Zooids: Faces of tiny warriors - in pictures

Zooids are a colonial animal that can survive only when connected with other zooids. Each has its individual personality, but collectively they exist as a single being with a shared goal of survival. Together they are more commonly known as the portuguese man o' war Photograph: Aaron Ansarov/Ansarov Studios

Each zooid is photographed alive for several minutes then returned to the sea Photograph: Aaron Ansarov/Ansarov Studios

Some of the resultant photographs are flipped once to give the face or spider look while others are flipped a second time to create beautiful patterns Photograph: Aaron Ansarov/Ansarov Studios

Ansarov says the collection began from a project he started with his young son to photograph objects that are commonly overlooked
Photograph: Aaron Ansarov/Ansarov Studios

Ansarov says you 'cannot deny how beautiful and incredibly intricate these creatures are when we get past our fear and trepidation and see them this close' Photograph: Aaron Ansarov/Ansarov Studios

Aaron in his studio. He uses a homemade lightbox and Nikon's 36 Megapixel D800 body with a 60mm Micro lens Photograph: Scott Schmidt/Ansarov Studios

Ansarov says the light from his table setup helps define their shapes and vibrant colours, producing what he calls an 'infinite world' Photograph: Aaron Ansarov/Ansarov Studios

Ansarov: "How can something responsible for thousands of stings around the world each year be so beautiful?" Photograph: Aaron Ansarov/Ansarov Studios

To collect the zooids, the photographer tracks the weather. Bad conditions are good conditions to find the creatures. When the tide is right he heads to Delray beach in Florida. His wife Anna collects the specimens in a beer cooler Photograph: Aaron Ansarov/Ansarov Studios

Thick rubber gloves are worn for collection. The tentacles have microscopic needles that sometimes make their way through Photograph: Aaron Ansarov/Ansarov Studios

Ansarov says: 'When I started posting them on my Facebook page everybody would see something different. From faces of monsters to alien vaginas' Photograph: Aaron Ansarov/Ansarov Studios

More of these beautiful images can be seen on Ansarov.com
Photograph: Aaron Ansarov/Ansarov Studios