Kim Taylor / Bachacs / Leafcutter ants {Atta cephalotes} carrying sections of Cocoa leaf bearing 'riders' thought to ward off parasitic flies which would otherwise lay their eggs on the pieces of leaf. Trinidad, W...

Jack Dykinga / Saguaro cacti (Carnegia gigantea) at sunset, during a summer rain storm. Saguaro National Park, Sonoran Desert, Arizona, USA, August. Digital composite.

MYN / Paul Marcellini / Sequence of an American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) hatching from its egg, Palmdale, Florida, USA. Digital composite.

David Fleetham / Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) breaching, watched by paddle boarder. Canoe Beach, Maui. Hawaii. October 2010. Model released. Digital composite.

Nick Upton / Common swifts (Apus apus) flying overhead, Wiltshire, UK, June. Digital composite image.

Tony Wu / Fireflies (Luciola parvula himebotaru) flashing at night for courtship and reproduction. Gifu, Japan. Composite image

Alex Hyde / Leaf-cutter ants (Atta cephalotes) carrying pieces of leaf that they have harvested back to their underground fungus garden in their nest, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. Photographed in mobile field studi...

Alex Hyde / Leaf-cutter ants (Atta cephalotes) carrying pieces of leaf that they have harvested back to their underground fungus garden in their nest, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. Photographed in mobile field studi...

Paul D Stewart / Photographic reconstruction of Archaeopteryx by Paul D. Stewart. The fossils of this species was from 150 million years ago, and is thought of as a stage between feathered dinosaurs and modern birds.

Philippe Clement / Silhouette of Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) against thunderstorm clouds, Italian Alps, Gran Paradiso National Park, June, digital composite

MYN / Corne van der Linden / Variety of orchids from the Banksia Woodland, Swan Coastal Plain. Including Pansy orchid (Diuris magnifica), Slender sun orchid (Thelymitra vulgaris), Cowslip orchid (Caladenia flava), Plain sun orchi...