‘Roller Coaster’ by Hiep Nguyen/Photocrowd.com.
“This photo was taken in my garden. It was a sunny day with slight drizzle, the little snail came out of hiding and crawled onto this unique branch of a cucumber plant. It appears to be riding the world’s slowest roller coaster” .

‘Trying Hard’ by Alland Dharmawan/Photocrowd.com. An ant tries to cross the rocks. Taken in Malang, Indonesia.

‘Angry Hornet’ by Matteo Senesi/Photocrowd.com

‘Papilio Machaon’ by Horuseye

“A Papilio Machaon with a caterpillar. This shot was taken early in the morning – both were on the stem, which I moved around to create the background.”

The winner, chosen by the expert judge Ben Brain, editor of Digital Camera magazine.

“Well done to our first-place winner, who has captured this stunning macro image, which has been finished to a high technical standard. The relationship between the caterpillar and the fully formed butterfly reminds us of the cycle of life, giving the image greater context. The dominating position of the butterfly on top of the flower shows us the journey it has taken to its final form. The blurred-out yellow background frames the profile of both subjects perfectly and contrasts against the blues in the creatures. A great macro image, and a worthy winner in our contest”.

‘Male Scorpion Fly’ by Paul Smith/Photocrowd.com
A male scorpion fly at Upton Fen, Norfolk, UK.

‘The Fly’ by Sai Prashant Vajja/Photocrowd.com

‘Down Beneath’ by Lee Acaster/Photocrowd.com

‘Arachnid’ by Zill Niazi/Photocrowd.com. A very small spider sitting on a rose petal.

‘Blue Bottle’ by Bob Wood/Photocrowd.com. “The blue bottle was basking and possibly dozing in the evening sunshine on our house wall.”

‘Fly on Thistle’ by Ryan Morris/Photocrowd.com. “On the look out for bugs I came across this fly perched on a thistle, but it was only when I got home and uploaded to the computer that I realised the fly was actually cleaning itself. I thought this made for a more unusual shot of what could have been ‘just another fly’.”

‘Lonely Spider’ by Shah Azhan/Photocrowd.com

‘Friend’ by Muhammad Berkati/Photocrowd.com taken in Palangkaraya, Indonesia.

‘Regal Jumping Spider’ by Oliver Wright/Photocrowd.com. “This is a friends pet (regal jumping spider) which I photographed in the studio on a black tile.”

‘Ladybird avoiding getting wet feet’ by Dave/Photocrowd.com. “This shot is of a ladybird about to take off from a sundial in the garden.”

‘Hairy Moth’ by Matteo Senesi/Photocrowd.com