Watch Why Insects Matter: Earth’s Most Essential Species

2023
1 Season

The truth is, our planet belongs to the insects. In 24 captivating lectures beautifully illustrated with graphics, photos, and video footage, Professor Scott Solomon shares his passion for these extraordinary creatures. Why Insects Matter: Earth's Most Essential Species will open your eyes to evolutionary accomplishments you had never even imagined.

Why Insects Matter: Earth’s Most Essential Species is a series that is currently running and has 1 seasons (23 episodes). The series first aired on March 16, 2023.

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Seasons

24. Sharing Planet Earth with Insects

March 16, 2023

What can we learn from this amazing group of animals? Biologists and engineers believe we can learn quite a bit

23. The Disappearing Insects

March 16, 2023

You might already have heard in the popular press about this disturbing trend: researchers have noticed that many insect populations are declining both in number and diversity. Although many animals have been affected by climate change and habitat loss, discover the human activities that have a disproportionate impact on insects

22. Collecting Insects

March 16, 2023

Learn everything you need to know about starting an insect collection and making your own observations about your local environment. Discover how to start a collection of preserved insects using materials you probably already have at home. From nets to aspirators to pitfall traps, you

21. Insects in Art, Literature, and Film

March 16, 2023

Throughout our history, we have experienced admiration for insects and their unique abilities, as well as fear and disgust. Explore how those conflicting emotions have been reflected in our arts, from Aesop

20. Fruit Flies and Other Research Insects

March 16, 2023

Although we tend to think of rats and mice as lab animals, insects

19. Insects as Farmers

March 16, 2023

Although we thought we invented agriculture, insects were using agriculture more than 50 million years before our arrival. Explore the world of the leafcutter ants; they can cut the leaves but not digest them. Instead, they feed the leaves to their fungus garden and eat the fungus, which provides them with a complete source of nutrients.

18. Insect Songs and Sounds

March 16, 2023

Most insects use sound to call for help and to attract a mate. With a variety of ways to produce sound, insects also have a variety of ways to hear. Consider the significance of sound for crickets, katydids, and cicadas, as well as the expansive and complex

17. Insects Adapted to Aquatic Life

March 16, 2023

Few terrestrial organisms can be as comfortable in the water as insects. Look at the unique respiratory physiology and fascinating adaptations that make it possible for them to maintain oxygenation underwater, as well as the adaptations that allow water striders to take advantage of water

16. Insects That Fly

March 16, 2023

Forty million years ago

15. Insect Recyclers

March 16, 2023

Insects play a crucial role as decomposers of dead organic matter, recycling the chemicals and making them available for other organisms. Explore the feats of one of homeowners

14. Insects as Parasites and Parasitoids

March 16, 2023

While some insects are herbivores and others are predators, a third group gets their energy and nutrients as parasites and parasitoids. Grisly though it might sound to us, you

12. Insects as Food for People

March 16, 2023

You might never have eaten beetle larvae, locusts, ants, or termites, but chances are your ancestors did

11. Insects as Food for Animals and Plants

March 16, 2023

So many animals rely on insects for food that most ecosystems would collapse without them. Birds alone consume almost 500 million metric tons of insects every year. Explore the relationship between insectivorous animals and their prey, as well as the 600 species of plants that also get in on the game. Of course, as you

10. Plants That Partner with Insects

March 16, 2023

Explore the many fascinating pairings in the coevolutionary dance between plants and insects. Step by step over millions of years, both insects and plants have developed ways to meet their own needs while increasing their value to their partners. No insects have done this better than the ants.

9. Insect-Borne Disease

March 16, 2023

One of the most profound ways insects have affected people throughout history is by transmitting disease. The worst offender? Definitely the mosquito. Mosquitos can transmit yellow fever, malaria, dengue fever, West Nile virus, Zika virus, and more. Discover the many methods we have used to try to cure this problem, and the many ways in which we

8. Insect Pests

March 16, 2023

While the vast majority of insects pose no threat to humans, there are a few that compete with us for food, destroy our construction materials, and threaten both our natural and cultivated environments. Learn about the best and latest tools we can employ to control those insects, and why developing an understanding of the insect lifecycle is almost always a better investment than pesticides.

7. Insect Herbivores

March 16, 2023

Insects are the most significant herbivores worldwide. Along with the rise of the forests about 300 million years ago, insects evolved the ability to feed on and digest plants. Discover the diversity of strategies these animals have developed to feed on the many parts of plants

6. Pollinators We Cannot Live Without

March 16, 2023

Insect pollinators contribute about $195 billion to the global economy, pollinating approximately 80% of the most important crops worldwide. Explore the complexities of these insects, the many types of pollination they perform, and the coevolutionary dance that continues today between these animals and their plants.

5. Why So Many Beetles?

March 16, 2023

The beetles seem to have it all

4. Insect Behaviors and Communication

March 16, 2023

Reveal what honeybees are really communicating with their waggle dance and why specific dances are used in specific circumstances. From waggle dances to pheromones, insects have developed unique efficiencies in their communication and actions, both at the individual and group level. Scientists have been taking notice

3. Insect Life Cycles and Reproduction

March 16, 2023

Insects have contributed to the human economy since the beginning of our civilization. Consider the humble silkworm moth creating its cocoon from one continuous thread of silk. Discover how this caterpillar creates one of the strongest and most durable materials in nature, and explore the fascinating lifecycle and migration journey of the beautiful monarch butterfly.

2. Insect Bodies and Human History

March 16, 2023

Discover the properties of insects that distinguish them from mammals and all other animals. They all have exoskeletons for strength and protection, six legs to propel their movements, compound eyes, antennae, and even more attributes in common with one another. But within this framework, their astonishing variability has allowed them to live in almost every ecological niche on the planet.

1. Insects Living All around You!

March 16, 2023

There

Description

Where to Watch Why Insects Matter: Earth’s Most Essential Species

Why Insects Matter: Earth’s Most Essential Species is available for streaming on the The Great Courses website, both individual episodes and full seasons. You can also watch Why Insects Matter: Earth’s Most Essential Species on demand at Prime Video and Amazon.