Ant LabA behind the scenes look at how the ultra-fast strikes of larval mantis shrimp are filmed and studied! Dr. Jacob Harrison took me to the Patek Lab at Duke University to show me how he does his research on these ocean predators and share with me some of what he's discovered.
Baby Mantis Shrimp Strikes Captured in Slow MotionAnt Lab2022-07-01 | A behind the scenes look at how the ultra-fast strikes of larval mantis shrimp are filmed and studied! Dr. Jacob Harrison took me to the Patek Lab at Duke University to show me how he does his research on these ocean predators and share with me some of what he's discovered.
Read more about Prof. S.N. Patek's lab and research here: https://pateklab.biology.duke.edu/
Read more about Prof. Megan Porter's research here: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/biology/people/megan-porter
Peacock mantis shrimp footage via CC Flickr: flickr.com/photos/jphotos Music licensed from soundofpicture.comGreen June beetles in flight! #science #insectsAnt Lab2024-09-24 | Filmed in the lab at 6,000 frames per second by Nicolás GalvezThe fastest back flip on earth! Globular springtailsAnt Lab2024-08-29 | ...Springtails do the fastest backflip on earth!Ant Lab2024-08-29 | I published new research describing how globular springtails jump! This video summarizes some of that work and shows all of the ways we filmed and visualized all the components of their jumps. The globular species we researched is Dicyrtomina minuta.
Here are the peer-reviewed research papers that are featured in this video:
Smith AA, Harrison JS. 2024 Jumping performance and behavior of the globular springtail Dicyrtomina minuta. Integrative Organismal Biology. doi: 10.1093/iob/obae029
Oliveira FGL, Smith AA. 2024. A morphofunctional study of the jumping apparatus in globular springtails. Arthropod Structure and Development. 79: 101333. doi: 10.1016/j.asd.2024.101333
If some of this video seems familiar, it is! I've been putting out springtail videos as these research projects have been happening in the lab. Here are the older springtail videos, some of which have shown this species and parts of the research before: youtu.be/HL5tLTkxuOI youtu.be/MXeSnWY6DNc youtu.be/Qu01EUeE5PM
00:00 - What's a springtail? 01:52 - takeoff 03:24 - trajectory 04:41 - landing 05:52 - gee whiz, these things are cool
music licensed from soundofpicture.comInsect flipbooks!Ant Lab2024-08-10 | 3 books featuring insects in flight! Available now for preorder via kickstarter or through our museum (NC museum of natural sciences) gift shop!Tiger beetles do everything fast! #insects #insectbehaviorAnt Lab2024-07-25 | ...Beetles living in an ant nest! #ants #insectsAnt Lab2024-07-16 | ...Water scavenger beetle - swimming + flying!Ant Lab2024-07-09 | ...Scarab beetles in flight! #insects #entomology #scienceAnt Lab2024-07-03 | 3 species of scarab beetles captured at 6,000 fpsBeetles in Flight with Joe PeraAnt Lab2024-06-30 | 12 species across 10 families, narrated by Joe Pera!
Check out Joe Pera on YouTube (links below). Also, have you seen his show "Joe Pera Talks with You"? It's one of the best TV shows ever. Seriously.
Taxonomic info Grapevine beetle - Pelidnota punctata Oriental beetle - Anomala orientalis Japanese beetle - Popillia japonica Water scavenger beetle – family Hydrophilidae Picnic beetle – Glischrochilus fasciatus Jewel beetle – Dicerca obscura (probably) Tumbling flower beetle – family Mordellidae Punctured Tiger Beetle - Cicindelidia punctulate Clay-colored leaf beetle - Anomoea laticlavia Two-lined leather-wing (soldier beetle) – Atalantycha bilineata Flat oak borer (longhorn beetle) – Smodicum cucujiforme Checkered beetle – family Cleridae
Still images from Matt Bertone and Nicolás Galvez Tumbling flower beetle SEM image from: Rueter, M. (1995). Studies on the functional morphology of the jump in tumbling flower beetles (Coleoptera, Mordellidae). Acta Biologica Bendrodis 7, 99-133.
Music licensed from soundofpicture.comFirefly - Lightning Bug in Slow Motion! #science #insectsAnt Lab2024-06-25 | The common eastern firefly filmed in-flight at 3,200 frames per second!Fleas - eggs, larvae, and adults! #science #insectsAnt Lab2024-06-05 | The life stages and movement strategies of cat fleasIve never seen a FLEA move like this!Ant Lab2024-05-02 | I filmed and studied larval locomotion of the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis), as well as some slow-motion (6k-20k fps) jumps of the adults too! Plus, there's some cool (gross?) footage I managed to capture of cat flea larvae hatching from eggs in here too.
00:00 - why am i filming fleas?! 00:41 - fleas jumping in slomo 01:59 - you can order fleas?! 02:40 - flea eggs hatching! 03:21 - larval locomotion research 04:56 - SEMs of larval fleas 05:39 - how fast do larval fleas go? 06:29 - larval fleas in carpet 06:47 - end, bonus footageInsect Flight as ART! Entomographies w/Xavi BouAnt Lab2024-03-29 | ...The most scientifically-famous moth! #entomology #mothsAnt Lab2024-02-15 | The story of the peppered moth (Biston betularia), seen here in flight, is one of our earliest observed examples of natural selection in action!North Americas biggest moth! #entomology #mothsAnt Lab2024-02-04 | Cecropia moth filmed in action, at 6,000 fps!Cecropia Moth + 9 Moths in Slow Motion!Ant Lab2024-02-02 | 9 moths species + 1 caddisfly captured in slow motion flight! All of these insects were filmed at 6,000fps and what you are seeing is being played back at 30fps.
00:00 - Cecropia moth, Hyalophora cecropia - family Saturniidae 01:25 - Plume moth – family Pterophoridae 02:13 - Red-bordered Emerald, Nemoria lixaria – family Geometridae 02:57 - One-spotted Variant, Hypagyrtis unipunctata - family Geometridae 03:31 - Pepper & Salt Geometer or Peppered moth, Biston betularia - family Geometridae 04:47 - Ailanthus Webworm Moth, Atteva aurea - family Attevidae 05:28 - Black-dotted Spragueia Moth, Spragueia onagrus - family Noctuidae 05:52 - The Hebrew, Polygrammate hebraeicum - family Noctuidae 06:17 - White Miller Caddisfly, Nectopsyche sp. - order Trichoptera (not a moth) 06:43 - Arched Hooktip, Drepana arcuata – family Drepanidae
Still image credits: Cecropia moth caterpillar – Michael Hodge CC BY Geometrid inchworm – Dr. Matt Bertone Flickr (used with permission) Peppered moth (white) – Tim Alps Flickr CC BY Peppered moth (melanic) – Ben Sale Flickr CC BY Peppered moth (melanic) - Jerzy Strzelecki Wikimedia CC BY The Hebrew - Dr. Matt Bertone Flickr (used with permission) Arched Hooktip - Dr. Matt Bertone Flickr (used with permission) Matt Bertone’s Flickr: flickr.com/photos/76790273@N07
Recommended reading for more about natural selection of the peppered moth: Cook L. M., Grant B. S., Saccheri I. J. and Mallet J. 2012. Selective bird predation on the peppered moth: the last experiment of Michael Majerus. Biology Letters 8: 609–612. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2011.1136
Music licensed from soundofpicture.comThis rove beetle uses a sticky harpoon! #insects #insectadventures #bug #animals #natureAnt Lab2023-12-13 | Stenus rove beetles have a mouthpart that works like a sticky harpoon! They mostly use it to hunt their favorite prey: springtails. I was excited to finally find and film one this past summer!This beetle hunts with a sticky harpoon!Ant Lab2023-12-05 | I finally found and filmed a Stenus beetle! These rove beetles are famous for hunting springtails by using a projectile mouthpart (a modified labium) with sticky pads at the end.
I collected the individual in this video in Crossnore, NC in August of 2023. Long time Ant Lab collaborator Dr. Matt Bertone helped me find it and he took the still images you see of it in this video! follow him on X/Twitter @/Bertonemyia
SEM image of sticky pads is from: Koerner, L., Gorb, S. N., Betz, O. (2012) Adhesive performance of the stick-capture apparatus of rove beetles of the genus Stenus (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae) toward various surfaces. Journal of Insect Physiology 58: 155-163
Image of surface skimming is from: Lang, C., Seifert, K., Dettner, K. (2012) Skimming behaviour and spreading potential of Stenus species and Dianous coerulescens (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae). Naturwissenschaften 99: 937-947
Music licensed from soundofpicture.comMost wasps arent this...Ant Lab2023-11-16 | A bald-faced hornet, an Acrotaphus wasp, an aulacid wasp, and a wood wasp all filmed at 6,000 frames per second.The strangest insect I’ve ever seen!Ant Lab2023-11-03 | ...Wasps emerging from a caterpillar!Ant Lab2023-10-27 | My friend Michelle, a producer @SciNC, brought me a parasitized tobacco hornworm caterpillar. We set out to capture the moment that the parasitic wasps emerge from their host!3 Amazing Flies in Flight!Ant Lab2023-09-25 | Stink fly or cheese fly - Coenomyia ferruginea, 6,000fps Non-biting midge - Family – Chironomidae, Chironomus, 6,000fps Black Onion Fly - Tritoxa flexa, 6,000fpsFilming this changed how I see WASPS!Ant Lab2023-09-13 | Wasps are more amazing than I realized! Flight sequences were all captured by filming at 6,000fps.
Bald-faced hornet – Dolichovespula maculata Braconid wasp – subfamily Braconinae Tobacco Hornworm Parasitoid - Cotesia congregata Sawfly – Macrophya sp. Wood Wasp - Xiphydria maculata Aulacid wasp – Aulacus sp. Ichneumonid wasp 1 – Acrotaphus wiltii Ichneumonid wasp 2 – Trogus sp. Wingless jumping parasitoid - Lelaps argenticoxa
Special thanks to Dr. Matt Bertone for use of his still images and assistance collecting and IDing these species! Check out his photography here: flickr.com/photos/76790273@N07
Thanks also to Michelle Lotker for sharing that parasitized caterpillar, and BugGuide user Skitterbug for uploading those spider pictures with a CC:BY license.
Music licensed from SoundOfPicture.comThe Weirdest Insect Ive Ever Filmed! BAT FLYAnt Lab2023-08-12 | Wow, bat flies are bizarre creatures!
I went out to find one of these extraordinary ectoparasitic insects with my museum colleague, Lisa Gatens (naturalsciences.org/staff/lisa-gatens), as she was trapping and banding bats in the North Carolina's Coastal Plain. The bat fly in this video was collected off of a Southeastern myotis (Myotis austroriparius) bat and is likely the bat fly species Basilia boardmani within the Nycteribiidae family of flies (will update if I get a confirmed species ID).
Music from soundofpicture.com1 wing flap - 10 mothsAnt Lab2023-07-13 | ...Ultra-fast trap-jaw ant strikes!Ant Lab2023-06-22 | ...15 Flies Captured in Flight | Slow Motion!Ant Lab2023-06-13 | Flies are amazingly diverse group of insects! To show off some of that diversity, here are 15 species around where I live in Raleigh, NC flying in slow motion.
Special thanks to Matt Bertone for his still photography and help with specimen identification. Follow him here: twitter.com/Bertonemyia
Music by soundofpicture.comHow click beetles work - small-eyed click beetleAnt Lab2023-05-22 | small-eyed or blind click beetle jumping in slow motionRare Ants Discovered in the Tree Canopy!Ant Lab2023-05-15 | I went out in the field with ant biologist Michelle Kirchner to see how she studies ants in the tree canopy and learn about the science that she does. I love making these types of researcher profile videos! Soon, her work describing the re-discovery of Aphaenogaster mariae living in the temperate forest tree canopies in North Carolina will be out in-print.
Music by soundofpictureMantis vs cockroach - slow motion strikes!Ant Lab2023-03-22 | ...Jumping plant lice are amazing!Ant Lab2023-03-06 | ...Leafcutter ants vs a rose - timelapseAnt Lab2023-03-02 | ...Springtails Secret Trick For Jumping On WaterAnt Lab2023-03-02 | New research found that semi-aquatic springtails use their ventral tube or collophore to hold a droplet of water during their spring-loaded jumps. This droplet aids in their mid-air positioning and landing, sticking them back to the water surface.
Check out the original research paper here: doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2211283119 https://research.gatech.edu/secret-skillful-skydiving-wingless-springtails
Thanks to the Bhamla Lab at Georgia Tech: https://bhamla.gatech.edu/ and to the first author of this research Dr. Victor Ortega-Jimenez at University of Maine: https://sbe.umaine.edu/victor-ortega-jimenez/
Music by SoundofPicture.comSnapping shrimp, aka “pistol shrimp” launching cavitation bubblesAnt Lab2023-02-17 | ...Antlion transformation into a winged insect!Ant Lab2023-01-28 | ...Antlions - amazing insect predatorsAnt Lab2023-01-19 | Some insects, like antlions, have all the fun while still in their larval stage. You can find the long-form video of this on the channel, you just have to dig a little as it is from back in 2018!Polyphemus moth - the best backyard moth?Ant Lab2023-01-13 | ...How ant stingers workAnt Lab2023-01-06 | An up-close look at the venom delivery system of ants.Your new favorite ant?Ant Lab2023-01-04 | ...Fire ant bite and sting up-close!Ant Lab2023-01-03 | Here's what it looks like, up-close and in slow-motion, when an ant bites and stings you!Earwigs in flight!Ant Lab2022-12-30 | ...Mealworm Beetle TimelapseAnt Lab2022-12-29 | ...How Leafcutter Ants WorkAnt Lab2022-12-28 | ...Amazing Earwig Wings in Action!Ant Lab2022-12-02 | Earwigs and 10 other insect species captured flying in slow motion at 6,000 frames per second.
Diagram of earwig wing folding is modified from: Haas, Gorb, & Wootton. 2000. Elastic joints in dermapteran hind wings: materials and wing folding. Arthropod Structure & Development, 29: 2, 137-146.
Music licensed from soundofpicture.comMillipede hunting w/ Dr. Derek Hennen, millipede expert!Ant Lab2022-10-14 | Go in the field and behind-the-scenes at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences for an up-close look at millipedes with a millipede expert, Dr. Derek Hennen!
Photo of Dr. Rowland Shelly by Melissa McGaw from the article “Dr. Millipede” which was published in Wildlfie in North Carolina, May 1996 issue.
Music licensed from soundofpicture.comMoths & Beetles in Flight! 6k fpsAnt Lab2022-08-24 | 12 species of moths & beetles filmed in-flight at 6,000 frames per second! Playback rate on these sequences is varied throughout the video.
Music licensed from soundofpicture.comSnapping Shrimp Attacks at 11,000 fps - CAVITATION BUBBLES!Ant Lab2022-08-03 | Slow motion sequences of snapping shrimp and mantis shrimp strikes that produce cavitation bubbles. All slow motion sequences captured at 10,863. Playback frame rates of those sequences are varied throughout this video.
Featured snapping shrimp species: Alpheus heterochaelis Featured mantis shrimp species: Gonodactylaceus falcatus
These organisms were filmed in the Patek Lab at Duke University. Read more about their research here and connect with them here: https://pateklab.biology.duke.edu/ twitter.com/patek_lab
Music licensed from soundofpicture.comTimelapses of Cockroach Egg Cases Hatching!Ant Lab2022-06-02 | I captured up-close macro timelapse sequences of cockroach egg cases hatching and roach nymphs emerging! I think it's both amazing and squirm-inducing footage! Featured here are an American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) and a German cockroach (Blattella germanica).
Check out the other Ant Lab cockroach video, about how adult roaches jump here: youtu.be/bnPWU-mqGL8
Thanks to Prof. Coby Schal & Rick Rick Santangelo for supplying the roaches! Thanks to Nicolás Galvez for assistance on this project.
Music licensed from soundofpicture.comThe Extremely Fast Animals in Your Yard - SpringtailsAnt Lab2022-05-05 | Collembola (commonly called springtails) are the smallest, fastest, and most common arthropods living in the soil, right in your backyard. I've been working on describing there super-fast jumps, filming them up-close and in ultra slow motion!
The elongate-bodied/slender springtail (family: Entomobryidae) in the beginning and throughout the video is (probably) in the genus Homidia. The globular springtail (family: Dicyrtomidae) is (probably) in the genus Dicyrtomina. But, the specimens need to be evaluated by a taxonomic expert for an accurate species ID.