PBS
You're Living On An Ant Planet
New ReviewHow did ants take over the world? Well, it looks like they didn’t achieve world domination all by themselves. They may have just been riding the wave of a totally different evolutionary explosion.
PBS
Beans & Bees (Not Bats) Gave Us Butterflies
New ReviewTurns out, instead of having bats to thank for the existence of butterflies, the groups we should actually be thanking are…bees and beans.
Be Smart
The Weird Science That Lets Insects Fly in the Rain
New ReviewImagine the scale of raindrops if you were the size of a small bird. Or mosquito. Flying through a drizzle should be deadly! Like flying through falling cars and boulders. And yet it’s not, because nature has given them a...
SciShow
We've Been Collecting This Fossil for 15,000 Years
New ReviewTrilobites are one of the most iconic fossil animals out there. And people have loved them for centuries! Let's talk about the people across time and space who have loved collecting trilobites, from Elrathia to Calymene, going back...
SciShow
Why You Should STOMP Every Spotted Lanternfly
New ReviewYou may have heard about a new invasive menace in the US. The spotted lanternfly is a relatively recent arrival from China, and while they may be tiny, they have the potential to cause some serious problems. So let's talk about what...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Are there any places on Earth with no bugs? | Charles Wallace
Insects are the world’s most numerous and diverse animals. Even where you’d least expect them in some of Earth’s most extreme environments, there they are. From a scalding volcano, parched desert, to a frigid glacier, insects are living...
TED Talks
TED: The magical, mesmerizing migration of monarch butterflies | Jaime Rojo
When monarch butterflies migrate, they produce one of the most iconic wildlife spectacles in the world — and provide us with an important indicator of ecological health, says photographer Jaime Rojo. Telling a story about our...
SciShow Kids
The Wonderful World of Insect Mouths | SciShow Kids
In this episode, Jessi and Squeaks learn about the many kinds of mouths insects can have, and why they look so different!
SciShow Kids
Meet the True Bugs | SciShow Kids
In this episode, Jessi and Squeaks learn what it takes to be a "true bug". Scientists use the word "bug" to refer to a special group of insects, so not all insects (or other critters like spiders) are bugs!
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: If you're an adult mayfly you'll probably die before the end of this video | Luke M. Jacobus
For most of the world’s 4,000 mayfly species, adulthood lasts roughly one day. And for some species, it’s only a matter of minutes. This isn’t because they’re all eaten up by predators. Rather, this abridged adulthood is a natural part...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: These animals can hear everything | Jakob Christensen-Dalsgaard
The world is always abuzz with sounds, many of which human ears simply can’t hear. However, other species have extraordinary adaptations that grant them access to realms of sonic extremes. And some of them don’t even have ears— at least,...
TED Talks
TED: The luminous mystery of fireflies | Wan Faridah Akmal Jusoh
There are more than 2,000 firefly species, found on every continent except for Antarctica — an astonishing diversity of movement and light. Firefly scientist Wan Faridah Akmal Jusoh explores the mysteries of these little beetles that...
TED Talks
TED: Let your garden grow wild | Rebecca McMackin
Many gardeners work hard to maintain clean, tidy environments ... which is the exact opposite of what wildlife wants, says ecological horticulturist Rebecca McMackin. She shows the beauty of letting your garden run wild, surveying the...
SciShow
What Makes This Plant Hair So Deadly?
You may be familiar with plants that have hair, like fuzzy peaches. But these plant take their 'dos to the next level, because their hairs are deadly.
MinuteEarth
Is Bigger Better?
Elephants might be strong, but they are weak compared to ants because ants have certain advantages that allow them to outlift their larger competitors.
SciShow Kids
Can You Guess These Fall Animals with Jessi and Sam? | SciShow Kids Compilation
Jessi and Sam face off to see who can figure out the clues and guess the right animal! ----------
PBS
Did Eating Insects Shrink These Dinos?
We often think of dinosaurs as either preying on other dinos or mammals, or as plant-eaters -- but in ecosystems today, those aren’t the only two options. So why would we expect dinosaurs to have only been carnivores or herbivores, with...
PBS
Why Does Caffeine Exist?
Today, billions of people around the world start their day with caffeine. But how and why did the ability to produce this molecule independently evolve in multiple, distantly-related lineages of flowering plants, again and again?
PBS
When Bats Took Flight
Bats pretty much appear in the fossil record as recognizable, full-on, flying bats. And they show up on all of the continents, except Antarctica, around the same time. So where did bats come from? And which of the many weird features...
PBS
What Happened To Primates In North America?
Early primates not only lived in North America -- our primate family tree actually originated here! So what happened to those early relatives of ours?
PBS
The Reign of the Hell Ants
This ancient species had the same six legs and segmented body that we’d recognize from an ant today. But it also had a huge, scythe-like jaw and a horn coming out of its head. This bizarre predator belonged to a group known as “hell...
PBS
Cordyceps Turned These Ants Into Zombies
This fungus was actually manipulating ants’ movements, forcing them to do something they’d never ordinarily do, something strange, yet specific…
PBS
The Risky Paleo Diets of Our Ancestors
We can track our history of eating just about anything back through the fossil record and see the impact it’s had on our evolution. Throughout time, part of the secret to our success as a species has been our early - and sometimes fatal...