Entomology Art Prints

Entomology Art Prints

Entomology has a visual problem. Insects are among the most structurally complex and visually varied animals alive, but the images that represent them in popular culture are almost always either too crude or too gory - cartoon bees or forensic close-ups. Neither captures what actually makes insects interesting to anyone who has spent time studying them.

Scientific illustration does something different. It slows down, looks carefully, and records with accuracy. The Axisophy Bugs collection is built in this tradition - 44 prints covering the major insect orders, each illustrated from specimen reference with correct venation, accurate colour placement, and proportions that reflect the actual animal rather than an approximation of it.

Here are some highlights for the entomologically informed.

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Coleoptera

The beetles. Roughly 400,000 described species - approximately 25% of all known insect species. The Axisophy Bugs collection includes 17 beetle prints.

Mormolyce phyllodes (Violin Beetle) - a cerambycid with a body plan so unusual that early entomologists struggled to classify it. The flattened, leaf-like elytra and elongated thorax are adaptations for living between layers of bracket fungi in Southeast Asian rainforests.

Zopherus nodulosus (Texas Ironclad Beetle) - a darkling beetle whose exoskeleton has been studied for aerospace engineering applications. The layered microstructure distributes compressive force so effectively that the beetle can survive being run over.

Pyrochroa serraticornis (Cardinal Beetle) - a British species with serrated antennae and a flat, bright red body that is more intricate in close detail than its overall silhouette suggests.

  • Violin Beetle (Mormolyce phyllodes) - natural history illustration - Bugs series art print
    Violin Beetle (Mormolyce phyllodes)
    From £50.00 GBP
  • Cardinal Beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis) - natural history illustration - Bugs series art print
    Cardinal Beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis)
    From £50.00 GBP
  • Texas Ironclad Beetle (Zopherus nodulosus) - natural history illustration - Bugs series art print
    Texas Ironclad Beetle (Zopherus nodulosus)
    From £50.00 GBP

Lepidoptera

Chrysiridia rhipheus (Madagascan Sunset Moth) - a uraniid day-flying moth endemic to Madagascar. Colours produced entirely by thin-film interference in nanoscale wing scale structures, not pigmentation. The iridescence shifts with viewing angle in ways that no ink can fully reproduce.

Bhutanitis lidderdalii (Bhutan Glory) - a swallowtail from the cloud forests of the Eastern Himalayas. CITES-listed. The wing pattern - dark bars and red-orange crescents against a translucent pale ground - is geometrically precise in a way that rewards very close examination.

Chorinea sylphina (Sylphina Angel) - a metalmark butterfly from Andean cloud forests with largely transparent wings and small patches of iridescent colour. The transparency is a camouflage adaptation.

  • Moth – Madagascan Sunset Moth (Chrysiridia rhipheus) - natural history illustration - Bugs series art print
    Moth – Madagascan Sunset Moth (Chrysiridia rhipheus)
    From £50.00 GBP
  • Butterfly - Sylphina Angel (Chorinea sylphina) - natural history illustration - Bugs series art print
    Butterfly - Sylphina Angel (Chorinea sylphina)
    From £50.00 GBP
  • Butterfly – Bhutan Glory (Bhutanitis lidderdalii) - natural history illustration - Bugs series art print
    Butterfly – Bhutan Glory (Bhutanitis lidderdalii)
    From £50.00 GBP

Diptera and others

Gauromydas heros (Mydas Fly) - one of the largest flies in the world, with a body length of up to 60mm. A convincing wasp mimic despite being a fly.

Bibio marci (St Mark's Fly) - named for its emergence around St Mark's Day (25 April). The heavy-bodied male with its distinctive dangling legs is a familiar sight over British meadows in late spring.

  • Mydas Fly (Gauromydas heros) - natural history illustration - Bugs series art print
    Mydas Fly (Gauromydas heros)
    From £50.00 GBP
  • St Mark's Fly (Bibio marci) - natural history illustration - Bugs series art print
    St Mark's Fly (Bibio marci)
    From £50.00 GBP

The full Bugs collection at axisophy.com/collections/bugs. 44 prints from £50, free UK delivery.

Bugs Collection

Simon Tyler is a designer, illustrator and author based in St Leonards-on-Sea. He is the author and illustrator of Bugs (Pavilion, 2017), Adventures in Space (Pavilion, 2018), Adventures on Earth (Pavilion, 2019) and Emergency Vehicles (Faber & Faber, 2020), and the illustrator of The World's Most Magnificent Machines (Faber & Faber, 2020). His forthcoming book Gizmo: Retro-Tech We Loved and Lost will be published by Laurence King in May 2026.