Incredible insect photos

Nature photographer Thomas Shahan specializes in amazing portraits of tiny insects. It isn't easy. Shahan says that this Robber Fly (Holcocephala fusca), for instance, is "skittish" and doesn't like its picture taken.

Shahan found this adult male Paraphidippus aurantius jumping spider at Red Bud Valley Nature Preserve near Catoosa, Okla.

This close-up of the head of a damselfly is Shahan's first of this species. "Generally, these guys won't let you," he said.

Shahan caught this female Tabanus horse fly in a toothpick container, took the insect home, then smeared some honey on a stone (in foreground) to get it to stand still for its close-up.

A close-up look at the head of a grasshopper, courtesy of photographer Thomas Shahan.

This female jumping spider (Platycryptus undatus) was at least three-fourths an inch long, one of the largest Shahan had seen before he spotted a 1-inch one nearby. Unfortunately, it jumped and disappeared.

Shahan found this wet bee face sitting immobile on top of a flower. "I don't think he was dead," he said, "maybe just too cold and wet to fly away."

Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home. Fortunately, this Cycloneda munda didn't, at least not before Shahan snapped its picture.

This mantis, about an inch and a half long, was chewing on its own foot for some reason when Shahan photographed it.

This white face fly (Archytas apicifer) was quite a large representative of its species.

This tiny weevil, around 4-5mm or so, was captured atop a flower. A weevil is a type of beetle.

Shahan said this was one of the first "decent photos" he had gotten of a green sweat bee, of the family Halictidae. This one was quite small, about 10mm in length.

Shahan found this male striped lynx spider (Oxyopes salticus) on the railing of his own deck. He said the male is more difficult to photograph than the female of the species.

The head of a katydid nymph (Scudderia). Shahan believes that the insects lose most of these vibrant colors by the time they become adult.

Shahan captured the image of this male striped horse fly (Tabanus lineola) on a white railing, which reflected his flash, providing good lighting. He said it made bizarre movements with its legs, "totally different than any other fly I have seen."

This was the first tiger crane fly (Nephrotoma ferruginea) that Shahan was able to photograph up close; normally, he said, they were "just too flighty."

This harvestman (Palpatores) was photographed at Devil's Den state park in Arkansas. Although it is an eight-legged arachnid (one of this one's legs is missing), it is not a spider.

This close-up of a female jumping spider (Maevia inclemens) clearly captures the vivid colors of its eyes.

Photographer Thomas Shahan hard at work in the wild, getting a shot of a robber fly in August 2009.

•See more of Shahan's work