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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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...

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

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

Biologist Sara Lewis has spent the past 20 years getting to the bottom of the magic and wonder of fireflies. In this charming talk, she tells us how and why the beetles produce their silent sparks, what happens when two fireflies have sex, and why one group of females is known as the firefly vampire. (It's not pretty.) Find out more astonishing ...

What does the love song of a mosquito sound like? Find out as our intrepid neuroscientists explore the meaning of all that annoying buzzing in your ear.

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

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...

Bees are nature’s tiny workers. These talks examine why they’re crucial to the earth and worth saving.

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

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

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...

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?

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.

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.

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

Some TED speakers are obsessed with one particular animal -- and their joy and passion might just get you obsessed too. You'll meet apes that write! Shrimp that kick! Octopi that disappear!

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

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

Modern psychiatric drugs treat the chemistry of the whole brain, but neurobiologist David Anderson has a more nuanced view of how the brain functions. He shares new research that could lead to targeted psychiatric medications -- that work better and avoid side effects. How's he doing it? For a start, by making a bunch of fruit flies angry.

What's the difference between a pest and a bug? Shimon Steinberg makes the case for using good bugs to fight bad bugs, avoiding chemicals in our quest for perfect produce.

While living and working as a marine biologist in Maldives, Charles Anderson noticed sudden explosions of dragonflies at certain times of year. He explains how he carefully tracked the path of a plain, little dragonfly called the globe skimmer, only to discover that it had the longest migratory journey of any insect in the world.