A pair of crab spiders, also widely found in Korea and Japan, are courting. A vibrantly colored crab spider, flaunting its colors, is perched atop a much larger one. Crab spiders are a species where the female is overwhelmingly larger than the male; in some species, the female can be 60 times larger. This photograph, taken by Sandip Guha in Siliguri, India, was also named the winner of the 'London Camera Exchange Photographer of the Year' competition.
The international scientific journal 'Nature' selected this image of a courting crab spider pair as one of its science photos of the month on the 1st. Nature periodically features outstanding science photographs and images that illuminate the world of science.
The moment of return for astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) was also featured among this month's science photos. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were originally slated for a short, eight-day mission, had to remain on the ISS for a staggering nine months due to a defect in Boeing's space capsule. They returned to Earth on the 18th of last month (local time) aboard a SpaceX spacecraft, landing safely off the coast of Florida.
This image of a flower mantis, captured by wildlife photographer Irina Petrova Adamatzky, presents a creepy, 'alien-like' figure. While flower mantises typically have a green body during the day, the photographer emphasized a stark contrast by strategically juxtaposing it with an object of an opposing color. This photo won a bronze award at this year's 'World Nature Photography Awards'.
