STRANGE NATURE

An elaborate photographic process that brings out every bizarre detail and shimmering nuance of color turns 14 insects into lambent “miniature monsters."

Culled from the photographer’s book for adults Microsculpture (2017), the photos of the preserved specimens could just as well have been chosen as much for their subjects’ names—branch-backed treehopper, splendid-necked dung beetle, orchid cuckoo bee—as for their fantastically baroque features and oily hues. The original portraits, stitched together from thousands of photos and blown up to 10 feet (tall or wide, depending on orientation) for a traveling museum exhibit, must be jaw-dropping. Even here they seem to glimmer with thrillingly menacing, heavily armored elegance on their solid black pages, undisturbed by the labeled side views and details that accompany them. Along with describing Biss’ process and marveling at the sheer numberof insect species in the world, Mone offers succinct observations about each selection’s features and habits, tucks in a mini-disquisition on insect setae (“hair-like bits”), and tries (a little too hard) to lighten the mood: “If [potter wasp males] were human dads, they’d probably just sit around watching football and belching.” His suggestion to dazzled readers that after viewing these “fast, creepy, sneaky, smart, and sometimes a little nasty” creatures “you’ll never look at the insects in your backyard the same way again” is well taken, though. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 75% of actual size.)

Art meets biology, with weird and beautiful results.