The Astonishing, Wet Faces Of Sleeping Insects [Monsters Among Us]

via io9 by Annalee Newitz on 3/29/10

This bejeweled creature is actually a fly, covered in tiny droplets of dew that gathered on his body while he slept through the early morning hours. It's from a series of shimmering insect photographs taken in the Polish forest.
To take photos like these, amateur photographer Miroslaw Swietek goes out into the forest near his village around 3 AM with a flashlight and camera, looking for insects to shoot. Insects go into a sleep-like state where they barely move for a few hours a night, and that's how dew collects on their bodies. Swietek says he loves photographing insects and lizards.
See more of these astonishing images via the Daily Mirror or via Swietek's personal gallery.