Imperceptible organisms brought to life with microscope magic

Sixth Prize: Live mushroom coral Fungia sp.Close-up of mouth during expansion. Captured using tungsten illumination; the green color is bright autofluorescence. (James Nicholson/2012 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition)

Honorable Mention: Living freshwater diatom cells in a drop of water. Two species, are visible: Cyclotella meneghiniana (tablet shaped) and Nitzschia palea (long). Differential interference contrast. Victor Chepurnov, Algae R&D Office, Ghent, Belgium. (Victor Chepurnov/2012 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition)

Honorable Mention: Various species of Desmids (freshwater green algae). Living specimens arranged as they naturally presented themselves on the slide. Image stack captured using polarized light at 100x. Marek Mis, Suwalki, Poland. (Marek Mis/2012 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition)

Honorable Mention: "Birth of bugs." Brightfield image stack. Frederic Labaune, Auxonne, France. (Frederic Labaune/2012 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition)

Honorable Mention: Free-swimming tunicate larva. Darkfield illumination, magnification: 60x. Wim van Egmond, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. (Wim van Egmond/2012 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition)

Honorable Mention: Daphnia (water flea), captured using image stacking. Michael Crutchley, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK. Darkfield imaging. (Michael Crutchley/2012 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition)

Honorable Mention: Worker ant. Frontal view of the head of a pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis), a common indoor pest. Confocal microscopy. Jan Michels, Institute of Zoology, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Germany. (Jan Michels/2012 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competitio)

Honorable Mention: Aspergillus niger on bread, magnification 10x. Brightfield illumination. Chao Zhang, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China. (Chao Zhang/2012 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition)

Third Prize: A common East-coast US fern, Polypodium virginianum, showing a cluster of spore-filled sporangia and specialized protective hairs called paraphyses. Confocal microscopy. Igor Siwanowicz, HHMI Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, Virginia, USA. (Igor Siwanowicz/2012 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition)

Honorable Mention: Black bread mold (Rhizopus stolonifer) sporangia (300 micrometer). Image of the specimen in a Petri dish was captured using stereo microscopy. Csaba Pintér, Keszthely, Hungary. (Csaba Pintér/2012 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition)

Honorable Mention: Living green alga Euglena mutabilis. Differential interference contrast, captured at around 900x. Gerd Guenther, Duesseldorf, Germany. (Gerd Guenther/2012 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition)

Honorable Mention: Soldier Fly (Stratiomyidae). Epi-illumination. Laurie Knight, Maidstone, Kent, UK. (Laurie Knight/2012 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition)

Honorable Mention: Protozoan Pyxicola captured using differential interference contrast at 1250x. Jacek Myslowski, Wloclawek, Poland. (Jacek Myslowski/2012 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition)

Honorable Mention: Rotifer Stephanoceras. Darkfield illumination. Wim van Egmond, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. (Wim van Egmond/2012 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition)

Honorable Mention: Oak lace bug (Corythucha arcuata), a common oak pest. Dorsal view of bug ca. 3mm long. Colors represent different structural properties of chitin and the varied affinity of the insect's exoskeleton to chitin-binding dyes. Eight stitched confocal images. Igor Siwanowicz, HHMI Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, Virginia, USA. (Igor Siwanowicz/2012 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition)