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i can't stop filming insects flying in
slow motion
and this is why look at this guy it's an
acorn or nut weevil i found in my front
yard
i mean have you ever seen something as
awkward determined and just as glorious
as this thing taking flight
i think it's incredible
so usually i make a video because i want
to show or explain some interesting bit
of science
well not with this one this is just a
bunch of cool looking insects flying in
slow motion
because why not like the last insect
flight video i made
my only goal with this one was just to
capture insects that probably haven't
been filmed in flight before
so again there's no butterflies or bees
in this but there are 11 different
species representing five different
insect orders so first let's go back to
that weevil and watch when the wings
come out
when they unfold from underneath the
elytra they more than double in length
they're powerful enough to pick the
beetle off the ground when it starts
flapping
this is a smaller broad nose weevil and
its hind wings use a similar folding
pattern
straightening out to expand way beyond
the length of the body
getting off the ground looks similar too
hold the legs out and let the wings
generate the lift
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now this is a katie did unlike the
weebles this insect really eases its
jump when it begins to fly
this one times the first down bead of
the wing to end right when the feet
leave the ground
when it lifts its front wing you can see
how the hind wings are stored folded up
like an accordion
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this particular katie did gets its
common name from this body part here
it's known as a hooked face cone head
katie did
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this is a species the bush did that has
comically long hind legs
head to tail this insect is only 20
millimeters long
but the hind legs measure in at 39.4
millimeters
they use their wings more like a sail
when they take off wing flapping
happened but it was off screen
only once they were well into the air
after jumping
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this katie did with very leaf like four
wings is a lesser angle wing
the interesting part about this footage
is that you can see the tip of one of
its hind wings is damaged
a big chunk was missing when i collected
it but despite the missing bit and a few
tears in the rest of it
it seems to have no problem using the
wings and flying normally
this next little creature and the ones
that follow are bark lice
you can find them hanging out on trunks
of trees sometimes in big groups
where they scavenge on lichen or
whatever else they can find
despite being known as lice they're
harmless at the plants that they live on
and what surprised me the most is how
talented they are at flying
i love how right before they take off
they raise their wings and crouch down
then combine a jump with a wing flap to
get into the air
of all the insects i filmed i never
would have guessed that bark lights
would be among the most coordinated
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this last shot of a bark laos starts out
out of focus but when it comes in
it's amazing to see it in a near hover
flexing its yellow and black striped
abdomen up and down with every wing beat
okay now this is a fly you can tell by
the club-like structures beating up and
down behind the front wing
those are called hall tears and are hind
wings that have been modified into
gyroscope-like sensory structures
this is something called a march fly and
its flight is way different from that of
a stereotypical fly
when i think of a flying flight i think
of something like this
an insect with extremely fast wing beats
and something that's a sleek
compact flying machine march flies
are not that
their wing beats are relatively slow and
their legs are everywhere
they kind of tip and wobble when they
lift off the ground
they're the type of insect you can just
reach for and pluck out of the air when
it flies
by despite being awkward flyers i think
they're really nice looking insects
though
if they seem familiar you might know
their taxing on the cousin the love bug
which is a different genus of march fly
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i saved the coolest looking insect for
last a spined or crowned assassin bug
named after the intimidating set of
spikes on the top of its head
these things fly in a way that totally
suits an insect that makes a living
impaling and liquefying the guts of
other insects
the front legs which are thickened and
spiked are used to grab
and hold on to prey in flight they're
held out in front of the body
like the bug is flying to pounce on the
next victim
they just seem methodical compared to
the rest of the insects in this video
there's no jumping no wobbling just up
and off
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so if you like this video you should
definitely check out the first insect
flight video i put out a few months ago
there are another eight different insect
orders in that one
honestly i think i could make one of
these every few months or so with a
different set of insects
there are just so many out there to film
so thanks for watching this one and be
sure to subscribe so you don't miss the
next one
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you