Shot of ants in action claims top wildlife photography prize

An image of leaf-cutter ants silhouetted on a leaf in the Costa Rican rainforest has won Hungarian photographer Bence Máté the 2010 Veolia Environnement wildlife photographer of the year prize.

The winning shot, titled A Marvel of Ants, is a simple yet bold photo showing leaf-cutter ants at work that was selected from tens of thousands of entries from around the world. Chair of the judging panel, Mark Carwardine, said: "The photographer is clearly a master of his craft with an artist's eye."

Máté said: "Photographing leaf-cutter ants in the middle of the night, alone in the rainforest, was an unforgettable experience. I needed my reflexes because the ants were cutting the leaves into pieces very fast."

The 2010 competition received over 31,000 entries from 81 countries. The exhibition of more than 100 prize-winning photographs will open at the Natural History Museum on Friday 22 October and then tour internationally.