Fotos Pole Street Buenos Aires – Miss Pole Dance Argentina 2012. (Photo by Diego Castillo)

“After an afternoon of hiking and exploring the caves of Rhossili Bay, West Glamorgan, we caught the sun breaking through the clouds”. (Photo by Megan Warren-Davis/The Guardian)

An elephant eats a snack after performing at Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus' “Circus Extreme” show at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S., April 29, 2016. Elephants take a final bow at Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus on Sunday, ending a 145-year spectacle that delighted fans but enraged animal activists, who say the highly publicized retirement is not enough. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

Performers of circus company Circa perform during a photocall for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on Calton Hill on August 1, 2017 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. (Photo by Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian)

Once upon a time a myth was born that insects, unlike animals, are just a machines that not capable of learning and survive only based on their instincts. That myth has become the widespread opinion. Of course, this opinion is indeed erroneous, like many other widespread opinions. Let us try to find out which part is a myth and which part is true.

Second Place Winner: “Thunderstorm at False Kiva”. I hiked out to these ruins at night hoping to photograph them with the Milky Way, but instead a thunderstorm rolled through, creating this dramatic image. – Max Seigal. National Geographic Traveler Director of Photography Dan Westergren, one of this year's judges, shares his thoughts on the second place winner: “This photo combines two different scenes into one: the small kiva in a cliff dwelling and the grand vista of Canyonlands National Park across the valley. I really like the two different color palettes – warm inside and purple outside. This two-for-one scene was caused by the lightning storm outside the dwelling, which lit up the landscape like it was a huge electronic flash. Looking at this picture I can imagine what a wonderful sight it must have been for the ancient people who lived here. It doesn't seem too amazing now in our modern world, but might have been mind-blowing for the prehistoric residents”. Location: Utah. (Photo and caption by Max Seigal/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

General view of Chilean Calbuco volcano from Puerto Montt, located at 1000 km southern Santiago de Chile, Chile, 22 April 2015. Due to the eruption of the volcano with a smoke column 20 km high, authorities declared a red alert and ordered the evacuation of around 1500 inhabitants of Ensenada, Alerce, Colonia Río Sur and Correntoso towns. (Photo by Alex Vidal Brecas/EPA)

An Indian resident assists a dog as he wades through floodwaters in Ahmedabad on July 30, 2014. Rains lashed Ahmedabad and many regions of India's western Gujarat state, wth the Indian Metrological Department warning of heavy rains for the next 48 hours. (Photo by Sam Panthaky/AFP Photo)