Macro Photos Capture the Hidden World of Nature’s Smallest Architects

Singapore-based photographer Nicky Bay constantly has his camera lens focused on the micro-world, shooting the minuscule details that he finds in the arthropod community. Exposing insects, spiders and micro fauna that make a home out of rainforests around the world, his new series concentrates on the tiny, natural architectural feats the he has come across. Bay uses macro photography techniques to explore some of nature’s hidden treasures, celebrating the smallest of architects that are able to create constructions so complete that they seem almost man-made.

The above picture is a “log cabin” constructed by Bagworm moth larva (Psychidae), a perfectly balanced and symmetrical structure that shows a clear progression in the size of wood utilized. Other bagworms lay the logs out vertically from leaves, or stack them slightly more haphazardly, but there is still a distinct functional quality to each of their tiny creations. Another amazing creature, the Arctiid moth pupa (Cyana sp.) creates cages with caterpillar hairs woven into the framework and cross-sections secured using pieces of silk. These precise architectural structures protect the pupa from predators. Bay’s collection features many other unbelievably intricate structures, including web towers and “tents” built from dead leaves and twigs.

The photographic collection of mind-blowing micro-structures that Bay has found littered throughout the insect world exposes a hidden neighbourhood of tiny architectural feats–towers, cabins and cages built from natural materials that seem perfectly formed in their tiny details. His photography points to the fact that humans aren’t the only ones who are capable of designing and constructing homes for themselves.

Bagworm moth larva (Psychidae)