Entries open for Insect Photography Competition

The Photography competition to promote learning and engagement in the science, natural history and conservation of insects.

Funding Information

• Prizes will be awarded as follows:
  • £750 for the 1st prize winner in the 18 and over Category;
  • £500 for the 2nd prize winner in the 18 and over Category;
  • £450 for the 1st prize winner in the Under 18 Category;
  • £250 for the 2nd prize winner in the Under 18 Category.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Competition is open to anyone except:
  • Professional photographers (those who make money from wildlife photographs beyond potential social media royalties and prize funds); and
  • Individuals (or their immediate families) directly involved in the Competition’s organisation.
  • RES staff members
• Those who work as RES volunteers or work for Insect Week partners are not excluded if they are not directly involved in the Competition’s organisation.
• The Competition has two categories and entrants should use choose the appropriate option on the online submission form:
  • 18 and over (with themes “Insect behaviour”, “Insect portraits”, “Insects in their environment”
  • Under 18s
  • Smartphone (open to both Over 18s and Under 18s)
• Any entrant found to have entered the Competition using the wrong submission form will be disqualified.
• Entrants using the Under 18 Category must be aged 17 years or younger as at the date of closing of the Competition and must accurately report their age at the time of submission. They must receive the permission of a parent or guardian before entering the Competition.
• The age of the Under 18 Category entrant will be checked before any prize is awarded. Prizes for entrants under the age of 18 will be sent to the parent or guardian.
• The entrant must be the original photographer and solely hold the copyright.
• Submitted images must not be licenced or have disposed of any rights that will conflict with the Competition. Images that have been made available on stock libraries and that may have gained publicity from this may be disqualified at the judges’ discretion.
• Images that have won or been commended or received notable publicity in any major competition before the submission deadline or judging will be disqualified at the judges’ discretion.
• Any submitted image must not be entered into any other competition after being entered into the Competition until the results have been announced.

Judging Criteria

• A panel of judges will be appointed by the RES to judge a shortlist of entries from each category, which will consist of fellows of the RES and expert judges appointed by the RES
• In each age category, there will be a 1st and a 2nd prize winner. Runners-up in each category will receive a commendation if deemed suitable (Specially Commended, Highly Commended or Commended) from the RES.
• The confirmed awards will be announced publicly by the RES on the Insect Week website prior to Insect Week 2026 and published in other media as appropriate.
• The four winning images will be published in the RES’s bulletin Antenna, and its editors may also publish one or more of the runner-up images in addition to those of the prize winners.
• The judges’ decisions in relation to any prize awards and commendations are final and no further correspondence will be entered into.

Application Requirements

• Submission requirements
  • Entrants may submit up to three entries. If the RES deems the entrant has exceeded the image entry limit, through multiple accounts or by any other means, the RES may disqualify the entrant from the Competition.
  • Image entry file sizes must not exceed 10MB. The RES recommends that entrants choose to submit a file that is the largest possible within that limit.
  • All the required fields (marked with) on the online submission form must be completed. Winners and runners-up may be asked to amend a caption if it appears to contain an error.
  • The RES reserves the right not to award a prize if, in the judges’ opinion, the entries do not reach the sufficient standard, or where the contact details provided on the entry form are incorrect or no longer valid.
• Photography requirements
  • Photographs entered for the Competition should feature an insect (or group of insects) occurring naturally in the situation in which it is photographed. The subject can be of any life-stage, from egg through nymph, larva or pupa to adult, and can be an insect from anywhere in the world.
  • Photographs of other invertebrates (e.g. spiders, woodlice, snails) are not eligible (unless they are present in a composition that primarily features insects).
  • Submissions will be rejected if in the reasonable opinion of the judges it appears that the welfare of the insect(s) or their habitats have been compromised by the entrant, or the image has been otherwise taken in an irresponsible manner.
  • Images must not include watermarks, borders, or signatures.
  • Black and white images are eligible for submission.
  • Digital adjustments that maintain the integrity of the image are allowed. It is not permitted to make any major physical change to the image. Entrants may not, for example, add or remove plants, objects, animals, people, landscapes or any parts of animals, plants, people or landscape to their image.
  • Photographs will be judged on composition, clarity, and demonstration of insect diversity and behaviour.

For more information, visit Royal Entomological Society.