These beautiful macro shots of dew soaked sleeping insects were taken by amateur photographer Miroslaw Swietek. He used a torch to create the lighting and placed his camera and flash just millimeters from the motionless insects.

I took up photography as a relaxing hobby two and a half years ago and I particularly like taking pictures of insects and lizards.

I photograph them in their natural environment in the forest next to my village.

They all are covered in dew because I go to the forest in the morning at around 3am.

At 3am to 4am insects are sleepy and taking photos of them is easy, but it is very difficult to find them.

You must be very fast taking the photos because the dew quickly disappears.

It is very satisfying getting a good shot of an insect which I have had to hunt out.

I have books which help my identify insects but because they are all covered in dew I find it almost impossible to know which types they are.

Although insects do not ’sleep’ in the same sense as humans, they enter a state of torpor where they are virtually immobile and much less sensitive to external stimuli.