Up Next
Back to Show
Deep Look
I Simulated Insect Vision and It Got WEIRD
Season 12
Episode 19
In this episode of Big Ideas, Niba explores how insects actually see the world — from the structure of ommatidia to motion detection, ultraviolet color vision, and the evolutionary advantage of seeing faster than we do. From ancient trilobites to modern pollinators, this episode dives into the evolution, physics, and neuroscience behind the most common eye type in the animal kingdom.
Support Provided By
3:57
Sharpshooters have super-propulsive urine using a catapult in their butt.
4:36
Corals create an underwater "snowstorm" by sending tiny white spheres up the water column.
3:58
Ever wonder how those tiny, jumpy flies got onto your bathroom wall?
4:38
Jellyfish clone themselves by morphing into a stack of squirming jellyfish pancakes.
4:28
As temperatures rise, the brown dog tick is more likely to feast on you.
5:46
This fuzzy acorn weevil uses her snout to drill through an acorn's shell.
6:41
Beekeepers and scientists are helping honeybees fight off varroa mites.
5:14
Ladybugs may be the cutest insects around, but they don't start off that way.
3:57
Do cockroaches -- daring, disgusting disease vectors -- have anything at all to offer us?
5:42
Covered in a shiny bubble, the alkali fly scuba dives in California's Mono Lake.
4:58
A “bee fly” is a freeloader that takes advantage of a bindweed turret bee’s hard work.
4:05
The scaled wormsnail cements its shell to a rock and snags its meals using mucus!