Praying Mantis & More! 15 Insects Flying in Slow Motion

15 insect species filmed at 6,000 fps taking flight!

In order of appearance:
00:00 - Carolina mantis
00:46 - mantisfly (Mantispidae)
01:13 - dusty wing (Coniopterygidae)
02:02 - weevils
03:22 - ambrosia beetle
04:31 - pleasing fungus beetle
05:00 - carrion beetle
05:57 - fire-coloured beetle
06:28 - net-winged beetle
07:00 - hover fly & tiger bee fly
08:03 - alderfly

Not all of the playback of these 6,000fps captures is at a consistent 30fps. The playback of some scenes are sped up to better fit the edit of the video. The alderfly clip at the end was captured at 3,200fps

Here are the 4 other insect flight videos on this channel:

[BryanLee]

OMG. Weevils doing three-point stances and raising a front leg every takeoff is so awesome. They're doing little Black Widow superhero poses! :D

[admiralcat]

I like how almost all insects look poorly aerodynamic yet they are the most successful flying animals.

[andrewbresnan]

That net winged beetle faceplanting in slow motion is one of the funniest and simultaneously cutest things I've seen in a long time

[mack_solo]

Hope Pixar animators are watching this. The weevil's sequential procedure and a tripod stance prior to flight is a comedy waiting to be explored :D
Also, thank you for your efforts to share the what is mostly invisible world to humans and showing its beauty and drama (any one for landing face first? ;op)

[Reinsnos]

These videos really show how interesting and beautiful the world is. Hopefully someone sees and gain a little more respect for the creatures we share this earth with! Truly amazing 😄

[burgbass]

I think what makes bugs unnerving for a lot of people (aside from their more alien looks obviously) is that they’re usually so quick. But seeing them function at a slower motion like this makes them a lot more understandable and a lot more like many of the usual animals we know

[ludoviajante]

Any day this channel posts makes me very happy. Please continue! My nephew learned to like insects thanks to you.
Much love from Brazil.

[emib.]

They’re all so graceful yet goofy; elegant, yet clumsy

[kaylathehedgehog]

The beetles are definitely some of my favorite take-offs. I just love how their wings unfold like the blade of a pocket knife.

[od]

As a macro photographer, it's amazing to see such small things and see how complex and beautiful they are. These videos help show that that and hopefully people respect insects just a little more when they see how highly sophisticated they are. Great work!

[Sulfuron]

These are all absolutely spectacular! You do such an amazing job capturing these flights. It's one of those super fascinating aspects of life that hardly anyone else bothers to film and post. I find myself marveling even at insects considered pests and a nuisance! I can safely say I was unreasonably excited when I saw your new flight video appear on my feed!

[siulseyer]

I have become a super hero to my five years old grandson Caleb after showing him many of your videos. He is fascinated and makes dozens of questions (an excellent opening to further teaching). Thank you for this truly service to the community.
Howdy from the Great Republic of Texas.

[IanWilkinson]

It's interesting to see the hoverfly's halteres counterbalancing their wing movement. More please ;-)

[jfnuyen]

I guess we can say that insects are incredible works of nature. They are much more complex than most people know, I bet.

[camit]

I just want to say that these videos are invaluable to me. They genuinely bring me down from anxiety attacks. Thank you for this footage and commentary, It's so nice to have bug videos with actual intelligent commentary about the bugs to go along with them. Keep doing what you're doing, I adore this channel!

[thejiggler]

Also it’s so amazing how absolutely perfectly stable the flies were during takeoff compared to literally every other insect and their little halteres waving around visible too so cool

[dolomedestenebrosus]

"And every other video on the internet that mentions it will tell you how to get rid of it. But here, I just wanna show you how amazing it looks when it flies" and thank you so much for that sir! ❤❤❤

[manishtekam]

As someone who wants to research Insect flight and has been reading research papers on their maneuvers, your videos connect that theoretical rigor to the practical movement of insects. Amazing stuff. :-)

[vvvxt]

I LOVE hoverflies so much! They are so curious and friendly! I let them hang out with me whenever I see one

[angelaroberts]

This is so amazing! I forgot until this moment how much I loved watching insects as a child. They're just so impressive!