Horrifying close-up photo of an ant is the stuff of nightmares

Close-up photo of an ant's face. — The haunting demon terrifying the internet is actually … an ant. (Image credit: Eugenijus Kavaliauskas)

Creepy-crawlies with a menacing bite that can trigger an insatiable itch, ants are the stuff of nightmares for many people. A close-up image of one of these pint-size terrors from Nikon's Small World Photomicrography Competition 2022 is eliciting a horrified response that has spread across the internet like venom through the lymphatic system.

Eugenijus Kavaliauskas, a Lithuanian photographer, captured the horrific sight, which earned him an "Images of Distinction" nod from the judges. Appropriately titled "Ant (Camponotus)," the image was captured by magnifying the ant's alien-like face five times under a stereo 10x microscope. Kavaliauskas called it an example of "God's designs and the many interesting, beautiful, unknown miracles under people's feet," according to The Washington Post.

So, what makes this zoomed-in image so frightening? Perhaps it's the insect's antennae, which look eerily similar to a demon's piercing red eyes. Or maybe it's the insect's razor-sharp teeth built to pierce its victim's flesh with a single bite.