Subjects for photos: Arthropods - insects, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, and millipedes on land; crabs, crayfish, shrimp, lobsters, and barnacles in water.

This year, we have chosen to highlight the various Mantis species for our “Best of Show” Mantis photo award.

All decisions by our judges are final.

There is no entry fee. This competition is available to anyone who is interested in participating.

Participant categories: (10 awards in all)
Ages 17 and under - (prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places)
Ages 18 and over – Beginners group (prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places)
Ages 18 and over – Advanced group (prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places)
One special award given to the top Mantis photo

Prizes for 1, 2, 3 in each category and for the top Mantis photo:
Each winning photo will be printed and mounted at no charge to the photographer. These photos will be displayed at The Crosby Arboretum's gallery from September 1, 2024 to November 30, 2024 and will then be returned to each photographer (to be picked up at The Arboretum).

Each winning photographer will receive an individual award as well as a swag bag.

The Crosby Arboretum would have limited rights to use the winning competition images to recognize winning photographers and promote future events/competitions – online, print and display image. All other image rights remain with the shooter.

All competition photographers MAY elect to allow The Crosby Arboretum to use images (with image credit) for education and outreach by choosing this option on the registration form.

Additional Rules:

• Each participant may enter up to 3 photos. All 3 photos can be entered at the same time on the same entry.
  • If you choose to enter photo #2 at a different time, make a new entry. Use your same name with a 2 following your last name: John Doe 2
  • If you choose to enter a third photo, use a separate entry with a 3 following your last name: John Doe 3
• The person entering the photo into the competition must be the photographer.
• There is no time restriction on when each photo was taken. There will be no geographical restriction. The date and place of the photo are to be submitted with the photograph just for information purposes.
• The photographer of each photo needs to submit the photo along with a brief statement regarding the Arthropod(s) pictured. That brief statement might be about what attracted them to photograph the arthropod or an interesting fact about the arthropod.
• The ten winning photographs will be featured and displayed in The Crosby art gallery from Sept. 1, 2024 to Nov. 30, 2024. They may be used in the marketing of BugFest 2024!
• The winners in the 18 and older “beginners” category must move to the “advanced” category for future photo competitions at The Crosby.
• The winning photos for the 2023 Crosby competition cannot be entered in any future Crosby competitions.
• Photos must be entered in a JPEG format.
• All photographs should accurately reflect the subject matter and the scene as it appeared.
• Minimum Photo Size is 2000 pixels by 4000 pixels (larger images accepted)
• Entrants' submissions must not infringe on the rights of any other photographer or entity.
• Entrants must not submit images that involve the willful harassment of wildlife or damage to the environment by the photographer.

Should you have any difficulty registering or loading your photos, please call Barb Medlock at 228-332-0823 (cell).

Competition Timeline:

• Entries to be accepted up to midnight on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
• Judges to make their selections by midnight on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023.
• The top 10 winning photographs will be announced on Oct. 10, 2023.
• The specific awards will not be announced until the award ceremony.
  The award ceremony will take place at BugFest 2023.
• Winners do not have to be present to win but must arrange to pick up their award at The Crosby Arboretum.