When we think of capturing beauty, not all of us turn to pesky insects as subjects to shoot. Many macro specialists, however, take the challenge of focusing on tiny bug faces — providing us with a detailed view of the textural and colorful complexity of what usually goes unnoticed with our naked eyes. Over one million species of insects inhabit our world, so expect a whole lot more of these abundantly diverse critters making appearances in Explore.

Enjoy more stunning portraiture in the Mug Shots of Insects gallery and Insect Macro Photography group.

Photos from Craig.Taylor, USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Laboratory, Svatoslav Vrabec, Fotoenergie, and Deanster1983.