Close-up of rare bee wins wildlife photo contest

The picture shows an armed nomad bee holding on to a plant

A shot that captures a rare bee has been crowned the winner of a wildlife photography contest.

The extreme close-up of an armed nomad bee won first prize in the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) 2024 Photography Competition.

It was taken by Luke Chambers at BBOWT’s Dry Sandford Pit reserve near Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

Mr Chambers said he had taken about 10 frames to achieve the desired detail.

Mr Chambers said the opportunity had come to him during an early morning outing when he had been "checking some vegetation for any subjects".

"...there she was, a very rare species of nomad bee, fast asleep," he said.

He added he had taken "around 10 frames, all at different points of focus across the bee, then merged them together".

"It wasn't an easy photograph, but it was worth it and is one of my favourite images to date. To win this competition with it means a great deal."

As the overall winner, he received a high-tech bird feeder camera and his photo will appear in BBOWT's 2025 calendar.

Nine-year-old Logan won the children’s category with his shot of a red admiral butterfly perched on red valerian

The contest was launched in April with nine categories including taking action for nature and mobile phone photography.

Nature lovers of all ages were challenged to take pictures at one of BBOWT's nature reserves or in their community.

Nine-year-old Logan won the children’s category with his shot of a red admiral butterfly perched on red valerian.

In addition to the category prizes, Logan won a bundle of nature books for his school.

Speaking on his behalf, Frankie Gillespie said: "Logan has recently been diagnosed with a rare genetic eye disease and unfortunately the outcome will be total blindness. He has always loved photography and nature, so for him to have become one of the winners is wonderful news and he’s so excited!"

Other winners included Martin Wheeler's winter lake scene at Cholsey Marsh

A winter lake scene and a hungry bank vole are among the other winners.

The trust's panel of judges picked them from the entries submitted by nearly 200 photographers.

BBOWT’s Wild Magazine editor Ben Vanheems, who was on the judging panel, said the photos demonstrated "a real flair for detail and an eye for creativity".

"There’s been incredible deliberation because there’s been such strong photography this year. It’s a joy to be involved in this process."