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Creepy critters up close and terrifying

News Corp Australia


IF creepies give you the crawlies, turn away quickly.

Magnified more than a million times, even the harmless household fly is fearsome enough to frighten the most ardent animal lover.

Pulled into stunning close-up by CSIRO physicist John Ward with the aid of a scanning electron microscope, insects normally invisible to the naked eye loom larger and more alarmingly than the biggest and most intimidating creatures that walk or fly the planet.

A harmless leafhopper looks like Batman, while even the power of a tiny dust mite, one of millions that curl up in bed with you every night, is obvious, even though it is dwarfed by a single thread of carpet photographed resting on its back.

Mr Ward says the use of the amazing images can help medical research and science raise money for charities.

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