From the team at BBC Wildlife Magazine

Microsculpture: Portraits of Insects

Levon Biss' photographic study shows insects in mind-blowing magnification.

Published: January 15, 2019 at 3:00 pm
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About the photographer

Levon Biss is a British photographer who was born in London and now lives in Wiltshire. Throughout his career Biss' work has covered a wide range of photographic genres, including portraiture, documentary and sport.

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Most recently, Biss' passion for nature and photography have now come together to create Microsculpture, a unique photographic study of insects in mind-blowing magnification that has taken the genre of microscopy to an entirely new level.

Each picture in Microsculpture is created from approximately 8,000 individual photographs, which are "stacked" to maintain sharp focus throughout, then combined into a single high-resolution file.

Biss has done a TED talk and appeared on BBC’s Springwatch to talk about his Microsculpture project. In 2016, Biss was awarded with a Fellowship to the Royal Photographic Society.

View more of Biss' photography on his website.

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To view the images as a slideshow, click on the arrows in the top right hand corner of the photos below.

Tortoise beetle. The domed body shape of tortoise beetles probably provides protection against ants and other small predators. © Levon Biss
Tortoise beetle. The domed body shape of tortoise beetles probably provides protection against ants and other small predators. © Levon Biss
Splendid-necked dung beetle. The splendid-necked dung beetle is surely one of the most attractively marked dung beetles in the world. This species is just one of the many kinds unique to Madagascar. © Levon Biss
Splendid-necked dung beetle. The splendid-necked dung beetle is surely one of the most attractively marked dung beetles in the world. This species is just one of the many kinds unique to Madagascar. © Levon Biss
Pleasing fungus beetle. Close relatives of the ladybugs, pleasing fungus beetles often have conspicuous markings in various combinations of bright colours, spots, stripes, and other patterns. © Levon Biss
Pleasing fungus beetle. Close relatives of the ladybugs, pleasing fungus beetles often have conspicuous markings in various combinations of bright colours, spots, stripes, and other patterns. © Levon Biss
Orchid cuckoo bee. The orchid cuckoo bee is one of the most spectacular of all bees in terms of size, colour, and microsculpture. © Levon Biss
Orchid cuckoo bee. The orchid cuckoo bee is one of the most spectacular of all bees in terms of size, colour, and microsculpture. © Levon Biss
Iridescent bark mantis. The spectacular metallic colours of this species are very unusual for a mantis; also atypical is the wide front femur armed with a large, dagger-like spine. © Levon Biss
Iridescent bark mantis. The spectacular metallic colours of this species are very unusual for a mantis; also atypical is the wide front femur armed with a large, dagger-like spine. © Levon Biss
Jewel longhorned beetle. Longhorns are another of the mega-diverse beetle groups, with more than twenty-five thousand species, showing a seemingly endless variety of shapes, sizes, and colours. © Levon Biss
Jewel longhorned beetle. Longhorns are another of the mega-diverse beetle groups, with more than twenty-five thousand species, showing a seemingly endless variety of shapes, sizes, and colours. © Levon Biss
Amazonian purple warrior scarab. A large and impressive scarab beetle found widely across the Amazon basin. © Levon Biss
Amazonian purple warrior scarab. A large and impressive scarab beetle found widely across the Amazon basin. © Levon Biss
Tricoloured jewel beetle. This specimen was collected by the Victorian naturalist and explorer Alfred Russel Wallace in Seram between October 1859 and June 1860. © Levon Biss
Tricoloured jewel beetle. This specimen was collected by the Victorian naturalist and explorer Alfred Russel Wallace in Seram between October 1859 and June 1860. © Levon Biss
Microsculpture: Portraits of Insects © Levon Biss
Microsculpture: Portraits of Insects © Levon Biss
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