A stunning image of a rice weevil on a single grain of rice has won the 2025 Nikon Small World photomicrography competition, revealing valuable information and new insights into the structure and behavior of this well-known agricultural pest. The photo was taken by Zhang Yu from Yunnan, China. Another of Yu's photographs placed 15th in this year's competition.
“It’s helpful to take a deep dive into entomology to understand insect behavior and master lighting,” You said in a statement. “The outstanding work combines artistry with scientific rigor, capturing the very essence, energy and spirit of these creatures.”
There was also an element of luck in creating his winning image. “I’ve seen rice weevils in grains before, but I’ve never seen one with their wings outstretched,” You said. “This specimen was naturally preserved on a windowsill, perhaps as a final escape attempt. Its tiny size makes it extremely difficult to hand-prepare specimens with their wings spread, so meeting him was both happy and inspiring.”
Nikon's annual competition was founded in 1974 “to showcase the beauty and complexity of things seen through a light microscope.” Microphotography involves attaching a camera to a microscope (optical or electron microscope) to allow the user to photograph objects at very high resolution. British physiologist Richard Hill Norris was one of the first to use it to study blood cells in 1850, and since the 1970s the technique has increasingly come to be called an art. The following decades saw many revolutionary technological advances, especially with the advent of digital imaging techniques.
