Winning photos capture beauty where you least expect it

, The TimesAn orb weaver spider in its silken retreat, covered in dewdrops on a cold September morning.

The dewy web of an orb weaver spider in central Wales

JAMIE SMART (UK; 10 YEARS AND UNDER)

Alpine ibex silhouetted against mist-shrouded mountains at dawn.

An Alpine ibex observes the sunrise over the foggy mountain pass of Col de la Colombière, France

LUBIN GODIN (FRANCE; 11-14 YEARS)

A longhorn beetle on moss-covered bark with an excavator in the background.

In the Lepini Mountains, central Italy, a longhorn beetle keeps watch over an abandoned logging machinery

ANDREA DOMINIZI (ITALY; 15-17 YEARS)

A peppered moray eel hunting for carrion at low tide among rocks and water.

Three peppered moray eels hunt for dead fish at low tide off D’Arros Island, the Seychelles

SHANE GROSS (CANADA; ANIMALS IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT)

A ladyfish leaping from the water with a smaller fish in its mouth, while an egret with outstretched wings and dangling legs is mid-air above it.

Synchronised fishing in the once-polluted Yudlang Lake, southeast China

QINGRONG YANG (CHINA; BEHAVIOUR: BIRDS)

A caracal holding a lesser flamingo in its mouth.

A caracal clutches a lesser flamingo snatched from Ndutu Lake in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

DENNIS STOGSDILL (USA; BEHAVIOUR: MAMMALS)

A gathering of lesser tree frogs in a breeding event.

Lesser tree frogs gather for a rain-triggered breeding event on Kaw Mountain, French Guiana

QUENTIN MARTINEZ (FRANCE; BEHAVIOUR: AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES)

Close-up of a Mad Hatterpillar, a gum-leaf skeletoniser caterpillar.

The head capsules of a gum-leaf skeletoniser caterpillar block the sun setting over Torndirrup National Park, Western Australia

GEORGINA STEYTLER (AUSTRALIA; BEHAVIOUR: INVERTEBRATES)

Hundreds of gulls swarm around a fishing vessel at night in northern Norway, illuminated by the boat's lights.

Feeding time for the gulls as they raid the nets of a fishing vessel in Kvaenangen Fjord, Norway

AUDUN RIKARDSEN (NORWAY; OCEANS: THE BIGGER PICTURE)

Fluorescent pitcher plants glowing in the dark, attracting insects.

Carnivorous pitcher plants lure in their prey by reflecting UV light in Kuching, Borneo

CHIEN LEE (MALAYSIA; PLANTS AND FUNGI)

An orb weaver spider on its web, silhouetted by colorful lights from cars below.

Another orb weaver spider is caught in a kaleidoscope of headlights in Ibbenbüren, north Germany

SIMONE BAUMEISTER (GERMANY; NATURAL ARTISTRY)

An illuminated swell shark egg case, known as a "mermaid's purse," tethered to the base of giant kelp in Monterey Bay.

The egg case of a swell shark tethered to a giant kelp off Monterey Bay, California

RALPH PACE (USA; UNDERWATER)

Vanishing Pond, a springtail among a galaxy of neon green gas bubbles in Austrian moorlands.

A tiny red springtail among peat-bog algae in Platzertal, Austria

SEBASTIAN FRÖLICH (GERMANY; WETLANDS: THE BIGGER PICTURE)

People looking at hundreds of western diamondback rattlesnakes in an enclosure at the annual rattlesnake round-up in Sweetwater, Texas.

Western diamondback rattlesnakes at the annual rattlesnake round-up in Sweetwater, Texas

JAVIER AZNAR GONZALEZ DE RUEDA (SPAIN; PHOTOJOURNALIST STORY AWARD)

A black and white image of a Eurasian pygmy owl looking directly at the viewer, with branches and leaves blurred in the background.

A shadowy Eurasian pygmy owl in Germany

LUCA LORENZ (GERMANY; RISING STAR AWARD)

"Taiga Moon" by Alexey Kharitonov, showing an island of yellow grass reflected in dark, icy water.

Sphagnum moss rests on one of the icy northern swamps of Russia

ALEXEY KHARITONOV (ISRAEL/RUSSIA; PORTFOLIO AWARD)

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition is at the Natural History Museum, London, SW7, from October 17. Visit nhm.ac.uk/wpy.

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