Close Encounter of the Insect Kind: “Check out the awesome face on this praying mantis. I can't get over the mouth, it's like something from a science fiction movie. Of all photographic styles macro is definitely my favorite. I am constantly amazed, in every photo that I take, by the intricate level of detail that exists on even the smallest of creatures. It's a stark reminder that a very complex and infinitely beautiful world exists just beyond our human-sized level of perception. Photo taken in Donnybrook, Queensland, Australia” – Andrew Young. (Photo by Andrew Young/National Geographic Photo Contest via The Atlantic)

Lush green rice terraces sprawl over 2,200 hectares of mountainside ready to be harvested. These stunning images, captured by photographer Saravut Whanset, show the incredible terraces throughout the course of the day, including at sunrise and sunset. Workers tend to the fields, with each terrace between 1 and 1.5 metres wide, while wooden huts stand on stilts on the mountainside. The beautiful panoramic pictures were taken in Mu Cang Chai, Vietnam, with the fields located at the foot of the Hoang Lien Son mountain range, 1,000 metres above sea level. (Photo by Saravut Whanset/Solent News and Photo Agency)

A heifer, tied with a rope, turns during “Toro de Cuerda” in the white village of Villaluenga del Rosario, southern Spain September 3, 2016. Dazzling clusters of cube-shaped houses perched on top of Andalusia's olive tree-studded mountains, the “Pueblos Blancos”, or white villages, of southern Spain are named for the lime wash the buildings are painted with to keep the interiors cool. The labyrinths of narrow alleyways are a throwback to when this region was known as Al-Andalus and was part of a medieval Muslim territory. While this region is stunningly beautiful and a big draw to tourists visiting the south of Spain, it is also one of the poorest areas in the country and has one of the highest unemployment rates in the European Union. (Photo by Marcelo del Pozo/Reuters)

“Nomascus is the second most speciose genus of gibbons (family Hylobatidae). Originally this genus was a subgenus of Hylobates, and all individuals were considered one species, Hylobates concolor. Species within Nomascus are characterized by 52 chromosomes. Some species are all black, some light with a distinct black tuft of crown fur, and some by distinct, light-colored cheek patches. Nomascus is found from southern China (Yunnan) to southern Vietnam, and also on Hainan Island. One of the genus' species, Nomascus nasutus, has been deemed “the most critically endangered ape species in the world”. All of the species in this genus are endangered or critically endangered”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A newborn White-Cheeked Gibbon clings to its mother in the Nanning Zoo on April 12, 2004 in Nanning, Guangxi province, China. The White-Cheeked Gibbon's natural habitat is Southern China as well as Vietnam and Laos. They are classified as highly endangered and are on the brink of extinction due to poaching and reduction of natural rainforests. (Photo by Getty Images)

Japanese women wearing “yukata” casual summer kimono take selfies at Asakusa district in Tokyo, Japan, 13 September 2020. Asakusa is one of Tokyo's most-visited areas and is usually crowded with tourists. In Japan, the numbers of visitors from abroad fell by 99.9 percent from a year earlier in July due to the ban for entries of foreign visitors amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA/EFE)

British model and fashion designer Stella Tennant in Chanel Swimwear, collection Automne-Hiver 1995-96 at Paris Fashion Show in Paris on October 20, 1995. Stella Tennant, one of the most renowned catwalk models and cover-stars of the 1990s, has died aged 50, her family announced on December 23, 2020. “It is with great sadness we announce the sudden death of Stella Tennant on 22nd December 2020”, the statement said. (Photo by Neville Marriner/ANL/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A shepherd rides a donkey as he leads sheep during winter in Van, Turkiye on February 19, 2022. Despite the terrible winter weather and the hard geology of the region, breeders in Van's Gurpnar district, where livestock is the most important source of revenue, do not disregard the care of their animals. Livestock farmers in the Cepkenli and Topcudegirmeni neighborhoods have the similar difficulties as those in rural areas, where the snow depth reaches one meter. (Photo by Ozkan Bilgin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Medical workers wearing gear enter a residential area placed under the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) due to a drastic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases recorded in Sunway, outskirt of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Friday, July 2, 2021. Malaysia starts to further tighten movement curbs and impose a curfew in most areas in its richest state Selangor and parts of Kuala Lumpur, where coronavirus cases remain high despite a national lockdown last month. (Photo by Vincent Thian/AP Photo)