Think this is a masked human? Look again.
It’s a beetle.
Captured by macro photographer Dara Ojo in Jiaxing, China, the image shows the white-striped longhorn beetle (Batocera lineolata) in such detail that many mistook it for a heavily masked human face.
With glistening water droplets that resemble eyes and a mouth, the illusion is uncanny.
Ojo, originally from Nigeria, took up insect photography during the pandemic and now regularly shares his work on Instagram under @explorewithdara. While this shot isn’t among his personal favorites, its impact has surprised even him.
Posted to Reddit’s “Nature Is F***ing Lit” thread, the photo quickly racked up over 43,000 upvotes and thousands of comments. Some Redditors joked it looked like a new Slipknot member or Ant-Man in disguise. Others were convinced they were looking at a human in a bug mask.
But rest assured: it’s 100% beetle, and 100% real.
Source: Newsweek, “Beetle’s Close-Up Photo Resembles Human Face, Sparks Online Buzz,” November 2025
