Up Next
Back to Show
Deep Look
Sharpshooter Insects are Real Wizzes at Whizzing
Season 11
Episode 3
Sharpshooters survive by guzzling a lot of plant sap. But drinking all of that liquid nutrition presents a problem for these tiny insects: How do they move it all out? Easy. They've perfected a super-propulsive urination technique using a special catapult in their butt.
Support Provided By
Season
3:44
Those rows of orange cluster under a fern leaf are spores waiting to be catapulted away.
5:16
These tiny marine flatworms are smaller than a grain of rice but have amazing abilities!
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.