Holy crap, this ant's jaws are like a freaking bear trap

Everyone, these are trap-jaw ants. The two featured here are fighting. Watch them closely – even in slow motion, the the spring-loaded snap of a trap-jaw's maw is powerful enough to send both ants twirling in opposite directions in the blink of an eye.

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Butterfly wings from another planet

Entomologist and insect photographer Alex Wild has captured a gorgeous image of this Greta oto, or glasswing butterfly, in Belize (click to enlarge). You can see the color of the flowers perfectly through its wings. Though it looks like an alien or mutant, the glasswing is perfectly natural. Most butterflies have…

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Macrophotographs of insects are the most beautiful thing you've seen…

Are you a fan of embiggened bugs? Alex Wild — master of ceremonies over at Myrmecos — has just posted over 600 of his best photographs from 2011, and it is one of the most jaw-dropping collections of insect macrophotography we've ever seen. Click through to check it out — you won't be disappointed.

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