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From the intricate details of a bee's mouth to the striking lines on the legs of a praying mantis, these incredible images reveal the stunning patterns that are hidden in the world around us.

Each image was taken using a new generation of microscope, dubbed Cytell, which works like an automated 'point and shoot' camera to instantly capture tiny details.

The images were put together by Gary Sarkis, who works for GE Healthcare Life Sciences in New York. 

Pictured is a close up of lingual papillae which are the small, nipple or hair–like structures on the upper surface of the human tongue

The series began when he took a bee's leg to work after helping his daughter analyse it as part of her school science project.

'My daughter and I observed the leg at home with her toy microscope,' Mr Sarkis said.

'We spent a lot of quality time together moving it around and getting it in focus. 

'But when we were done, we had nothing more to take away than the memory of what the bee's leg looked like.'

In the lab, Mr Sarkis used Cytell to take a closer look. 

The device is designed to allow researchers to rapidly analyses samples such as insect limbs and cells.

An ant's head is on the left while on the right is a cross-section of bracken - a type of fern common in Ireland. The images were put together by Gary Sarkis, who works for GE Healthcare Life Sciences in New York

The leg of a praying mantis. These creatures use their front legs to snare their prey with reflexes so quick that they are difficult to see

A cross section of a pine needle can be seen on the left, while on the right is a mouse's knuckle. The project began when Mr Sarkis brought a bee's leg to work after helping his daughter analyse it as part of her school science project

The proboscis of a mosquito is seen in incredible detail in the image on the left. The proboscis contains two pairs of sharp, flexible cutters surrounding a pair of fine tubes. Pictured on the right is the Cytell machine

'It's similar to the point-and-shoot camera,' Mr Sarkis said. 'It helps take a lot of the microscopist out of getting the perfect shot.

When Mr Sarkis looked at his daughter's sample in his lab with Cytell, 'an amazingly detailed hairy leg popped right up on my computer screen,' he said.

For fun, he also imaged the leg in fluorescent light and saw that it was 'very auto-flourescent,' and generated its own light.

After the first leg, Mr Sarkis imaged the rest of his daughter's collection with the machine. 

After that, he acquired more school samples on Ebay, sold by parents whose children had lost interest. 

'To me, these are hidden treasures which have led to some amazing images,' he says. 

To date, Mr Sarkis has taken over 2,000 pictures with Cytell and assembled a 'best of' list.

'My wife turned a pair into canvas portraits to hang in our house,' he says.

He has since captured stunning images of everything from the hair–like structures on the upper surface of the human tongue to the alien like features of a mosquito head.

A slice of the India rubber plant. These plants can grow 98 - 131 ft (30 - 40 metres). Mr Sarkis has now captured stunning images of everything from the hair–like structures on the upper surface of the human tongue to the alien like features of a mosquito head

On the left is the bee leg that was first imaged using the system. On the right is Diatomaceous earth, also known as diatomite. It is a soft, siliceous sedimentary rock which is made up of fossilised remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae

A bee's mouth is pictured here. It shows the complex tools that the insect uses to eat and drink. Most bees have paired mandibles, or jaws, that sit around a glossa, or tongue. The labrum and maxillae are like lips which support a proboscis, or tube for collecting nectar

On the left is an image of the Pittosporum glabratum plant, while on the right is an image of a corn stem. Mr Sarkis acquired school samples on Ebay, sold by parents whose children had lost interest

Pictured is a mosquito head, which is mostly eye. Each of the eyes is made up of many tiny lenses that see a slightly different picture