Cyril Ruoso / Giant Cockroach (Blaberidae) and hand, Pacaya Samiria National Park, Peru

Nick Upton / Walled fields of Prickly pear / Barbary fig (Opuntia ficus-indica) on volcanic soil, formerly harvested for Cochineal insects (Dactylopius coccus), with Monte Corona volcanic peak in the background, n...

Paul Bertner / Scale insects with waxy extrusions, Gunung Leuser National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia

Tony Wu / Japanese black carpenter ant (Camponotus japonicus) minor workers tending to scale insects (Superfamily Coccoidea). The ant is eating honeydew secreted by the scale insects. Kanagawa, Japan.

Konrad Wothe / Morpho Butterfly (Morpho sp) wing scales, Amazon, South America

Ingo Arndt / Yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) receiving nutrition from scale insect, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, Australian Territory

Nick Upton / Cochineal insect (Dactylopius coccus), dense colony of scale insects from which the red dye cochineal is extracted, on Prickly pear cactus / Barbary fig (Opuntia ficus-indica) leaf, Gran Canaria, Cana...

Laurent Geslin / Fruit beetle (Pachnoda) on leaf, with African elephant (Loxonta africana) in distance, Masai Mara, Kenya.

Jeff Foott / Mountain Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) group of dead adults on penny, Colorado

Jeff Foott / Mountain Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) on hand, Colorado

Jeff Foott / Mountain Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) on match, Colorado

Piotr Naskrecki / Soft Scale Insect (Coccidae) group with parasitic wasps, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

Simon Colmer / Scale insects (Hemiptera) on branch, Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda.

Steve Gettle / Monarch (Danaus plexippus) butterfly wing scales, North America

Thomas Marent / Spanish Moon Moth (Graellsia isabellae) wing detail, Switzerland

Thomas Marent / Southern Festoon (Zerynthia polyxena)butterfly wing detail, Po Valley, Italy

Thomas Marent / Small Emperor Moth (Saturnia pavonia) false eye on wing of male, Switzerland

Thomas Marent / Madagascan Sunset Moth (Chrysiridia rhipheus) wing detail, Madagascar

Thomas Marent / Swallowtail (Papilio maackii) butterfly wing scales, China

Andy Sands / Privet hawkmoth (Sphinx ligustri) one of the UK's most impressive insects, fifth instar larva on finger to show scale, UK, July, captive

Floris van Breugel / Darkling Beetle (Tenebrionidae) on sand in White Sands National Park, New Mexico, USA, April.

Stephen Belcher / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) guarding Scale Insects (Tachardina aurantiaca), Christmas Island National Park, Christmas Island, Australia

Stephen Belcher / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) guarding Scale Insects (Tachardina aurantiaca), Christmas Island National Park, Christmas Island, Australia

Stephen Belcher / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) guarding red scale insects, Christmas Island National Park, Christmas Island, Australia

Stephen Belcher / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) pair guarding Scale Insects (Tachardina aurantiaca), Christmas Island National Park, Christmas Island, Australia

Pete Oxford / Giant Cockroach (Blaberus giganteus), Yasuni National Park, Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador

Mark Moffett / Green Tree Ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) tending to scale insects, Kirirom National Park, Cambodia

Piotr Naskrecki / Ant (Crematogaster sp) pair tending to scale insects, Guinea

Mark Moffett / Carpenter Ant (Camponotus sp) tending scale insects, Parana River, Argentina

Mark Moffett / Carpenter Ant (Camponotus sp) tending scale insects, Parana River, Argentina

Mark Moffett / Carpenter Ant (Camponotus sp) pair tending scale insects, Parana River, Argentina

Mark Moffett / Red Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta) pair tending scale insects, Parana River, Argentina

Alex Hyde / Sting from Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris) False coloured scanning electron micrograph with scale bar.

Pete Oxford / Soft Scale Insect (Coccidae) group, Napo River, Yasuni National Park, Amazon, Ecuador

Paul Harcourt Davies / Cottony cushion scale insects (Icerya purchasi) egg cases and insects feeding on Lemon tree (Citrus sp) branches. Italy

Murray Cooper / Soft Scale Insect (Coccidae) group, Ecuador

Adrian Davies / Cochineal insect (Dactylopius coccus) on Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus indica) cultivated for the production of cochineal dye. Guatzia, Lanzarote, Canary Islands

Adrian Davies / Cochineal insect (Dactylopius coccus) on Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus indica) cultivated for the production of cochineal dye. Guatzia, Lanzarote, Canary Islands

Adrian Davies / Cochineal insect (Dactylopius coccus) on Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus indica) cultivated for the production of cochineal dye. Guatzia, Lanzarote, Canary Islands

Ingo Arndt / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes), an invasive species, receiving nutrition from scale insects, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, Territory of Australia

Stephen Dalton / Scale insects {Coccoidea} on plant leaf, UK

Stephen Dalton / Scale insects {Coccoidea} on plant leaf, UK

Stephen Dalton / Scale insects {Coccoidea} on underside of leaf, UK

Mark Moffett / Dinosaur Ant (Nothomyrmecia macrops) worker guarding scale insects that have exuded so much honeydew that they appear to be covered in sugar, Poochera, Australia

Kim Taylor / Morpho butterfly (Morpho didius) close-up of wing scales

Alex Hyde / Tip of labial palp from Green Tiger Beetle {Cicindela campestris}. The end of the palp is studded with sensory cells that have been false coloured in yellow/orange to help visualise them. Dead specima...

Piotr Naskrecki / Ant (Crematogaster sp) tending scale insects, Rio Kapatchez, Guinea

Piotr Naskrecki / Ant (Crematogaster sp) tending scale insects, Rio Kapatchez, Guinea

Piotr Naskrecki / Weaver Ant (Oecophylla longinoda) tending scale insects on mango, Rio Kapatchez, Guinea

Andy Sands / Great Green Bush Cricket (Tettigonia viridissima) Female on hand to show scale, Kent, England, UK

Andy Sands / Stag Beetle (Lucanus cervus) male in hand to show scale, West Sussex, England. UK

Albert Lleal / Indian Meal Moth (Plodia interpunctella) SEM close-up view of wing at 420x magnification

Albert Lleal / Indian Meal Moth (Plodia interpunctella) SEM close-up view of wing at 210x magnification

PREMAPHOTOS / Moth (Eulia ministrana) resembling a fallen bud scale, UK

Ingo Arndt / Sheep Tick (Ixodes ricinus) or Pasture Tick on leaf, Europe

Pete Oxford / Hissing cockroach in hand {Gromphadorhina sp} Madagascar

Tim Edwards / Giant weta on hand. Little Barrier Is, New Zealand. World's second largest insect, related to crickets

WILLIAM OSBORN / Large Termite mound, Northern territory, Australia - with person for scale, huge, enormous

Mark Moffett / Ant (Crematogaster sp) group inside host plant Macaranga (Macaranga sp) and receive nutrition from scale insects kept inside plant

Mark Moffett / Weaver Ant (Oecophylla longinoda) group guarding the scale insects they milk for food, Peninsular Malaysia

Tui De Roy / Grand Devil's-claws (Pisonia grandis) rainforest vegetation killed by introduced Soft Scale Insect (Pulvinaria sp), Palmyra Atoll, US Line Islands, Oceania

Paul Bertner / Leafcutter Ant (Atta sp) and Amry Ants (Labidus sp), Tambopata Research Center, Peru

Agustin Esmoris / Scale-throated Earthcreeper (Upucerthia dumetaria) with insect prey at nest cavity, Chubut, Argentina

Piotr Naskrecki / Ant (Crematogaster sp) pair tending to scale insects, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

Piotr Naskrecki / Ant (Crematogaster sp) group tending to scale insects, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

Konrad Wothe / Swallowtail Moth (Urania sp) hind wing showing scales, Africa

Konrad Wothe / Swallowtail Moth (Urania sp) hind wing showing scales, Africa

Konrad Wothe / Morpho Butterfly (Morpho sp) wing scales, Amazon, South America

Piotr Naskrecki / Soft Scale Insect (Coccidae) group with parasitic wasps, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

Steve Gettle / Monarch (Danaus plexippus) butterfly wing scales, North America

Steve Gettle / Monarch (Danaus plexippus) butterfly wing scales, North America

Thomas Marent / Madagascan Sunset Moth (Chrysiridia rhipheus) wing detail, Madagascar

Suzi Eszterhas / Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) mother holding eight-month-old joey, Queensland, Australia

Stephen Belcher / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) guarding Scale Insects (Tachardina aurantiaca), Christmas Island National Park, Christmas Island, Australia

Stephen Belcher / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) group guarding Scale Insects (Tachardina aurantiaca), Christmas Island National Park, Christmas Island, Australia

Stephen Belcher / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) guarding Scale Insects (Tachardina aurantiaca), Christmas Island National Park, Christmas Island, Australia

Stephen Belcher / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) pair guarding Scale Insects (Tachardina aurantiaca), Christmas Island National Park, Christmas Island, Australia

Stephen Belcher / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) trio guarding Scale Insects (Tachardina aurantiaca), Christmas Island National Park, Christmas Island, Australia

Stephen Belcher / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) group guarding red scale insects, Christmas Island National Park, Christmas Island, Australia

Stephen Belcher / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) guarding red scale insects, Christmas Island National Park, Christmas Island, Australia

Stephen Belcher / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) guarding red scale insects, Christmas Island National Park, Christmas Island, Australia

Stephen Belcher / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) guarding red scale insects, Christmas Island National Park, Christmas Island, Australia

Stephen Belcher / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) guarding Scale Insects (Tachardina aurantiaca), Christmas Island National Park, Christmas Island, Australia

Stephen Belcher / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) guarding Scale Insects (Tachardina aurantiaca), Christmas Island National Park, Christmas Island, Australia

Stephen Belcher / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) guarding Scale Insects (Tachardina aurantiaca), Christmas Island National Park, Christmas Island, Australia

Stephen Belcher / Yellow Crazy Ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) guarding Scale Insects (Tachardina aurantiaca), Christmas Island National Park, Christmas Island, Australia

Nigel Cattlin / Parasitoid wasp (Metaphycus helvolus) a parasite of scale insects and used in biological pest control, England, UK.

Nigel Cattlin / Florida red scale (Chrysomphalus aonidium) armoured purple coloured scale insects on an orange leaf, South Africa, February

Nigel Cattlin / Florida red scale (Chrysomphalus aonidium) armoured purple coloured scale insects on an orange leaf, South Africa, February

Juergen Freund / Green tree ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) walking on stem covered with Scale insects (Sternorrhyncha). Far North Queensland, Australia.

Nigel Cattlin / Cottony cushion scale insect (Icerya purchasi) adult and juvenile plant pests on leaf .

Nigel Cattlin / Larval scales of Cabbage whitefly (Aleyrodes proletella) parasitised by a parasitoiid wasp (Encarsia tricolor) for commercial biological pest control

Nigel Cattlin / Parasitoid wasp (Encarsia tricolor) laying eggs, ovipositing in larval scales of Cabbage whitefly, (Aleyrodes proletella) pest

Nigel Cattlin / Parasitoid wasp (Encarsia tricolor) used for biological control with larval scales of cabbage whitefly (Aleyrodes proletella)

Nigel Cattlin / Various stages of hemispherical scale insect (Saisettia coffeae)

Nigel Cattlin / Parasitoid wasp (Encyrtus infelix) adult commercial biological control parasitoid with scale insect host pests in protected crops