Insects, spiders and other arthropods by Kimberly Hosey, co-starring her young son David. [more inside]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero on Oct 5, 2009 - 11 comments

Insect Sushi Shoichi Uchiyama makes sushi of a different kind. Academic studies have shown insects are rich in nutrition and many are even more nutritionally balanced than meat or fish... In addition, they grow much faster and require less feed than animals and fish, and leftover vegetables are enough to farm many kinds of bugs. They grow in small spaces and don't compete with human beings over food... Recipes inside. (via Scribal Terror) [more inside]
posted by caddis on Sep 29, 2009 - 91 comments

"The old distinction between mosquito territory and human territory – and the idea that the one can be reclaimed from the other – has collapsed. Now humans come first and mosquitoes follow." How the Asian tiger mosquito left the jungles of Southeast Asia to take over the world, one used tire at a time.
posted by sloweducation on Sep 27, 2009 - 12 comments

Top 10 Disgusting Websites to Share With Friends: Bloody-Disgusting l The Internet Pathology Library for Medical Education and so much more.
posted by nickyskye on Aug 15, 2009 - 29 comments

Handcrafted praying mantis sculptures, in brass and silver.
posted by zamboni on Jul 10, 2009 - 15 comments

Photos of various insects mating.
posted by gman on May 27, 2009 - 21 comments

Brian Valentine takes 3D macro images of flowers and insects. (How do I view them?) He discusses his macro methods here; a more general guide for making your own (not necessarily macro) 3D images can be found here. More 3D goodness at the Flickr Stereophotography (and stereovideography!) pools. Via EMRJKC'94. [more inside]
posted by Upton O'Good on May 6, 2009 - 32 comments

THE BUGS ARE CRAWLING UNDER MY SKIN
posted by baphomet on Mar 4, 2009 - 48 comments

Treehoppers (a flickr set)
posted by dhruva on Jan 12, 2009 - 20 comments

The Hellstrom Chronicle "The film posits a theory any science fiction buff would glom onto in a second—that dominion over the world will come down to a battle between two classes of Kingdom Animalia, Man and insects, and that insects will win." Watch on youtube, 11 parts.
posted by dhruva on Dec 29, 2008 - 35 comments

The Insect Close-ups Flickr Pool is full of fascinating pictures. There are all kinds of wonderful images to be found, of spiders, ladybugs, hornets, aphids, grasshoppers, worms, water striders and those superstars of the insect world, bees and butterflies. You can also search a map for pictures by location. If you want to take your own bug photographer Mark Plonsky has written a short how-to guide. He has taken some pretty great photographs of insects himself.
posted by Kattullus on Nov 21, 2008 - 14 comments

Up close and personal with insects.
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Oct 26, 2008 - 19 comments

Cornelia Hesse-Honegger paints watercolours of mutated insects from radioactively contaminated areas in Ukraine, Switzerland, the United States, and Europe. She has recently published a scientific article incorporating these paintings (5 MB PDF). site also available in German
posted by Rumple on Oct 1, 2008 - 26 comments

Busy Bugs: Termite Mounds vs. the Burj Dubai Tower.
posted by homunculus on Sep 30, 2008 - 34 comments

Violent death in the insect world - grisly yet compelling macro photographs of bug-against-bug carnage.
posted by madamjujujive on Sep 8, 2008 - 23 comments

Who is this Belgian man "fotoopa"? A nerd's nerd (and I say that with extreme admiration). Photopainting, Macro photography, 2004: Let's start with the simple stuff, moths (mostly at rest). Now, can you think of anything more difficult to photograph than insects in flight? 2005, 2006 (the 2006 equipment), 2008 (2008 equipment & more equipment). Images of the man working with the equipment. His Flickr photostream and new YouTube channel bears watching. (Previously)
posted by spock on Jul 24, 2008 - 13 comments

Paul Nylander's home page is garish and busy, but full of interesting tidbits about fractals, insects, physics, and other things.
posted by owhydididoit on May 29, 2008 - 16 comments

The day has a thousand eyes, as well.... (via)
posted by Kronos_to_Earth on May 27, 2008 - 10 comments

“They’re the ant of all ants...and are moving about half a mile a year.” Crazy Raspberry Ants! (And you might want to check your computer....)
posted by Kronos_to_Earth on May 16, 2008 - 57 comments

Green Porno, Sundance Channel's new series of short films. Isabella Rossellini singlehandedly re-enacts mating rituals of the dragonfly, spider, bee, praying mantis, worm, snail and housefly by getting it on with cardboard cut-outs. Wired video interview.
posted by stbalbach on May 6, 2008 - 67 comments

The 5 Most Horrifying Bugs in the World. In order to get this out of my head, I must share it with you.
posted by monju_bosatsu on Jan 18, 2008 - 125 comments

The trap-jaw ant, best known for its powerful jaws which hold the land speed record for movement at 145 miles per hour, is brilliantly captured in a short film shot at 100,000 frames per second. [more inside]
posted by dhammond on Dec 28, 2007 - 70 comments

Form and Pheromone - truly lovely beetle mosaics and insect art. (via recogedor) Previously: Living Jewels.
posted by madamjujujive on Dec 3, 2007 - 20 comments

An Identification Guide of Japanese Moths Compiled by Everyone. Well, not everyone, but a lot of people and a lot of moths.
posted by Smedleyman on Nov 8, 2007 - 8 comments

A few weird and interesting insects
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Oct 8, 2007 - 19 comments

Artist Tessa Farmer sculpts nightmarish scenes of winged insects being attacked, harnessed & even ripped apart by tiny skeletal faries. Partially found via.
posted by jonson on Aug 29, 2007 - 16 comments

Life beneath Antarctic ice, The Fascinating, Frightening World of Insects, Ingmar Bergman, Turning Points-A timeline of the conflicts, trends and transformations that helped shape modern India, Heatwave in Europe and other photo essays from Time/CNN.
posted by nickyskye on Aug 2, 2007 - 10 comments

Terrifyingly awesome giant robotic beetle. Sadly, only a sculpture... for now...
posted by jonson on May 22, 2007 - 25 comments

All the ads for Hulett Environmental Services have three things in common: bizarre themes, comically low production values, and an all-dwarf cast. For 17 years, diminutive brothers Greg & John Rice have written, produced & starred in a number of insane spots for their pest control company. My personal favorite is this Star Trek themed one, but really they're all pretty awesome.
posted by jonson on May 16, 2007 - 15 comments

32 Edible Insect Foods You Can Buy Online including such delicacies as Roasted Pregnant Crickets, Preserved Bamboo Worms in Salt Water Brine, and Preserved Weaver Ants Eggs. Not safe for insectophobes.
posted by SansPoint on Apr 21, 2007 - 31 comments

Bee eaters and lesser kestrels.
posted by Wolfdog on Mar 3, 2007 - 12 comments

The Insects' Christmas - a 1913 Russian stop-motion film about a Father Christmas ornament come to life who rounds up the insects of the forest and Mr. Frog to celebrate the holiday. This film by Ladislaw Starewicz who also produced The Cameraman's Revenge, a wonderful stop-motion film of of insect infidelity. More on the incredible Ladislaw Starewicz and his films. (warning: insect sex and violence)
posted by madamjujujive on Dec 22, 2006 - 18 comments

Insect Lab. Insects retrofitted with antique watch parts and electronic components.
posted by Lush on Dec 12, 2006 - 30 comments

Do not cuddle with the Giant Amazonian Centipede, no matter how strong the temptation may be. Fully grown they are as long as an adult human's forearm, and gleefully feed on small critters (youtube), going so far as to snag bats out of the air (google video) & devour them on the spot.
posted by jonson on Nov 21, 2006 - 132 comments

The whiskey containing the scorpion is left for several months, which then imparts a unique flavour into the whiskey; it is quite an acquired taste. Tasty pregnant small crickets in salt water brine. Real Cobra Snake whiskey is infused with a real farm raised Cobra snake, ginseng roots and seed pods. All these and more, sold here.
posted by jonson on Oct 10, 2006 - 52 comments

From this collection of framed art made only from the wings of African butterflies to Jan Fabre's beetle shell encrusted sculptures, the centuries-long war between artists their tiny insect enemies continues unabated. But never have I seen a more massive salvo for the artist community than "Terrible Beauty", an installation by Jennifer Angus. Featuring over fifteen thousand insects from the artist's personal collection (!), the exhibit features a series of rooms with textile geometric patterns on the wall created entirely by pinned insects of various forms, hues & sizes. All info on the amazing war between artists & insects found via the amazing Museum of Dust
posted by jonson on Aug 27, 2006 - 7 comments

Parts of Sweden are overrun by caterpillars. Interesting photos of a caterpillar swarm, with pictures of trees, buildings and bicycles completely cocooned-over with visually stunning (if icky) results. Swarms aren't that unusual, but the term is more habitually used with flying insects like bees and locusts. Soon enough humans might be joining in the fun too, albeit via surrogates.
posted by clevershark on Aug 4, 2006 - 45 comments

EEEK! (YouTube) [more]
posted by madamjujujive on Jul 31, 2006 - 79 comments

Aweseome, but brief Russian photo gallery of macro (mostly) insect (with a little frog thrown in for good measure) photography.
posted by jonson on Jun 24, 2006 - 29 comments

Sometimes mistakenly called "locusts", American cicadas come in a wide variety of colors, and make different and distinctive sounds. Some highlights: Diceroprocta viridifascia, Neocicada hieroglyphica, Tibicen marginalis, Tibicen pruinosa, Magicicada septendecim.
posted by interrobang on Jun 20, 2006 - 19 comments

Nature is so fucking horrible.
posted by jonson on Jun 4, 2006 - 79 comments

Walking on Water: How Water Striders and Meniscus climbing insects use surface tension to walk on water.
posted by dhruva on May 31, 2006 - 16 comments

Meet punk, Don, Kawaii, Satan's Little Helper, and the incredibly colorful cast of characters that populate photographer Igor Siwanowicz's world. (via Mira y Calla)
posted by madamjujujive on Apr 4, 2006 - 19 comments

Nature's Control: Hired Thugs Bugs to police your garden. "If desired, you can keep ladybug adults from flying by "gluing" their wings shut, temporarily, with a sugar-water solution. Half water and half sugared pop (Coke, Pepsi, etc.), in a spray bottle, works fine."
posted by Gator on Feb 21, 2006 - 13 comments

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly, specialization is for insects."

Robert A. Heinlein, "Time Enough For Love"
posted by sourbrew on Jan 28, 2006 - 89 comments

ladybird beetles behaving badly. When they have consumed all the resources they devour the competition. sigh.
posted by longsleeves on Dec 29, 2005 - 15 comments

Mating Leopard Slugs entwine - one of the untold wonders of the animal kingdom captured on video.... The BBC gets up close and personal with Life in the Undergrowth in their new wildlife documentary. A must see for any animal, insect or David Attenborough fan... (If the main vid link doesn't work for you try it from here - realplayer needed)
posted by 0bvious on Nov 23, 2005 - 32 comments

The University of Florida Book of Insect Records names insect champions and documents their achievements. Eg. Largest blood meal.
posted by dhruva on Nov 1, 2005 - 9 comments

Electronic Biologia Centrali-Americana is a collaboration between the Smithsonian, Missouri Botanical and Kew Gardens, the British Natural History Museum and various other institutions which has enabled the digitizing of 58 volumes of natural history about central America produced between 1880 and 1920. It includes descriptions of more than 50,000 species with images of more than 18,000 birds, more birds, snakes, turtles, centipedes, spiders, more spiders, plants, mollusks, more plants, butterflies, orthoptera insects, more butterflies and their family's (moth-like) families, mammals and even some historic maps of the region. There is a parallel project attempting to provide access to much more scientific data and specimens between these institutions. Note: 'next' button at top +/- bottom of these large thumb pages; large high resolution jpegs work (in most cases) but zoom and .pdfiles are not yet enabled. I've only just scratched the surface.
posted by peacay on Sep 26, 2005 - 9 comments

Singing Insects of North America Most of us have heard these little fellas performing their serenades of a summer evening. Some of their songs have a sort of lilting syncopation, others sound more like heavy metal of the industrial revolution variety. (.wav files) Check out the greatest hits list. Some are pretty. Some are ugly. Some are pretty ugly Some are bona fide coneheads. Anyway, there are lots of them to check out! (Related Mefi links here and here.)
posted by trip and a half on Aug 21, 2005 - 9 comments