These stunning images prove there is more to wasps than a nasty sting as one shows off a kaleidoscope of colours.
Ruby-tailed wasps have been increasing in numbers in the UK over the last decade but few people dare get close enough to see their spectacular markings.
Wildlife photographer Andrew Fusek-Peters spent several hours perched just 2cm away from the miniscule wasp - which measures the same size as a fingernail.
Macro photographs show the red and blue colouring of the wasp which change depending on the amount of sunlight.
Andrew, 58, captured the remarkable shots of the wasp as it explored a tree trunk in a garden in Welshpool.
He said: “They’re so beautiful, they definitely don’t look English, but they are.
“These pictures were taken in a friend's garden. This wasp was tiny and was taken on a large, dead tree trunk.
“This wasp is known as the cuckoo wasp as it lays its egg in the chamber of another insect, either wasp or masonry bee.
"In that chamber the cuckoo wasp larvae eats the rest. It has a lot of lovely food that has been collected by the host to thrive on.
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“It’s the only wasp that can curl itself up, so it can protect itself from other wasps and bees. It would be fair to say they are amazing.
“They’re quite small so people don’t know they have them, they’ve very small.
"They’re quite common but you can easily miss them. They come out when the weather is warm.
“It was just scurrying around on this dead large tree. It just comes out in the warm.
"Due to the wasps size, few photographers have been able to capture the colourful wasp accurately on camera."
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Despite being so close to the wasp, Andrew escaped being stung by the critter.
He added: “I’m about two or three centimetres away to get this. I’m using the flash to get the depth of field.
"I’m using a macro lens. You have got to have a really good kit to get this. I’m now finally understanding how to get used to being very close.
"I was careful not to make any sudden movements so just blended into the background so the wasp didn't feel threatened.
“The hardest part really is the skill set, you can’t get this with your phone.
“There is another type of wasp which is similar, but I’d say this is out there as the most colourful.”
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