That's Not Rain, That's Super-powered Pee! | Deep Look

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.


DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

The sharpshooter gets all its nutrition from the thin, watery liquid inside a plant, called xylem sap, which it sucks out with this tube-shaped stylet. That sap has so little nutrition that sharpshooters need to guzzle nonstop. Taking all that liquid in presents a problem – how to move it out. The sharpshooter has evolved the perfect tool for the job: an anal stylus -- or butt flicker. Here's something incredible: Each drop of pee actually travels faster than the speed at which the butt flicker launched it. Learn about this incredible creature's super-propulsive pee in this video!

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#deeplook

[mimischiffman]

Hello! I'm Mimi Schiffman, the producer for this episode. Got questions? Leave 'em here! I will do my best to answer them!

[animemusicluver]

"they even do it while doing it" talk about multitasking. They're professionals

[thesuckysix]

I wish Zefrank was here. "But flickers-excuse me; Butt-flickers are fascinatingly complicated pieces of equipment..."

[Tokioka]

Props to the editor for making a DING sound each and every time a droplet of pee was launched 😁👏👏👏

[ComplexityComplex]

Surface tension is no joke at that scale! Thanks Deep Look team for inspiring us to learn more about the miniscule miracles all around us!

[hikingglint]

That *ting* everytime the droplet flicked away is the icing on the cake.

[ariefaditya]

The consistency of that "cling" sound effect

[pathgn]

"That's not rain that's pee"

almost opened my mouth there

[satyaprakash]

They even do it while doing it . Hilarious af.🤣🤣

[mushiginko]

I have now been conditioned to believe that sharpshooters also produce a 'ding' sound every time they flick their pee away

[blardomodica]

This channel is underrated to a point that I really can't explain myself.

[Free_Flowing_Anxiety]

It’s so amazing how animals evolve. This reminds me of Koalas, they starting eating their food cause there wasn’t much competition for something so non-nutritious and poisonous, so it ate it and developed ways to deal with its food. Easier for some animals to evolve around an objectively bad food than fight for a better one.

[TheWhiteScatterbug]

As a bug lover, I love this channel too~ It really is amazing to get such a deep look into those small animals and give them the well-deserved spotlight for all the good they do in our ecosystems~

[dimitriosfotopoulos]

" A wiz at whizzing." The best line I have heard all day.

[danielvo]

The water dropping sounds make them all the more adorable!

[ZKFG]

YES YES YES! A new deeplook video featuring some of my favorite insects!

Thank you for making this video. These lil’ insects are a wonder to watch and learn from.

[LoveyBicki]

“Don’t piss on my boots and tell me it’s raining” came to mind 😂

[phucto]

"Honey, a new Deep Look video just dropped."
"Cool, what is it about this time babe?"
"Pee-shooting bug."
"..."

[sophiafern]

This channel literally brings me so much life. Thank you so much to all the people who work so hard on it! You're all doing incredible work

[taylor]

The 1:31 “-gah!” is delightfully timed