This is the compound eye and surrounding scales of an Asian Red Palm weevil (Metapocyrtus subquadrulifer), an insect species native to the Philippines that grows to just 11 millimetres in length.
The image, captured by Emirati photographer Yousef Al Habshi, is a compilation of 128 stacked micrographs and recently won the prestigious 2018 Nikon Small World competition for microphotography. The competition, which has been running for 44 years, seeks to attract the best images derived from the microscopic world.
This year’s call-out attracted 2500 entries from scientists and artists from 89 countries. More of the winning entries will featured on Cosmos over the next few days, or the entire jolly cohort can be seen at Nikon’s online gallery.
Originally published by Cosmos as Insect eye attracts compound interest
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