CATERPILLAR AND MANTIS BATTLE IT OUT

A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis. As the green praying mantis lifts its body and prepares for battles, the amber bug simply stares into the face of the much larger rival. Photographer Monica Anantyowati captured the tense staredown in a garden close to her home in Malang, Indonesia.

Other great stories
BEAR CUBS AND DOTING MUM

A little brown bear cub shows his doting mum that she is always on parent duty as he uses her as a scratching post .

SLEEPING BEAUTIES

Lying angelically with a range of expressions etched on their tiny faces, little bundles of joy are innocently captured in their first few days in these adorable photographs .

TROUBLESOME PYLON MEETS EXPLOSIVE END

THIS is the EXPLOSIVE moment when a 50 metre high pylon came crashing down to earth in a rural field .

CRICKET FINDS AN UNUSUAL SEAT

A cricket perches on an unusual seat after crawling up the snout of a crocodile .

JUDGE BLASTED FOR LETTING PAEDO WALK FREE

JUDGE BLASTED FOR LETTING PAEDO WALK FREE A PERVERT who sexually assaulted two young girls on an allotment, telling them he was brushing spiders off them, has walked free from court – because jailing him was ‘unfair’ on his family .

MESMERISING FUNGI

With luminous colours and alien- like features, these magical mushrooms look like they belong on another planet .

HYPNOTIST JAILED FOR SEX ABUSE

A hypnotherapist filmed himself sexually abusing a 19-year-old patient while she was in a trance-like state .

EMPTY LONDON UNDERGROUND

USUALLY full to bursting, these London Underground stations stand silent and completely commuter free .

STRIPED MARLIN SPEARS ITS CATCH

A striped marlin means business as it spots lunch and spears a small fish .

OLYMPIC ATHLETES LINE UP IN LEGO 2012 AQUATIC CENTRE

If you tune into primetime coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games, you’re most likely going to see London’s new Aquatic Center from many angles as athletes from all around the globe compete for the top spot on the podium .

FROG FRIENDS

PERCHED on a branch, these two frogs hold hands as they look into the camera .

DO YOU WANT TO BUILD A SNOWMAN?

Fetching a tiny carrot and a head-shaped snowball, a red squirrel builds the perfect snowman .