Scientists use tiny water droplets created by ultrasonic foggers to visualize the airflow around the wing of an Anna's hummingbird in flight.

Compelling photos reveal nature’s beauty in astounding detail

From a hummingbird in flight to up-close encounters with parasites and their hosts, these images will spark the curiosity within.

Scientists at the Altshuler Lab at the University of British Columbia use miniature fog machines to visualize the airflow around the wings of an Anna's hummingbird in flight.
Photograph by Anand Varma
July 18, 2025

National Geographic Explorer and award-winning photographer Anand Varma combines science and storytelling to shed light on the seldom observed natural world. Through innovative techniques, glimpse into a world rarely seen with the naked eye. 

Learn more about Varma’s work at NationalGeographic.org.

An Anna's hummingbird feeding from a plastic syringe inside of an experimental chamber in the Lentink Lab at Stanford. This chamber is designed to detect the forces produced by a hummingbird in flight by carefully measuring the changing air pressure above and below the bird during each wingbeat.
An Anna's hummingbird feeding from a plastic syringe inside of an experimental chamber in the Lentink Lab at Stanford. This chamber is designed to detect the forces produced by a hummingbird in flight by carefully measuring the changing air pressure above and below the bird during each wingbeat.
Photograph by Anand Varma
Chris Clark weighs a male Cuban bee hummingbird in Bermejas, Cuba.
Chris Clark weighs a male Cuban bee hummingbird in Bermejas, Cuba.
Photograph by Anand Varma
A re-creation of an experiment used to study how Anna's hummingbirds fly through narrow apertures. This study is aimed at understanding how hummingbirds fly through complex environments.
A re-creation of an experiment used to study how Anna's hummingbirds fly through narrow apertures. This study is aimed at understanding how hummingbirds fly through complex environments.
Photograph by Anand Varma
The parasitoid wasp, Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga, catches a spider, paralyzes it with its sting, then lays its egg on the spider's abdomen. This egg then hatches and the larval wasp feeds on the spider for a week. The night before it is ready to transform into a pupa, the larval wasp forces the spider to spin a special "cocoon web.” The wasp then kills the spider, consumes it and builds its cocoon suspended from the specialized web that was just built for it by the spider.
The parasitoid wasp, Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga, catches a spider, paralyzes it with its sting, then lays its egg on the spider's abdomen. This egg then hatches and the larval wasp feeds on the spider for a week. The night before it is ready to transform into a pupa, the larval wasp forces the spider to spin a special "cocoon web.” The wasp then kills the spider, consumes it and builds its cocoon suspended from the specialized web that was just built for it by the spider.
Photograph by Anand Varma
An ant infected with Ophiocordyceps fungus. The fungus forces the ant to climb off the forest floor and bite down on a leaf or branch. The fungus then kills the ant, grows out of its body, and releases spores that will infect more ants. The ant’s position when it dies helps the fungus disperse its spores more effectively.
An ant infected with Ophiocordyceps fungus. The fungus forces the ant to climb off the forest floor and bite down on a leaf or branch. The fungus then kills the ant, grows out of its body, and releases spores that will infect more ants. The ant’s position when it dies helps the fungus disperse its spores more effectively.
Photograph by Anand Varma
Bret Adee opens one of his 72,000 beehives. His company, Adee Honey Farms, is the largest commercial beekeeping operation in the world.
Bret Adee opens one of his 72,000 beehives. His company, Adee Honey Farms, is the largest commercial beekeeping operation in the world.
Photograph by Anand Varma
A queen honeybee surrounded by her attendant worker bees, also known as her court. This queen is part of a research program at the USDA that aims to breed bees that are more resilient to the stresses of commercial beekeeping in the United States.
A queen honeybee surrounded by her attendant worker bees, also known as her court. This queen is part of a research program at the USDA that aims to breed bees that are more resilient to the stresses of commercial beekeeping in the United States.
Photograph by Anand Varma
Honeybees in an experiment designed to measure their memory. Each bee is given a burst of cinnamon-scented air and then offered a cotton-tipped applicator soaked in sugar solution. Cinnamon is used because it is a complex floral scent that is easy for the bees to remember but one they would not have encountered in the wild. By measuring how well the bees associate the cinnamon smell with the sugar reward, researchers in the Mullin Lab at Penn State University can quantify the bees’ ability to learn. This research showed that agricultural spray additives which were thought to be harmless can actually affect the bees’ learning and memory.
Honeybees in an experiment designed to measure their memory. Each bee is given a burst of cinnamon-scented air and then offered a cotton-tipped applicator soaked in sugar solution. Cinnamon is used because it is a complex floral scent that is easy for the bees to remember but one they would not have encountered in the wild. By measuring how well the bees associate the cinnamon smell with the sugar reward, researchers in the Mullin Lab at Penn State University can quantify the bees’ ability to learn. This research showed that agricultural spray additives which were thought to be harmless can actually affect the bees’ learning and memory.
Photograph by Anand Varma
This photo is a re-creation of an experiment by Frank Rinkevich at Louisiana State University to test the effects of the pesticide phenothrin on honeybees. Phenothrin is used to control mosquitoes. The experiment was conducted by placing bees in paper cups and sedating them with carbon dioxide. A tiny droplet of pesticide was placed on each bee's body and the health of those bees was then monitored.
This photo is a re-creation of an experiment by Frank Rinkevich at Louisiana State University to test the effects of the pesticide phenothrin on honeybees. Phenothrin is used to control mosquitoes. The experiment was conducted by placing bees in paper cups and sedating them with carbon dioxide. A tiny droplet of pesticide was placed on each bee's body and the health of those bees was then monitored.
Photograph by Anand Varma
A queen honeybee being artificially inseminated by USDA technician Sharon Obrien. This queen is part of a breeding program that is aiming to raise bees that are resistant to a fungal pathogen called Nosema.
A queen honeybee being artificially inseminated by USDA technician Sharon Obrien. This queen is part of a breeding program that is aiming to raise bees that are resistant to a fungal pathogen called Nosema.
Photograph by Anand Varma
The larva of the parasitic flatworm, Ribeiroia ondatrae, gets into the tadpoles of frogs such as this American bullfrog. In the tadpoles, the worms migrate to the developing limb buds where they cause malformations of the limbs. The malformed frogs are then less able to escape from predators such as herons, which the trematode worm must get into in order to reproduce.
The larva of the parasitic flatworm, Ribeiroia ondatrae, gets into the tadpoles of frogs such as this American bullfrog. In the tadpoles, the worms migrate to the developing limb buds where they cause malformations of the limbs. The malformed frogs are then less able to escape from predators such as herons, which the trematode worm must get into in order to reproduce.
Photograph by Anand Varma
A species of thorny headed worm, which are also called Acanthocephalans, infects freshwater crustaceans called amphipods. The larva of the worm gets into the amphipod and starts absorbing the orange pigment of the surrounding tissue. It also causes the amphipod to seek out light when it is disturbed, which is the opposite of its natural behavior. This manipulation makes the amphipod more likely to be eaten by a duck, which the worm needs to get into in order to mature and reproduce.
A species of thorny headed worm, which are also called Acanthocephalans, infects freshwater crustaceans called amphipods. The larva of the worm gets into the amphipod and starts absorbing the orange pigment of the surrounding tissue. It also causes the amphipod to seek out light when it is disturbed, which is the opposite of its natural behavior. This manipulation makes the amphipod more likely to be eaten by a duck, which the worm needs to get into in order to mature and reproduce.
Photograph by Anand Varma
Parasitic barnacle larvae just after they have been released by their host, a sheep crab. The barnacles infect the crab and if it is a male, it will turn it into a female (feminize it) so that the crab is better able to care for the offspring that the parasite produces. The crab continues to live out its life, but it is castrated and will never reproduce again.
Parasitic barnacle larvae just after they have been released by their host, a sheep crab. The barnacles infect the crab and if it is a male, it will turn it into a female (feminize it) so that the crab is better able to care for the offspring that the parasite produces. The crab continues to live out its life, but it is castrated and will never reproduce again.
Photograph by Anand Varma
Bat researcher Ivar Vleut releases a wooly false vampire bat after capturing it to collect data.
Bat researcher Ivar Vleut releases a woolly false vampire bat after capturing it to collect data.
Photograph by Anand Varma
A woolly false vampire bat flying out of its roost inside a Mayan temple called Hormiguero in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Mexico.
A woolly false vampire bat flying out of its roost inside a Mayan temple called Hormiguero in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Mexico.
Photograph by Anand Varma
Researcher Rodrigo Medellin (left) holds a woolly false vampire bat while researcher Ivar Vleut (right) looks at its wings to collect physiology data.
Researcher Rodrigo Medellin (left) holds a woolly false vampire bat while researcher Ivar Vleut (right) looks at its wings to collect physiology data.
Photograph by Anand Varma
A spectral bat hunts a lab mouse in a flight cage.
A spectral bat hunts a lab mouse in a flight cage.
Photograph by Anand Varma
This work is funded by the National Geographic Society.