Patterns Gallery

Honey bees on a honeycomb

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) on a honeycomb. The chambers in a honeycomb are created using wax secreted by the bees. The chambers are then filled with honey, using nectar obtained from flowers, and capped with wax. These honeycombs are part of a beehive, a structure built by a beekeeper who removes honeycombs and harvests the honey in them. Because bees store honey to provide food over winter, the bee keeper replaces it with syrup for the bees to feed upon. Photographed in the Novgorod region of Russia

© RIA NOVOSTI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

EDTA crystals, light micrograph

EDTA crystals. Polarised light micrograph of a section through ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) crystals. EDTA is used primarily for its effectiveness at binding metal ions (chelating). After being bound by EDTA, metal ions remain in solution but exhibit distinctly diminished reactivity. In industry it has a variety of uses, including for dissolving limescale and preventing metal ion impurities from modifying the colours of dyed products. In medicine EDTA is used to treat heavy metal poisoning through chelation therapy, where it is used to bind metal ions in the body. Magnification: x100, when printed 10 centimetres wide

© MAREK MIS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

FG-4751 Wanderer / Monarch / Milkweed Butterfly

FG-4751
Wanderer / Monarch / Milkweed Butterfly
Overwintering, after migration. Mexico
Danaus plexippus
Distribution: North, Central & South America, New Zealand, Australia, Canary Islands, Indonesia, New Guinea
Francois Gohier
Please note that prints are for personal display purposes only and may not be reproduced in any way

© Francois Gohier / ardea.com