Bugs are one of nature's wonders. These insect-obsessed speakers talks about how ants form societies, how bees pollinate flowers, and how termites can be quite ... tasty.

Have you confused a bee with a wasp, or an ant with a termite? Are all bugs the same to you? Zoologist Melinda Babits aims to change your mind. Babits' insightful research on insect behavior suggests that bugs are creatures with distinct personalities — and that studying their conduct might teach us a thing or two about human interaction.

Marcel Dicke wants us to reconsider our relationship with insects, promoting bugs as a tasty -- and ecologically sound -- alternative to meat in an increasingly hungry world.

In this enlightening, funny talk, Marlene Zuk shares just some of the ways that insects are truly astonishing -- and not least for the creative ways they have sex.

Marcel Dicke makes an appetizing case for adding insects to everyone's diet. His message to squeamish chefs and foodies: delicacies like locusts and caterpillars compete with meat in flavor, nutrition and eco-friendliness.

With his "Microsculpture" series, Levon Biss photographs the incredible details of insects.

There are nearly a million known insect species in the world, but most have one of just five common types of mouthparts. Why is this information useful to scientists? Anika Hazra explains how the features of an insect's mouthparts can help identify which order it belongs to, while also providing clues about how it evolved and what it feeds on.

Photographer Levon Biss was looking for a new, extraordinary subject when one afternoon he and his young son popped a ground beetle under a microscope and discovered the wondrous world of insects. Applying his knowledge of photography to subjects just five millimeters long, Biss created a process for shooting insects in unbelievable microscopic ...

In this visually dazzling talk, Jonathan Drori shows the extraordinary ways flowering plants -- over a quarter million species -- have evolved to attract insects to spread their pollen: growing 'landing-strips' to guide the insects in, shining in ultraviolet, building elaborate traps, and even mimicking other insects in heat.

Marcus Byrne is fascinated by the way insects, particularly the intrepid dung beetle, have hardwired solutions to the challenges posed by their environments. Could they help humans solve problems?

Marlene Zuk studies insect behavior -- and how humans use animal behavior to think about how we behave ourselves.

Nearly 28,000 species of orchid grow all around the world, bearing every imaginable color, shape and pattern. There's a cunning purpose behind these elaborate displays: many orchids trick insects into pollinating, sometimes even into having sex with them. How do they deploy these deceptive tactics? Anne Gaskett dives into the surprisingly comple...

Evolutionary ecologist Sara Lewis digs deep into firefly mating rituals to uncover a world of secret languages and strange gifts in these silent sparks.

Some time ago, the yellow crazy ant was accidentally brought to Australia's Christmas Island. These ants, known for their predatory behavior, can kill organisms over 500 times their size. In this fascinating talk, find out how Dr. Kirsti Abbott and her team are studying these insects and working on ways to re-balance the Christmas Island ecosystem.

Most people are irritated by the buzzing of a fly's wings. But biologist Michael Dickinson views the sound with a deep sense of wonder.

Marla Spivak researches bees’ behavior and biology in an effort to preserve this threatened, but ecologically essential, insect.

Zoom in -- way, way in -- to look at the world from speck's-eye view. Learn about very tiny insects, the world at the nanoscale, and sculptures so small it's best to hold your breath while viewing.

Dragonflies can catch prey with near perfect accuracy, the best among all predators. But how does something with so few neurons achieve such prowess? Our intrepid neuroscientists explore how a dragonfly unerringly locks onto its preys and captures it within milliseconds using just sensors and a fake fly.

Shimon Steinberg's biotech lab researches ways to harness the natural benefits of insects on a massive scale.

Ecologist Deborah Gordon studies ants wherever she can find them -- in the desert, in the tropics, in her kitchen ... In this fascinating talk, she explains her obsession with insects most of us would happily swat away without a second thought. She argues that ant life provides a useful model for learning about many other topics, including disea...

Jaap de Roode studies the ecology and evolution of parasites, focusing on those that attack the monarch butterfly.

Poop, parasites, dead duck sex, eating bugs, and many more impolite -- but fascinating -- topics. These talks are for the non-squeamish.

What do we really know about mosquitoes? Fredros Okumu catches and studies these disease-carrying insects for a living -- with the hope of crashing their populations. Join Okumu for a tour of the frontlines of mosquito research, as he details some of the unconventional methods his team at the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania have developed t...

Ed Yong blogs with a mission: to ignite excitement for science in everyone, regardless of their education or background.

Can the mind be manipulated to love a food we loathe? The evidence from fruit flies is compelling, and perhaps surprising. Our tag team of neuroscientists attempts to change a fly's preference for fruit over vegetables simply by shining a light on their brain.

Logistics expert Katie Francfort invites us to dream of finding solutions in unexpected places. In this thought experiment, she imagines: What if mosquitoes could have a role to play in the supply chain of vaccine delivery? She uses this far-fetched idea to inspire us to think boldly on other problems we're facing -- and how the problem might be...

Through his lab at the California Institute of Technology, David Anderson seeks to find the neural underpinnings of emotions like fear, anxiety and anger.

Charles Anderson studies marine life in the Maldives, a nation of coral atolls in the Indian ocean.

Amy O'Toole is a 12-year-old student who helped run a science experiment inspired by Beau Lotto's participative science approach. At age 10 she became one of the youngest people ever to publish a peer-reviewed science paper.

Biotech entrepreneur Hadyn Parry leads a science start-up that develops GM insects to fight dengue fever.