Every year, hordes of spiny toads (Bufo spinosus) gather to breed and lay their eggs in freshwater lakes and ponds, mainly in Spain, Portugal and France. Mating is, however, a difficult affair, with males often outnumbering females by a ratio of 5:1. In their desperation to find a mate, males will usually latch onto a female already locked in an embrace – known under the name of amplexus – by another partner.

Aloys Pichard captured one of these “breeding balls” in May (main photo), as the toads crossed a road in the south of France at night to reach the nesting grounds. His photo, as well as the others presented here, was selected this year Close-up Photographer of the Year competition.

Image by Joris Vegter of four golden-tailed birds Mélitta bees (Hemorrhoidal Melitta) nestled in a flower head is pictured above. Mélitta bees often sleep together inside the bells at night to keep warm. Vegter says he examined more than 1,000 flowers around Groningen in the Netherlands until he found the bees sleeping. “My passion is to share the invisible beauty of the small world around us,” he says.

The photo above shows Ignacio Castellanos’ image of a male Polyphemus butterfly (Antheraea polyphemus) in an oak forest in Huasca, Mexico. These butterflies measure more than 15 centimeters from one wing tip to the other.

Photo by Daniel Sly of a pot-bellied seahorse (Abdominal hippocampus) near Bare Island, Australia, is pictured above, with a close-up of Aris Kolokontes on a ladybug spider (Eresus walckenaeri) shown below.

The competition winners will be announced in January.