This stunning photo of an ant's face looks like something out of a nightmare: ScienceAlert

You've probably never seen an ant like this before: in an extreme close-up by a Lithuanian photographer Eugenius Kavaliauskas I captured a shot of an ant's face that looks like a still from a fantasy epic Lord of the Rings.

The image has been honored as a 'Image of excellence“in Small World Microscopy Photography Competition 2022 It's run by Nikon, and it's easy to see why. The shot also attracted a lot of attention and plaudits Reddit.

The photo is a close-up of the lower jaw and antennae camponotus – subscriber Carpenter ants. They make their nests inside wood, often in forest environments, and snack on bits of dead insects and the nectar and honeydew released by aphids.

There's some clever cropping going on in this photo. According to The Washington PostThe parts of the ants' face that look like glowing red eyes are actually the bases of their antennae, while what appear to be yellow teeth are tiny “trigger” hairs that the ants use to sense the surrounding environment.

The image was actually captured through a microscope at 5x magnification, with reflected light technology used to highlight the details of the ant's face.

As Kavaliauskas said The Washington PostHaving tried his hand at photographing birds of prey, he now focuses his interest on insects. You can see many other great examples of his talent and attention to detail His page on Instagram.

“I'm always looking for details, shadows and unseen corners,” Kavaliauskas said. From the inside.

“The main purpose of photography is to be a discoverer. I am fascinated by the masterpieces of the Creator and the opportunity to see God's designs.”

A further 56 images were also rated as featured by the competition judges, all deservingly so Take a look at -We have macro images of mouse embryos, butterfly scales, dinosaur bones, and much more.

Overall winner The competition showed the embryonic hand of Madagascar's giant diurnal gecko (Visuma grandis), taken by Gregory Temin and Michel Milinkovic of the University of Geneva in Switzerland.

“Every year, Nikon Small World receives a collection of photomicrographs showcasing exemplary scientific and artistic technology,” Eric Flem saysDirector of Communications and CRM at Nikon Instruments.

“This year was no exception.”

A version of this article was first published in October 2022.