Pupal Fruit Fly

[Bible Speaks]

Pupal Fruit Fly

Image courtesy W. Ryan Williamson, Nikon Small World

It's not a spaceship. It's the visual system of a pupal fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), magnified 1,500 times. Taken by W. Ryan Williamson of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Ashburn, Virginia, this shot claimed fourth place.

The fly's retina is pictured in brown with small spikes of gold. The photoreceptor axons are a bluish purple, while the brain is green.

As in previous years, the Small World Microphotography Competition was judged by a panel of journalists and scientists.