Photography competition winners

A celebration of the most diverse group of animals on Earth.

The winners of the prestigious National Insect Week Photography Competition have been announced by the Royal Entomological Society. All the winning and commended images can viewed in our galleries.

The winning photographer in the adult category was Croatian nature blogger and amateur photographer Petar Sabol for his image Libellula depressa, the scientific name for the broad-bodied chaser dragonfly. The large dragonfly is perched in a straight beam of warming sunlight which reveals the exquisite architecture of this aerial predator. Second place went to Ben Andrew from the UK for his image The Climb which captures a stag beetle scaling a tree trunk. A shortlist including another 24 stunning insect photographs were commended by the panel of judges.

1st Prize Adult Category: Libellula depressa ©Petar Sabol

The winning photographer in the junior category was Kelsey Knell aged 13 for a vibrant image of a bumblebee covered in pollen and feeding on a sunflower, aptly named Pollination. A shortlist of 17 commended images by young photographers were selected by the judges, featuring insects from the UK and around the world.

1st Prize Junior Category: Pollination ©Kelsey Knell

Dr Luke Tilley, Deputy Chief Executive, Royal Entomological Society says ‘So many of the images received did great service to this diverse and vitally important group of animals. Taking a winning photograph of an insect can be very difficult, it requires tact and an ability to see things on a different scale. As a collection, the winning National Insect Week images celebrate the fascinating lives of insects, sometimes strange and gruesome, often beautiful and fragile.’

The competition was opened by the Earl of Selborne in July last year at the beginning of National Insect Week 2016 and hundreds of photographs from 38 countries were entered. First and second place in both categories win cash prizes from the Royal Entomological Society. All of the winning images can be found on the National Insect Week website.

Specially Commended, Damsels On Parade ©Paul Dibben

All the winning and commended images can viewed in our photography galleries. Our next photography competition will be launched on 18th June 2018.

What is National Insect Week?

National Insect Week encourages people of all ages to learn more about insects.

Every two years, the Royal Entomological Society organises the week, supported by a large number of partner organisations with interests in the science, natural history and conservation of insects.