The ant under the microscope in the image of Nikon Small World

Terrifying and adorable at the same time, “The Carpenter”‘s face looks like it came out of a science fiction movie, or straight out of an updated version of the 1989 movie “Honey, Boys Shrunk.” Appear to our eyes thanks to the nature photographer’s awesome macro shot Eugenius Kavaliauskas Who “pictures” such an ant Kamponotosalso known as “carpenter ants”.

With this shot, instantly shared by thousands of users online, Kavaliauskas won a mention in this category. Featured Images from the prize Nikon Small World 2022a competition that has been dedicated for more than 50 years to photographing invisible things, from bacteria to microorganisms to insects, again thanks to the use of microscopes and telephoto lenses.

Until recently, Kavaliauskas mainly immortalized birds, but recently decided to devote himself to insects: near his home in the town of Toraji, in Lithuania, found a colony of “carpenters”, ants that burrow and nest in tree trunks or dead wood. Focusing on one of these thanks to the 5x lens, the wonderful shot was born depicting what appears to us as a face and which reminds us of the proportion of the elements almost with a human face, even if it must be said that these appear as haunted eyes they are in fact the bases of the antennas of ants.

The photo did not fall into the category of Top20 winners but quickly went viral due to its power, with the ant looking menacing or proud. A pride that should never be underestimated: “If ants were removed from most of the world’s ecosystems, they would change drastically and in some cases collapse.” Miles Maxsera researcher at the National Science Foundation at the University of Florida.