Insects & Invertebrates
"They act as a temporary living drain, keeping the skin tissue alive..."
We take a look at why leeches are back in fashion...
“It attacks with a short movement, sucking up the prey with an expansion of its tubular snout.” Meet 8 weirdest, bizarrest animals in Hawai'i
From a squid that projects moonlight to hide from predators to a snake that reproduces by cloning itself, Hawai'i's wildlife is stranger than you'd expect
"Its rear end's equipped with 2 tufts of bristles, each shaped like a grappling hook." The butt that's armed with menacing weapons ready to fire
With its unique, Velcro-like bristles that cling to predators, the tiny Porcupine-Velcro Millipede (Polyxenus fasciculatus) is a master of self-defence in the insect world.
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This lethal, hairy assassin has a 7cm leg span and is capable of snatching small fish from the water
The raft spider is one of Britain’s biggest arachnids.
How maggots are able to help solve crimes
Did you know maggots can help solve crime - and even murders? Erica McAlister explains how
What happens when a fly lands on your food? It’s not so much about the fly as where it's been... (poop!)
The time a fly spends stomping around your meal increases the associated health risks, so the natural instinct to swat it away immediately is right on the money.
"Mothers are known to eat their own newborn babies..." 11 gruesome, grisly cannibal animals that feast on their own kind – you won't believe number 3
It may seem gruesome, but many animals have been recorded feeding on their own species. Here are 11 cannibalistic animals, including some that might surprise you.
Biggest scorpion to ever live revealed from 415-million-year-old fossils. It was 1m long and had pincers larger than table knives
These UK fossils have puzzled palaeontologists for more than a century. Now they’ve been re-examined and identified as an ancient scorpion that was larger than a cat
“It carefully measures insect body parts for size, chewing down the ones that don’t fit...” This carnivore decorates its home in bones of its prey
Most caterpillars are herbivorous and spend their lives munching on leaves and vegetation. But not this one – this one is a predator.
“A deeper genetic mystery.” This spider sports a smiley face – and scientists just discovered a new species of it
The happy-face spider was thought to be unique to Hawaii – until now.
“That innocent question hit me like a lightning bolt." Scientist's two-year-old son inspires discovery of new type of worker honeybee
Secrets of the hive unlocked thanks to child’s question.
“Enveloped by the mouth and suffocated inside, 6,000 teeth scraping, rasping and boring into its flesh…”
Hidden away in New Zealand’s forests is a giant snail that eats earthworms like spaghetti.
"The real danger comes when they horrifyingly attach INSIDE your body..."
Leeches are famous for drinking blood – and being used in medicine. But can these slippery little vampires ever be deadly?
"As it lurks behind the trapdoor, a twitch on the trip wire alerts it that something tasty has just walked past..."
The master secret ambush predator, that spend most of their lives hidden beneath the soil, waiting to strike with lightning speed.
"The toady face is the spider’s backside..." Arachnophobes look away now as here are the 10 weirdest spiders in the world
Check out the weirdest spiders in the world, from the curiously-named 'happy-bum spider' to a fearsome species that eats its sexual partner
“Over the next 6 months, it will prey on the defenceless larvae until it’s 100 times its original size.” This undercover carnivore may look harmless – but don’t be fooled
In rare footage captured for the BBC’s Wild Isles, the carnivorous caterpillar uses master trickery to survive.
Researchers went into a 25m-deep tunnel in Greece – and found an unidentified creature clinging to the walls
A new species of cricket has been discovered inside a man-made tunnel on a small island in Greece.
Heatwaves may be leaving a generation infertile – and ruining sex lives
New research suggests that extreme heat can damage the future fertility of solitary bees
It looks just like a twig and flies at night – and now is the time to see it
Meet the extraordinary buff-tip moth – one of nature's greatest mimics.
It looks like a bee, acts like a bee – but this no bee...
Bee-flies are found in gardens and allotments around the British Isles – so you might be lucky enough to spot one engaging in its unusual reproductive behaviour
What's the largest beetle in the world? Clue – it's as long as a toothbrush
Two beetle species are contenders for the accolade of biggest beetle– depending on how you’re measuring.
"This acoustic assault appears to be an effective deterrent to stop it from being eaten by its host and the host from losing its friend with benefits..."
For a long time, biologists were puzzled by the curious appearance and behaviour of the New Zealand bat fly. Now they think they've figured it out. Nick Baker reports...
“The cordyceps erupts from the ant’s head.” Deadly parasitic fungus infiltrates an ant’s body and mind in this BBC Planet Earth clip
In footage captured for BBC’s Planet Earth, an ant is infected by deadly zombie fungus.
"It preys on animals 6 times its size and hides in walls..."
Scientists have discovered a tiny wall-dwelling spider in Colombia – and named it after the iconic band Pink Floyd
