These Awe-Inspiring Photos Show Just How Beautiful Insects Can Be

How the photographer captures these portraits is pretty impressive too.

The mundane beetle is incredibly magnificent up close.

That's evident in the latest work of British photographer Levon Biss, whose intricate images of insect specimens, from the tiger beetle to the marion flightless moth, will be on display in an exhibition called "Microsculpture" at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History from May 27 to Oct. 30.

"We are surrounded by these creatures every day, yet we cannot normally see them, so one of the aims of 'Microsculpture' is to make it more accessible and palatable for us to view these stunning creatures," Biss told The Huffington Post.

To create the photos, Biss meticulously captures thousands of close-up images of one insect with a microscope lens, and then stitches those individual images together to create one portrait. (Watch his process in the video above.)

Biss photographs the insect in approximately 30 different sections, depending on the specimen's size.

Each final portrait -- which takes two to three weeks to complete -- is a composite of about 8,000 individual photographs, New Scientist reported.

"Photographing insects gives you constant surprises, you always see something new and beautiful," Biss said. "They are so varied that they provide an endless source of visual material to photograph, with an amazing array of colors, textures and shapes. It is only with the assistance of microscope magnification can we observer this microsculpture up close."

Scroll down to see 16 insects in striking high-resolution detail.

Orchid Cuckoo Bee
Wasp Mimic Hoverfly
Orchid Cuckoo Bee
Tiger Beetle
Flying Saucer Trench Beetle
Splendid-necked Dung Beetle
Tricoloured Jewel Beetle
Short Nosed Weevil
Oranged-netted Winged Beetle
Marion Flightless Moth
Mantis Fly
Ground Beetle
Green Tiger Beetle
Darkling Beetle
Branched Backed Treehopper
Tortoise Beetle

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