Neil Challis / Crimson-tailed marsh skimmer dragonfly (Orthetrum pruinosum) eating a bee on perch, Central Thailand, September.
01698737
Vishal Jadhav / Lesser banded hornet (Vespa affinis) workers entering and exiting their nesting hole, Maharashtra, India, May.
01698181
David Weiller / Slug moth caterpillars (Acharia hyperoche) shedding skin on a palm leaf, Golfito, Costa Rica, March.
01698180
David Weiller / Slug moth caterpillar (Acharia nesea) walking beside two Ichneumon wasp (Ichneumonidae spp.) cocoons with the remains of two parasitised caterpillars on a palm leaf, Golfito, Costa Rica, March.
01696924
Neil Challis / Giant golden orb weaver spider (Nephila pilipes) focus pull from a small male to much larger female in the background, Western Thailand.
01696913
Neil Challis / Weaver ant (Oecophylla sp.) workers using their mandibles to pull two leaves together as part of their nest building process, Western Thailand.
01696900
Neil Challis / Weaver ants (Oecophylla sp.) attacking and pulling the legs of a Formicine ant (Polyrhachis proxima) on the forest floor, Western Thailand.
01696053
Lukas Schaefer / Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) close up preening, Val Venosta, Italy, October.
01695709
Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Mojave desert sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes) close up, flicking its tongue, Woodland Park Zoo. Captive.
01695676
Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Silvery javan gibbon (Hylobates Moloch) juvenile yawning, Bali Safari, Indonesia. Endangered. Captive.
01695670
Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Horsfield's tarsier (Cephalopachus bancanus) close up of head, moving its ears, Ragunan Zoo, Indonesia. Captive.
01695535
Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Red octopus (Octopus rubescens) swimming out of frame, Aquarium of the Pacific. Captive.
01693907
Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Great green macaw (Ara ambiguus) turning its head and moving tongue, Tracy Aviary. Captive.
01692286
Lewis Jefferies / Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) feeding on the ground in the Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, UK, June.
01689577
Lewis Jefferies / Close up shot of Pulsating xenid (Heteroxenia fuscescens) feeding , Red Sea, Egypt
01689569
Lewis Jefferies / Blackfinned anemonefish (Amphiprion nigripes) family seeks shelter in safety of Anemone's stinging tentacles, South Ari Atoll, Maldives, Indian Ocean.
01689518
Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / African wood owl (Strix woodfordii) looking around and towards camera, Monticello Cente, Monticello Grosseto. Captive.
01689464
Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Common Bay Owl (Phodilus badius) looking around, Penang Bird Park, Seberang Perai, Pulau Pinang. Captive.
01686104
Eduardo Blanco / Tree silhouetted against volcanic eruption, Cumbre Vieja Volcano, La Palma, Canary Islands, September 2021.
01685488
Uri Golman / Close up of a silverback Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) face with eyes closed, and hand / fingers, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo.
01684979
Klein & Hubert / Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) close up of jaw and teeth, Chobe River, Botswana, Africa.
01683748
Eric Baccega / Close up shot of Female Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) Huan Huan, holding her female cub, Beauval ZooPark, France, September 2021.
01683724
Kim Taylor / Two Freshwater copepods (Cyclops sp) swimming through pond debris, Surrey, UK, May.
01683700
Eric Baccega / Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) female, Huan Huan, holding cub aged one month, Beauval ZooPark, France. 9 September 2021.
01683699
Eric Baccega / Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) female, Huan Huan, holding cub aged one month, Beauval ZooPark, France. 9 September 2021.
01683698
Eric Baccega / Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) female, Huan Huan, holding cub aged one month, Beauval ZooPark, France. 9 September 2021.
01683693
Eric Baccega / Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) female, Huan Huan, holding cub aged one month, Beauval ZooPark, France. 9 September 2021.
01683630
Richard Hopkins / Close up shot of Female European otter (Lutra lutra) eating fish surrounded by seaweed, Shetland, UK, December.
01683624
Richard Hopkins / Female European otter (Lutra lutra) looking directly at camera as her male cub suckles before she turns away from him; he pesters her to feed him again. Shetland, UK, September.
01682834
David Weiller / Atta leaf-cutter ants (Genus atta) harvesting leaves and pink flower petals, Ecuador, February.
01680314
Robert Thompson / African golden emperor moth (Gonimbrasia krucki), close up of male head , Kenya, Africa Controlled conditions.
01679709
Pascal Kobeh / A school of Bluespotted cornetfish (Fistularia commersonii), Red Sea, Egypt.
01679270
Michael W. Richards / Domestic hen (Gallus gallus domesticus) preening while brooding her chicks in farmyard, when she pecks at ground chicks appear from underneath her, Somerset, UK, September.
01678684
Alex Hyde / Commuity of mosses predominately red Sphagnum Moss (Sphagnum sp.), with Reindeer Lichen (Cladonia sp.) growing alongside, in blanket bog. Glen Affric, Scotland, UK. October. Focus stacked image.
01678673
Alex Hyde / Common Orb Weaver (Metellina sp.) male. With the camera at a very precise angle to the sun, the silk of the web refracted the light into a rainbow of coloured bands.
01677128
John Chan / Calliope hummingbird (Stellula calliope) chasing insects before returning to its perch, Southern California, USA, April.
01673803
Pal Hermansen / Portrait of a Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), Telemark, Norway.
01673120
Pal Hermansen / Close up of a Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) face looking around and towards camera, Snow Hill Island, Antarctica, October.
01670885
Guy Edwardes / Bonnet mycena fungus (Mycena galericulata) and Holly (Ilex aquifolium) seedling, New Forest National Park, England, UK. October.
01670803
Guy Edwardes / Slime mould (Arcyria denudata) sporangia. New Forest National Park, England, UK. November. Focus stacked image.
01670792
Guy Edwardes / Parrot waxcap fungus (Gliophorus psittacinus), close up of gills, Duncliffe Wood Woodland Trust Reserve, Dorset, England, UK. November.
Jack Dykinga / Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest with twisted limbs of Bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) at dawn on the White Mountains, Inyo National Forest, California, USA.
01662802
Michael Hutchinson / Goldenrod crab spider (Misumena vatia) yellow female on Honesty flower, Bristol, UK, April
01662084
Oliver Wright / Marbled white butterfly (Melanargia galathea) photographed in early morning light. Ledston, Yorkshire, June. Focus stacked image.
01662083
Oliver Wright / Portrait of a Emerald damselfly (Lestes sponsa) Yorkshire, August. Focus stacked image.
01662082
Oliver Wright / Portrait of a Common darter (Sympetrum striolatum) Yorkshire, July. Focus stacked image.
