TED-Ed
A Simple Way to Tell Insects Apart
Did you know an insect has unique mouthparts based on what and how it eats? This is a simple way to identify the order an insect belongs to. Watch a video that explains the interesting world of insect mouthparts.
The Brain Scoop
Insect Adventure, Part 1
Have you ever wondered why scientists use rotten chicken liver? The video explains this and more on a Field Museum trip to a prairie. Brain Scoop presents the first part of their insect adventure as part of the playlist on Insects.
The Brain Scoop
Beetles, Mites, Cockroaches Oh My!—Insect Collection Tour
The Field Museum houses 12 million insects. Brain Scoop presents the insect collection at the Field Museum as part of its Insect playlist. From brilliant purple beetles to tiny mites, all the way to giant cockroaches, the organization of...
The Brain Scoop
Insect Adventure, Part 3
After scientists collect insects, what do they do with them? The final Brain Scoop video wraps up an adventure to a field to collect insects. It details how they sort, study, and pin insects for future study. An Insect playlist allows...
The Brain Scoop
Insect Cribs
Which sounds like the worst way to die: being paralyzed until you are eaten or being imprisoned until you are licked to death? Both of these scenarios happen in nature, and a frightening Brain Scoop video explains the details as part of...
The Brain Scoop
Chicago Adventure, Part 8: How to be an Insect
Have you ever seen a wingless fly or a katydid larger than many birds? The eighth part of a series on the Field Museum in Chicago shares both of these unique insects. The resource explains the location and features of some of the...
The Brain Scoop
Insect Adventure, Part 2
Scholars look forward to using the pooter, otherwise known as an aspirator, to collect insects. The video demonstrates how to collect bugs in mesh nets, canvas nets, and in pooters to better study them. The second installment of a...
SciShow
Wasp Nests and Bee Hives
It turns out that wasps and bees have a lot more in common that the word ouch! Junior entomologists explore the similarities and differences between flying, stinging insects with the 136th installment in a 143-part series of science...
PBS
The Age of Giant Insects
The largest arthropod that walked on land measured more than two meters long. An intriguing video looks invertebrates throughout the history of Earth. It explains the drastic differences and why scientists theorize they evolved in this...
Deep Look
These Fighting Fruit Flies Are Superheroes of Brain Science
What can fighting fruit flies tell us about our own brains? Junior geneticists explore the common genes of fruit flies and humans and learn how scientists are using the tiny insects to help study depression, anger, and Alzheimer's...
Crash Course
Biology Before Darwin: Crash Course History of Science #19
When did biology become a proper science? Travel back in time to the evolution of natural history during part 19 in an ongoing History of Science series. Pupils discover early pioneers in the study of plants and animals, the birth of...
The Brain Scoop
Chicago Adventure, Part 7: Octopus Sex
Octopi transfer sperm by a modified arm tip. Other interesting and weird facts about octopus sex in included in an intriguing video. Brain Scoop presents the seventh part of a series on an adventure at the Field Museum as part of its...
The Brain Scoop
Into the Bat Caves of Kenya: Part 2
Field research is dirty work! Join a team of research scientists from the Field Museum in the second installment of a two-part series that is part of a larger playlist exploring mammals. The team continues their search for bats in...
The Brain Scoop
Bullet Ant Venom
Have you ever wondered the best way to milk an ant? An interesting Brain Scoop video explains two ways to do just that as part of their playlist on Insects. It highlights the bullet ant, which has the most intense sting of any insect....
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Termite Activity Enhances Ecosystem Productivity and Stability
Termites in your house? Bad. Termites in your garden ... good? Discover the good side of an insect that often gets a bad rap with an interesting animation. The narrator discusses how termites break down plant material, what the soil...
Deep Look
These Termites Turn Your House into a Palace of Poop
Everyone knows that termites are bad news for the wooden parts of a home. How do they do it, and how can we stop them? Go inside a termite (literally) to discover the scores of bacteria and protists that help make wood taste good. The...
Deep Look
A Real Alien Invasion Is Coming to a Palm Tree Near You
What happens when you plant large numbers of non-native trees in an area? Well, sometimes it attracts the wrong kind of attention! Meet the South American palm weevil, an insect that spends its entire life cycle destroying palm trees....
Be Smart
Orchid Mantis: Looks That Kill
Rather than hunting for food, the orchid mantis entices the prey to come to it. A cool video discusses this type of mimicry as part of a larger biology playlist. The orchid mantis appears like any typical orchid to us, but it stands out...
The Brain Scoop
Camel Spiders: Neither Camels, Nor Spiders
Camel spiders eat live birds by liquefying the birds in their mouths and sucking the meal down their throats. The video presents the facts and myths about these interesting animals as part of a Brain Scoop playlist on Insects and Other...
The Brain Scoop
Romantic Ants
Almost every ant you have ever seen in your life is female. The video, part of an Insect playlist by Brain Scoop, discusses the unique sex lives of ants. It explains the unique anatomy and habits that are conducive to all-female colonies.
The Brain Scoop
Dissecting Ants
Scientists study the gut bacteria in ants to better understand their digestive process. Brain Scoop presents the proper way to dissect ants as part of their Insects playlist. The video shows the steps and explains why each is necessary...
The Brain Scoop
Crystal and Her Water Beetles
Water beetles live underwater their entire lives, getting air from a bubble they carry with them. The video, part of an Insect playlist by Brain Scoop, explains how they breathe and why they are fascinating for evolutionary studies. It...
The Brain Scoop
Millipedes: The First Land Animals
Scientists need help identifying tens of thousands of species of millipedes. The Brain Scoop video, part of an Insects and Invertebrates playlist, discusses the unique features of millipedes. It explains their importance to the...
Nature League
What Are Invertebrates? - Lesson Plan
Insects, and other invertebrates outnumber vertebrates—segmented-legs down! The first in a five-part series of videos from an Invertebrates series introduces these organisms in all their spineless glory. Each invertebrate phyla takes the...