See the world in close-up in these intricate images of nature

These exquisite images reveal some of the intricate views of animals and plants captured by researchers from 29 countries who entered the Evident Image of the Year competition. The prize recognises the best in scientific microscopic imaging worldwide.

The winning entry (pictured above) shows a cross-section of a bloom from the “Cosmic Orange” variety of the Mexican aster (Cosmos sulphureus), with pollen grains maturing inside its anthers. It was taken by Igor Siwanowicz, a research neurobiologist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Virginia.

Siwanowicz, who collected the flower buds for his shot on a post-lunch walk around the campus pond, said in an announcement about the prize that he chose to enter the image because it “shows that the beauty of a common flower that most of us take for granted can extend beyond what we can see with the naked eye”.

“The beauty of natural form and design is present on very different scales, sometimes almost in a fractal manner – as we continue to zoom in, the form may lose familiarity, but also become a new emotional experience,” he said.

The other images shown here all won honourable mentions in the contest for their views of a variety of animals. In the shot second from top, Laurent Formery used vivid stains to highlight the skeleton of a juvenile sea star (Patiria miniata) from the Asterinidae family.

Above is an image of a cuckoo wasp, resplendent in its iridescent colours, captured by Raghuram Annadana, with the image below showing a zebrafish head, taken by Yue Rong Tan.