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Zika virus

Zika virus

Spreading explosively and causing serious level of international concern.

Juno meets Jupiter

Juno meets Jupiter

On the 4th July, following a five year voyage of 1.5 billion miles, the spacecraft Juno arrives at Jupiter.

White form of the goldenrod crab spider (Misumena vatia) camouflaged on flowers. Specimen collected in the Midi-Pyrenees, France, in August.

Goldenrod crab spider · ALEX HYDE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Atlas Beetle (Chalcosoma sp.). This specimen was collected in a tropical rainforest in Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia.

Atlas beetle · ALEX HYDE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Great capricorn beetles in procession, illustration. The great capricorn beetle (Cerambyx cerdo) is longhorn beetle found in Europe and North Africa.

Great capricorn beetles · F. MARTINEZ CLAVEL/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Illustration showing beetles walking on blade of grass.

Beetles on Grass, Illustration · Sigrid Gombert/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Painted weevil. Close-up of the head of a painted weevil (Eupholus bennetti). Weevils, also known as snout beetles, form the largest family of beetles. Although weevils are more commonly small agricultural pests, painted weevils are larger and cause negligible damage to crops.

Painted weevil · LAWRENCE LAWRY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Hatching caterpillar. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a caterpillar emerging from an egg (blue). Caterpillars are the larval form of butterflies and moths (order Lepidoptera). Magnification: x40 when printed at 10 centimetres wide.

Hatching caterpillar, SEM · STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Blue morpho butterfly (Morpho sp.). This butterfly inhabits tropical and subtropical forests in Central and South America. Specimen obtained in Petit-Saut, French Guiana.

Blue morpho butterfly · PATRICK LANDMANN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Hover fly eye. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of part of the compound eye of a hover fly (family Syrphidae). The eye is composed of numerous facets (ommatidia), each of which contains a lens. Beneath each lens are retinal cells, which send nerve signals to the optic nerve. Each ommatidium gives a tiny image of part of the hover fly's field of vision, resulting in a detailed mosaic image. Hover flies are abundant on flowers, feeding on pollen and nectar. Magnification: x350 at 6x7cm size.

Hover fly eye, SEM · SUSUMU NISHINAGA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Bluebottle. Close-up of the head (left) and thorax (right) of a bluebottle (family Calliphoridae) fly, showing one of its large compound eyes (centre left) and the iridescent covering of the thorax. Magnification: x34 when printed 10 centimetres wide.

Bluebottle · FRANK FOX/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Cricket (order Orthoptera), coloured X-ray. The cricket has well-developed muscles on its hind legs, allowing it to jump to avoid predators. It does not rely on jumping as much as its relative the grasshopper. The cricket has tough front wings and delicate hind wings. The front wings are rubbed together in a process called stridulation to produce its distinctive high-pitched song, which is used by the male to attract females. It hears using a pair of membranes just below the upper joints of its front legs.

Cricket, X-ray · D. ROBERTS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Cuckoo wasp. Macrophotograph of a cuckoo wasp (Chrysis conica). Cuckoo wasps (family Chrysididae) are highly coloured and are named for their habit of laying eggs in the nests of other wasp species. Photographed by the USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab: an organisation dedicated to identifying, cataloguing and monitoring bees and other insect species.

Cuckoo wasp · US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Cicada parasite beetle (Rhipiceridae). Photographed in Singapore

Cicada parasite beetle · MELVYN YEO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Butterflies sipping minerals from riverbank, Manu National Park, Peru.

Butterflies sipping minerals from soil · FRANS LANTING, MINT IMAGES / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Scarab beetles. Computer artwork of scarab beetles (family Scarabaeidae). The scarab beetle family is one of the largest families of insects. It contains two groups; the dung beetles, which bury their eggs in large balls of dung, and the chafers, which feed on plants.

Scarab beetles · GUSTOIMAGES/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Scarab beetle (Anoplognathus aureus). This beetle is native to Australia. The mounted specimen shown here is about 3.5 centimetres long.

Anoplognathus scarab beetle · PASCAL GOETGHELUCK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Orchid bee, three views

Orchid bee · NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, LONDON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Fly head. Close-up of the head of a fly (order Diptera), showing its large compound eyes (green). Each compound eye is made up of numerous simple eyes called ommatidia. Each ommatidium sends a signal to the fly's brain, which combines the thousands of images to form a mosaic view of the world. The image is not sharp but is excellent at detecting movement.

Fly head · HEITI PAVES/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Spitting spider (Scytodes sp.) with egg sac. This group of spiders spits out a sticky mixture of venom and silk at target prey. After the initial spit, which stuns and ensnares the prey, the spider will complete the capture process by biting into the prey and wrapping it with silk. Photographed in Singapore.

Spitting spider with egg sac · MELVYN YEO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Eggs of the harlequin cabbage bug. Macrophotograph of the eggs of the harlequin cabbage bug (Murgantia histrionica), a common pest of brassicas. The harlequin cabbage bug, also known as calico bug, fire bug or harlequin bug, is a stinkbug of the family Pentatomidae. Photographed by the USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab: an organisation dedicated to identifying, cataloguing and monitoring bees and other insect species.

Eggs of the harlequin cabbage bug · US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Anopheles stephensi Liston 1901 - mosquito blood feeding on a human volunteer at the Ashworth Laboratories, University of Edinburgh. It is the primary vector for malaria in India, and is included in the same subgenus as Anopheles gambiae, the main malaria vector in Africa. In rural areas, the larvae of A. stephensi may exist in many aquatic habitats, such as: ponds, streams, swamps, marshes, and other sources of standing water.

Anopheles stephensi · SINCLAIR STAMMERS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Rabbit flea (Spilopsyllus cuniculi), coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM). The two structures protruding from the centre of the flea's head are sensory palps. Below these are the mouthparts, which pierce the skin to enable the flea to suck the blood of its host. Combs, known as ctenidae, at the top of the head help to anchor the flea to its host's fur. Its powerful legs (centre right and centre left) are adapted for jumping. Fleas are external parasites that may carry and transmit diseases. This flea may also feed on pets and humans. Fleas only remain on their host whilst feeding.

Rabbit flea, SEM · STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Bumblebee head. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the head of a buff- tailed bumble bee (Bombus terrestris). The buff-tailed, or large earth, bumblebee is the largest of the bumblebee species and is an important pollinator. Magnification: x10 when printed at 10 centimetres wide.

Bumblebee head, SEM · CLOUDS HILL IMAGING LTD/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Various beetle specimens. Display case showing the diversity of beetles held at the Natural History Museum, London, UK.

Various beetle specimens · NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, LONDON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Beautiful bugs

They make up over three-quarters of animal species and have inhabited the Earth for 450 million years, long before the dinosaurs. Ubiquitous, abundant, enchanting and incredibly diverse, these fascinating miniatures are vital to life on Earth.

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