Deep Look

Dragonflies and damselflies may look alike, but these expert hunters have distinct strategies. Dragonflies rule the open skies, while damselflies hover like tiny helicopters through dense vegetation. Each is perfectly adapted to its environment. So, in this game, which player do you choose?

Tiger beetles are lightning-fast hunters, sprinting so quickly they momentarily outrun their own vision. Watch how these tiny but ferocious predators use blistering speed to chase down prey and finish the kill with their oversized, crushing mandibles (lucky for us, they’re not human-sized!).

You know those couples that do everything together? Lovebugs, also known as honeymoon flies, can spend anywhere from a half-hour to a couple of days attached to each other. As the female drags or carries the male from flower to flower, piggyback style, they pollinate cherries, apples and pears.

Do you really know who you’re sharing the beach with? Purple sand dollars gobble bits of metal to stay grounded in turbulent waters. Mole crabs move sand like a conveyor belt. Hardworking bees sculpt tiny sandcastles. Under the moonlight, horseshoe crabs mate by the thousands and bury their eggs. And beach hoppers spend their nights partying and cleaning up while you sleep.

Fire ants bite and sting! They also use their own young to build a terrifying raft during floods. Kidnapper ants steal other ants’ babies. Honeypot ants turn their sisters into living jugs of nectar. And Argentine ants trade bodyguard services for strings of sugary candy.

Once clothes moth larvae start eating your favorite garments, they’re tough to get rid of. Tiny parasitoid wasps are here to help – they lay their eggs inside the moth’s eggs so you can say bye-bye to those smelly mothballs.

The mosquito buzzing that you find annoying and disgusting is irresistible to a male mosquito. He follows the sound of a female mosquito’s beating wings to find a mate. It turns out, male mosquitoes are really good listeners.

In order to mate, a male long-jawed orb weaver spider has to hook his huge jaws into those of a larger female. If he doesn’t get it right, he could become her next meal.

Regal jumping spiders train themselves from childhood to become masterful hunters. From the day they leave mom's silk nest, the tiny spiderlings practice, practice, practice, using some of the best vision in the animal world, athletic leaps, sharp fangs and lethal venom.

While it has a cute snoot, a rice weevil is a stowaway. It sneaks into your pantry as an egg that its mom laid inside a single grain of rice. Once it hatches, it turns your rice into its new home.

As a caterpillar, a grass skipper butterfly is an architect. It builds its home by weaving silk, which the caterpillar uses to fold shut a blade of grass. After growing up inside this “grass taco,” it emerges as a fuzzy butterfly that woos a mate with flirty courtship dances.