Brilliant dots of colour form exquisite patterns in this close-up of butterfly wings

A spellbinding close-up on butterfly and moth (or Lepidoptera) wings, Biopixels stitches together images drawn from a collection of some 50,000 specimens at the Patel Lab at the Marine Biological Laboratory at the University of Chicago. The resulting stop-motion animation forms a tribute to the extraordinary evolutionary diversity of these creatures, which account for around 10 per cent of all species on Earth. Long a favourite of humankind for the range of colours and patterns in their wings, these insects are perhaps even more striking when viewed on the microscopic scale, which captures how small, shimmering dots of colour form, like pixels, the brilliant patterns that have drawn people to butterflies for millennia. In her rendering, the US artist and filmmaker Kristina Dutton pairs the images with lively editing and a playful original score that she co-wrote, crafting a work that beautifully blurs the realms of science and art.