A picture of a duo of ants feeding on the honeydew secreted by a yellow aphid, taken by Indian photographer Vishwanath Birje from Thane, Maharashtra has been declared the winner of the 2021 Royal Society of Biology’s photography competition.

The annual photography competition attracted over 1600 submissions from amateur photographers across the world. This year’s theme was “interconnected”, and according to Birje, his photograph captures the mutualistic relationship between the aphid and the ants. The former provide food to the latter in return for protection from predators.

“I am very proud to be this year’s Photographer of the Year,” said Birje. “There are many magical events happening in nature around us – I was just being curious and observant. The photograph just shows such a situation between the ants, aphid, and mites.”

Runner Up

An image of a fractal grown using Bacillus subtilis on a dextrose agar plate, taken by British photographer Alice Feng has been announced as the runner of the competition.

Credit: Alice Feng/Royal Society of Biology

Submerged

An image of a tire half-buried in the earth in Somerset, UK, and taken by photographer Roan Jones has been announced as the winner of the Submerged category. The image depicts the relationship between nature and people.

Credit: Roan Jones/Royal Society of Biology

Shortlisted

Another stunning image taken by an Indian photographer Ripan Biswas made it into the final shortlist. The image captures the interaction between a cockroach and a blue jewel wasp. The latter is injecting venom into the cockroach’s brain, paralyzing it and will use its body as a host for its eggs.

Credit: Ripan Biswas/Royal Society of Biology

Shortlisted

A group of herons perching upon solar panels during sunset, captured by Chinese photographer Gu Guanghui.

Credit: Gu Guanghui/Royal Society of Biology

Shortlisted

Neutrophil immune cells using web-like structures to defend the body against tuberculosis bacteria, captured by American photographer Chanchal Sur Chowdhury.

Credit: Chanchal Sur Chowdhury/Royal Society of Biology

Cover Image: Vishwanath Birje/Royal Society of Biology