These Insects Photos Will Haunt Your Dreams

Ah, Spring! Finally, sunshine and flowers and short sleeves. Also, bugs. Not just adorable yellow chicks—insects are crawling out of eggs again. But have you ever tried thinking of insects as amazing little works of art? Maybe if you could look at them in a whole new way, you'd think twice before you swat or stomp out the tiny six-legger zig-zagging in your general direction. Under an electron microscope, insects are FASCINATING. Check out these sample images from David Phillips' new book Art and Architecture of Insects.

As female worker ants age, they're reassigned from caring for larvae and the queen to foraging for food outside the colony, which may explain why this stooped old girl looks so defeated. (© David M. Phillips)

The veins in this book louse's wings resemble leaf veins, but should not be mistaken for the things you willingly place between two pages to preserve. (© David M. Phillips)

This beetle grub larva's legs aren't all there yet, so it moves telescopically, sliding its segments inward and outward. It doesn't get far. (© David M. Phillips)

Who would've guessed a moth's head is basically a feather duster? (© David M. Phillips)

In this stare-down with a housefly, you can't be sure which of the hundreds of ways it is presently sizing you up. (© David M. Phillips)

A head louse clinging to strands of human hair, presented here with apologies. (© David M. Phillips)