Awesome Insects

VFX artist and filmmaker Buttered Side Down caught a monarch butterfly and placed it in a jar to admire its beauty. But nothing is simple in BSD’s wacky universe, and a swarm of the colorful insects would prefer that he releases their friend from captivity.

Nature can be pretty amazing. Take, for example, how this hive of honeybees discourages predators like wasps from attacking. Multiple layers of bees form a protective shield on the outside of their honeycomb and move in synchronized patterns that make the whole hive look like it’s one big creature.

Thanks to the photographic prowess and entomological expertise of Ant Lab, we’ve seen some amazing close-up footage of insects. This time, watch tropical butterflies as they emerge from their chrysalises and take flight. Then take a look at the tropical rainforest exhibit at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences.

Filmmaker Thomas Blanchard captured this series of macro time-lapse images of insects being born juxtaposed with the carnivorous plants laying in wait for unsuspecting creatures to wander into their sticky and deadly traps. According to Blanchard, all insects captured were released after filming.

Dr. Adrian Smith of Ant Lab is back with another amazing slow motion macro video of insects taking flight. This time, you’ll witness a variety of mantises, weevils, flies, and other bugs lifting off. The 6,000 FPS footage reveals the normally unseen but dramatic differences in how each insect takes flight.

Martin Kristiansen of My Microscopic World used a polarized light source, a lab microscope, and an iPhone to capture these incredibly detailed, colorful, and otherworldly images of insect larvae, isopods, and tiny crustaceans. Check out more amazing close-up images on his Instagram feed.

Hang this cute critter on your keyring or backpack, and you’ll always be ready to bug out. The BugLit micro flashlight is a handy task light with a carabiner and bendy legs to point the light where you need it. The rechargeable light has four modes and is bright enough to illuminate up to 50 feet.

In real-time and without a good macro lens, it’s hard to appreciate just how awesome insects can be. In this video from Ant Lab, we get a wonderful close-up look at seven species of moths for a look at their beautiful wing patterns and colors, captured at 6000 frames per second. Isn’t nature amazing?

Photographer Jens Heidler of Another Perspective offers a series of crisp close-up stills and video footage of animals and insects, revealing incredible details not visible to the naked eye. Check out his video on flash diffusers for some tips on capturing great macro images.

We can think of few nastier pests than ticks. They spread disease, make you and your pets itch like mad, are difficult to remove, and are completely gross looking under a magnifying lens. Naturally, Zefrank thought they’d be a good subject for their tongue-in-cheek nature show. We’re itchy just from watching this.

You never want to get too close to a mound of fire ants. But from the comfortable distance of your browser, they’re neat little buggers. Vox explores some of the fascinating ways in which colonies stick together to form structures, and how they can act as both a solid or fluid.

With the help of footage from researchers, ZeFrank provides his lighthearted insights on the Odontomachus, a genus of ants with jaws that can open 180-degrees, then shut like a bear trap. In addition to grabbing prey, they can use their mandibles to eject unwanted intruders or extract themselves quickly from a threat.

Don’t let mosquitoes and ticks ruin your outdoor adventures. Ranger Ready’s Picaridin-based insect repellents keep bugs at bay for up to 12 hours, and without neurotoxins like DEET, so they’re safe on skin. They come in three pleasant scents as well as unscented. They also make a long-wearing Permethrin clothing spray.

Watch as a pile of ordinary brass nuts and bolts is transformed into a shiny sculpture of an insect by artist Ross the Random. We weren’t quite sure where he was going at first with the wing piece, but the finished work turned out to be quite amazing.

Masayoshi Matsumoto is no birthday party balloon artist. Nope, his specialty is creating complex balloon animals that belong in an art gallery. His inflatable sculptures require many more bends and twists than typical balloon art, resulting in greater detail and realism. Check out his YouTube channel for tutorials.

Among the awesome creatures in the rainforests are animals and insects that can camouflage into their surroundings, along with ones designed to scare off predators. Zefrank talks about these amazing evolutionary traits, accompanied by incredible imagery by photographers David Weiller and Thomas Marent.

Dr. Adrian Smith of Ant Lab is the man you want to see if you’ve got a question about bugs. Among his many buggy pursuits is capturing slow-motion footage of insects as they take flight. In this video, you’ll enjoy a variety of bugs lifting off, many of which are less graceful than you’d think.

ZeFrank takes a few minutes to explain the fascinating habits of Eciton army ants, from the massive community structures they build using their bodies, to their coordinated swarms, to their killer instincts and protein-rich dietary habits. You’ll also meet some unique insects that like to hitch rides on the ants.

Nature photographers John Downer Productions flew a realistic, robotic hummingbird deep into a forest packed with hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies. The drone captured amazing footage of the swarm as they awoke from their long winter’s nap in Mexico. From the BBC Series Spy in the Wild.

The guys behind BoardGameTables.com have created a fun, family-friendly game that anyone can play in about 15 minutes. In Kabuto Sumo, players take on the role of some badass beetles, and attempt to push their opponents out of the ring. Each wrestler disc has a unique shape and a special power that affects their moves.

Nature photographer Lothar Lenz captured this incredible macro slow-motion video of hornets in motion, as they fly around, sip water, and live their lives near his home in the Eifel region of Germany. The crystal clear sounds of the buzzing insects are especially immersive with headphones on.

Walking into a spider web can be a sticky and annoying situation for both humans and spiders. But what would happen if spiders and their webs were much larger? Could you extract yourself before you get wrapped up like a giant fly? What If ponders this horrifying situation in a video that’s definitely not for arachnophobes.

Chip Channel spends most of his time restoring rusty old toys. He also has an ant farm. Watch as these industrious little harvester ants start out with a clean slate of sand, and proceed to build out a complex maze of tunnels for their colony to call home. Everything you see here happened in 24 hours.