Last year the Oklahoma Microscopy Society held their tenth annual Ugly Bug Contest where they challenged elementary students throughout the state of Oklahoma to explore their neighborhoods for the ugliest bugs they could find. Each school was allowed to choose one ugly bug to send to the society for submission and the insects were then photographed using an electron scanning microscope for judging. Here's the winners. For those of you who are easily creeped out, the good news is that all of the photos are in black-and-white, the bad news is that the microscope captures every little detail. To protect the little kids participating in the contest, the rules limited entries to only bugs with a head no larger than half an inch in diameter. Due to concerns of poison and venom, spiders and scorpions were banned. Kids were encouraged to only submit local bugs, to collect them intact (not crushed, dirty, or partially eaten). I love that they've asked the kids to make sure the bugs are dead before they mail them (I'd love to hear the stories behind how that one was added to the rule book). Winners received a $1,000 stereomicroscope.