Never have I felt the need to write about the same artist three times, but the bug lover in me just cannot resist Igor Siwanowicz’s work. Back in 2014, I wrote about the scientist’s stunning insect pictures. Then in 2017, I wrote about his fascinating microscopic photography. This time, we are checking out his macro-photographs of caterpillars. I always liked the little buggers – their colors, their fuzziness, their method of locomotion – but I confess I haven’t spent much time looking at them up close. Luckily, these super-detailed photos let us take a really close look (without having to crawl around in the forest).

Siwanowicz has gotten up-close and personal with some of the kookiest caterpillars ever. I had no idea they were so wildly diverse! Much like the deep-sea WTFs I sometimes post about, these bugs look like they’re straight out of a scifi movie. I thought they had to be from some exotic rain forest, but I was really shocked to discover that many of his most bizarre subjects are native to the U.S.!

When he’s not creeping on the creepy crawlies, Siwanowicz is a neurobiologist at the Janelia Farm Research Campus in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Virginia.

You can see all of Siwanowicz’s glorious photos on Photo.net.

All images property of Igor Siwanowicz.