A photograph by Hasan Bağlar of a grasshopper shedding its hard outer skeleton has been selected by the UK’s Royal Society of Biology Photography as one of the year’s best images of the natural world.

Bağlar, from Lefkoşa (Nicosia), North Cyprus, submitted his photo titled “My Shirt’, capturing the moment a grasshopper moults its exoskeleton. It is a process the grasshopper will repeat a number of times in the course of a year as it changes and grows.

A civil servant by day, the Turkish Cypriot amateur photographer has won multiple awards and commendations for his stunning pictures of nature and wildlife, including birds, butterflies, orchids and insects in his native Cyprus. You can view his photographs via his Instagram page here.

Bağlar’s ‘My Shirt’ was shortlisted in the Royal Society of Biology Photography Competition 2020, whose theme this year was Our Changing World.

This year’s winning photograph by Tilaxan Tharmapalan from Sri Lanka is called ‘Dangerous Garbage-Eating Elephants’. The picture shows elephants at a garbage dumping ground in Ampara district searching for food. Sadly, many fall ill or die due to the toxic items they consume.

The harrowing scenes of elephants suffering has prompted the authorities in Sri Lanka to take action by recently banning the open dumping of garbage near wildlife sanctuaries.

You can see all the winning, runner-up and shortlisted photos from this year’s Royal Society of Biology Photography Competition 2020 here. Entries for next year’s competition will open in March 2021.