Nikon's annual Small World Photomicrography Competition attracts thousands of entries from photographers using light microscopes to produce images of the natural world. These are some of this year's top submissions.
Subject: Section of a Coccinella (ladybug) leg
Photographer: Andrea Genre, Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Italy
Magnification: 10x
Subject: Pistil of the flower of Adenium obesum
Photographer: José R. Almodovar Rivera, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
Magnification: 10x
Subject: Cosmarium sp. (desmid) near a Sphagnum sp. leaf
Photographer: Marek Mis, Marek Mis Photography, Suwalki, Poland
Magnification: 100x
Subject: Brittle star
Photographer: Alvaro Migotto, University of São Paulo, Centro de Biologia Marinha, São Paulo Brazil
Magnification: 8x
Source: wired.com / via: pricklylegs