parenmark, 17, won the under-18 category, with this picture of a banded demoiselle damselfly at rest.
“Waking up early is the key to photographing sleeping odonates,” he said.
“This species of damselfly is usually very skittish – but I went out at 04:00 to capture them inactive, making them easier to photograph.”
Jamie Smart’s picture of a robber fly came second.
“I was up early one morning and decided to have a wander around our wild garden with my camera, when I saw this fly on grass,” the eight-year-old said.
“I didn’t realise until looking on the computer that he was actually eating another fly.”
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