A collage with a close-up of a winged ant on a white surface (left), spiky pollen grains under a microscope (top right), and colorful magnified plant cells (bottom right), all highly detailed.

Nikon has unveiled the winners of its 51st annual Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition. The top 20 winning images showcase the best microscopy and extreme macro photographs of the year.

Zhang You Wins First Place for a Stunning Rice Weevil Portrait

This year’s first-place winner is Chinese photographer Zhang You, whose photo of a rice weevil mounted on a grain of rice shows a common agricultural pest in a striking way, providing a new perspective on an often overlooked insect. You’s photo shows the rice weevil with its wings fully extended, frozen in time.

Close-up of a flying insect, possibly a wasp, with extended wings and perched on a white, textured surface against a pale background. The image details the insect’s body and transparent wings.1st Place — Rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae) on a grain of rice by © Zhang You. Image stacking, 5x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World

You is a member of the Entomological Society of China and the Entomological Society of Yunnan Province. Nikon notes that the winning photo is the culmination of You’s many years of dedicated ecological and insect science photography. You is also an entomology teacher.

“It pays to dive deep into entomology: understanding insects’ behaviors and mastering lighting,” the photographer explains. “A standout work blends artistry with scientific rigor, capturing the very essence, energy, and spirit of these creatures.”

The scale of the winning photo is fascinating. While the insect appears to be a fairly typical size, given that it is on a grain of rice, it is clear that the rice weevil is actually tiny. You used a medium-format camera and a 5x microscope objective, and ultimately stacked over 100 photos to achieve the expanded depth of field. It took two weeks of careful shooting and post-processing to create the final image.

“I had observed rice weevils in grains before, but never one with its wings spread,” You says. “This one was naturally preserved on a windowsill, perhaps in a final attempt to escape. Its tiny size makes manually preparing spread-wing specimens extremely difficult, so encountering it was both serendipitous and inspiring.”

In addition to his victory, Zhang You also took 15th place in the competition, and this image is seen further down.

“Zhang You’s work demonstrates the remarkable power of microscopy to reveal new perspectives on the world around us,” says Eric Flem, Senior Manager, Communications and CRM at Nikon Instruments.

“What makes this year even more extraordinary is that it was his very first time entering the competition, and he not only captured first place, but also placed another image in the top 20. His achievement highlights the spirit of Nikon Small World: inspiring wonder, making scientific understanding accessible to all, and celebrating the artistry of the microscopic realm,” Flem continues.

Second and Third-Place Winners A close-up of a green, translucent droplet with bubbles inside, resting on a dark surface against a black background. The droplet glows, highlighting the suspended bubbles within it.2nd Place — Colonial algae (Volvox) spheres in a drop of water by © Dr. Jan Rosenboom. Reflected light, 5x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World Yellow dandelion seeds clustered on a spider web covered in dew drops, set against a black background.3rd Place — Pollen in a garden spider web by © John-Oliver Dum. Image stacking, 20x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World The Rest of the Top 20 Microscopic image showing numerous oval-shaped cell nuclei (gray) scattered across a web-like blue extracellular matrix, with two orange chromosomes visible near the center.4th Place — Heart muscle cells with chromosomes condensed following cell division by © Dr. James Hayes. Confocal, 100x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World
Colorful, abstract microscopic close-up of plant cells showing vibrant patterns in orange, blue, purple, and green, with intricate, textured cell structures against a black background.5th Place — Spores (blue/purple structures) of a small tropical fern (Ceratopteris richardii) by © Dr. Igor Siwanowicz. Confocal, 25x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World Microscopic view of intricate, web-like networks of orange and white fibers, forming complex, organic patterns against a dark background. The image resembles interconnected cells or neural networks.6th Place — Rat liver cells by © Dr. Francisco Lázaro-Diéguez. Confocal, 63x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World A glowing blue and purple circular shape with radiating wispy lines on a black background, resembling neural pathways or an abstract energy burst.7th Place — iPSC-derived sensory neurons labelled to show tubulin and actin by © Stella Whittaker. Confocal, fluorescence, image stacking, 10x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World A highly magnified, color-enhanced image shows two round, spiky pollen grains in orange and yellow, surrounded by intricate blue plant structures against a black background.8th Place — Mallow pollen germinating on stigma while being parasitized by a filamentous fungus by © Dr. Igor Siwanowicz. Confocal, 40x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World Close-up of glistening amber-colored resin droplets surrounded by delicate white mold filaments on a natural surface, creating a striking and detailed organic texture.9th Place — A fungus (Talaromyces purpureogenus) known for its red, diffused pigment by © Wim van Egmond. Image stacking, 10x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World Colorful microscopic image showing yellow oval shapes, a central blue and black circular area with a bright yellow structure inside, all surrounded by a pink and purple fibrous network.10th place — Heart muscle cells (iPSC-derived) showing condensed chromosomes in metaphase by © Dr. Dylan Burnette & Dr. James Hayes. Structured illumination microscopy (SIM), 60x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World Colorful, close-up microscope image of translucent, jointed structures resembling insect or spider legs, with vibrant red, blue, and orange hues against a dark background.11th Place — Sunflower trichomes (hair-like plant outgrowths) by © Marek Miś. Polarized light, 10x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World
A triangular-shaped cell with a bright orange center and network, surrounded by blue, spiky structures radiating outward against a black background.12th Place — The actin cytoskeleton (cyan) and endoplasmic reticulum (red) of a mouse brain cancer cell by © Halil Lindamood & Eric Vitriol. Confocal, deconvolution, 100x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World Close-up image of red, fuzzy, cup-shaped fungal structures growing on a surface, with intricate filaments and a soft, blurred background.13th Place — Slime mold (Arcyria major) releasing spores by © Henri Koskinen. Image stacking, reflected light, 10x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World A clear quartz crystal with intricate, bright yellow mineral inclusions forming a web-like pattern inside, set against a black background.14th Place — Quartz with biotic goethite filaments by © Manfred Heising. Image stacking, 5x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World A close-up image of a moth laying several smooth, white eggs, showing detailed textures of the moth’s hairy body and delicate wings against a black background.15th Place — Geometer moth (Geometridae) laying eggs by © Zhang You. Image stacking, 5x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World Close-up image of colorful, oval-shaped plant pollen grains with bright green, yellow, orange, and blue hues, showing detailed textured surfaces and intricate patterns under a microscope.16th Place — Water fleas (Daphnia) and algae by © Rogelio Moreno. Fluorescence, image stacking, 40x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World A close-up image of a translucent water flea with visible internal organs, surrounded by thin, green aquatic plant stems against a black background. The details and colors highlight the tiny creature's delicate structure.17th Place — Water fleas (Daphnia) and algae by © Hong Guo. Image stacking, 5x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World Cross-section of red and white tissue with intricate folds and layers, resembling the inside of the small intestine, showing detailed cellular structures and textures against a black background.18th Place — Fluorescently marked mouse colon by © Marius Mählen, Koen Oost, Prisca Liberali & Laurent Gelman. Confocal, 20x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World Close-up of a metallic blue beetle clinging to a green leaf, with two orange fungal stalks growing from its body, set against a black background.19th Place — Parasitic fungus (Cordycipitaceae) on a fly (Calliphoridae) by © Eduardo Agustin Carrasco. Image stacking, 2x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World Close-up image of a scorpion's legs under UV light, showing vibrant blue and purple hues with glowing pink and orange spots, and prominent sharp spines against a black background.20th Place — Marine copepod by © Zachary Sanchez. Confocal, 60x (objective lens magnification). | Nikon Small World More From the 51st Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition

Alongside the top 20 images featured above, this year’s judges awarded an additional 51 images for their excellence, including Honorable Mentions and Images of Distinction. These additional winning photos are available on the Nikon Small World website.

Image credits: Photos provided courtesy of Nikon Small World. Photographers are credited in the individual captions.