Some of the incredible winning and honored images from this year’s photomicrography competition, selected from nearly 2,000 entries. See if you can guess what each image is showing before reading the caption.

A microscopic image of a rice weevil perched on a grain of rice

Zhang You, Kunming, Yunnan, ChinaOverall Winner: A rice weevil perched on a grain of rice

Green spheres of algae trapped in a small drop of water

Dr. Jan Rosenboom Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany2nd Place: Colonial algae (Volvox) spheres in a drop of water

A microscopic view of soy sauce, appearing as multiple square and rectangular crystals floating in a fluid

Mishal Abdulaziz Alryhan, Al-Ahsa, Saudi ArabiaHonorable Mention: Crystallized-soy-sauce fusion with alum

A close view of the legs of a tiny crustacean

Zachary Sanchez, Nashville, Tennessee, USA20th Place: Marine copepod

A microscopic view of two butterfly eggs, looking like tiny red hats

Ye Fei Zhang, Jiangyin, Jiangsu, ChinaImage of Distinction: Butterfly (Artopoetes pryeri) eggs

A dead fly, resting on a leaf, with two bits of parasitic fungus growing out of it

Eduardo Agustin Carrasco, Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador19th Place: Parasitic fungus (Cordycipitaceae) on a fly (Calliphoridae)

Geometric patterns observed in crystallized soy sauce under a microscope

Marek Miś, Suwalki, Podlaskie, PolandImage of Distinction: Crystallized soy sauce

a08_iod_Schmittling.jpg

Robert Schmittling Hillsborough, North Carolina, USAImage of Distinction: Eye of potato (stomate)

Reddish-colored blobs among other bits of fungus

Wim van Egmond, Berkel en Rodenrijs, Zuid Holland, NetherlandsNinth Place: A fungus (Talaromyces purpureogenus) known for its red, diffused pigment

Sparkly blue appendages of a tiny sea slug

Solvin Zankl, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, GermanyImage of Distinction: A floating sea slug (Glaucus atlanticus), also known as the blue sea dragon

A microscopic view of the wing of a chicken embryo

Dr. Rory L. Cooper and Professor Michel Milinkovitch, Geneva, SwitzerlandImage of Distinction: Wing of a chicken embryo after 11 days of development

A microscopic view of the spore sacs of a fern, looking almost like green caterpillars wrapped around small walnuts

Rogelio Moreno, Panama, Panama16th Place: Spore sacs (sporangia) of a fern

A microscopic view of frost, looking like many tiny hexagonal slabs stacked on top of each other

Gregory B. Murray, Pritchard, British Columbia, CanadaHonorable Mention: Frost on a wooden railing

A microscopic view of the head of a parasitic fly

Bernard Allard, Sucy-en-Bry, FranceImage of Distinction: Parasitic fly (Crataerina hirundinis)

Fourteen insect eggs, attached to a leaf, seen under a microscope. Each egg has a

Dr. Walter Ferrari, Rio Cuarto, Cordoba, ArgentinaImage of Distinction: True bug (Hemipteran) eggs on a leaf

A microscopic view of a bamboo leaf in cross-section, showing many vascular channels, appearing like a groupings of small holes.

Dr. David Maitland, St. Andrews, Fife, United KingdomImage of Distinction: Vascular bundles in a bamboo leaf (Phyllostachys sp.)

A tree-like orange slime mold, seen with a microscope

Frederic Labaune, Auxonne, Burgundy, FranceImage of Distinction: Slime mold (Arcyria denudata)

A microscopic view of a water flea seen against a black background. The water flea is partially transparent, showing some of its internal organs and a collection of eggs inside.

Jianguo Mao, Shanghai, Shanghai, ChinaImage of Distinction: Pregnant water flea (Daphnia)

A microscopic look at many hook-like appendages of a moth larva

Kendall O. Myers and Dr. Matthew S. Lehnert, North Canton, Ohio, USAHonorable Mention: Hooklike crochets on the larva of an Io (Automeris io) moth

A very close view of the head of a fly, with large yellow eyes with small dark spots on them.

Özgür Kerem Bulur, Istanbul, TurkeyImage of Distinction: Spotted-eye hoverfly

Be sure to visit the Nikon Small World contest website to see the full set of winning and honored images.

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