Start / Insects for Fun! / Insects that use tools

Insects that use tools!

10 min • 21 april 2025

This week, we look at insect tool use across different orders and families. There are some really surprising things in this episode, and there are plenty of mentions of insects that have yet to make an appearance on the podcast.

Patreon -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=46499107

IG: https://www.instagram.com/insects4fun/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085443614825

Email: Insectsfordummies@gmail.com

Discord -> https://discord.gg/pDJH3CYcG6

Music from: Kazuya Morita

Senaste avsnitt

Interview with entomologist, artist, and author Barrett Klein (New Book: The Insect Epiphony)

30 oktober 2024 | 68 min

Joro Spiders! (The new spiders on the block)

1 oktober 2024 | 9 min

Spotted Lanternflies! (what we now know)

24 september 2024 | 10 min

Tortoise Beetles!

16 september 2024 | 7 min

Jumping Spiders! (Cutest Spiders?)

11 september 2024 | 8 min

Leaf Miners!

2 september 2024 | 10 min

Trilobites! The prehistoric rolly pollys of the sea.

26 augusti 2024 | 10 min

Carnivorous Plants!

19 augusti 2024 | 12 min

Patreon Episode: A two day delay beetle, ants that make lions lose their game, and more!

5 augusti 2024 | 7 min

Hermit Crabs! (are they actually hermits?)

29 juli 2024 | 11 min

Cherry Shrimps! (Neocaridina davidi)

15 juli 2024 | 7 min

Giant Wood Moths! (Heaviest Moth)

5 juli 2024 | 9 min

Goliath Beetles!

26 juni 2024 | 11 min

Swallowtail Butterflies! (An Overview)

19 juni 2024 | 11 min

Paper Wasps!

11 juni 2024 | 12 min

Urban Entomology! (Insects in the city and more...)

4 juni 2024 | 11 min

Sea Slaters/Wharf Roaches!

28 maj 2024 | 7 min

Millipedes!

21 maj 2024 | 10 min

Centipedes!

14 maj 2024 | 11 min

These skippers skipped the Butterflies 101 lecture (Skipper Butterflies)

7 maj 2024 | 8 min

It's Tony the Tiger Beetle!? (Tiger Beetles)

30 april 2024 | 10 min

Insect culture in Japan and why it's so good!

23 april 2024 | 7 min

We get it, these butterflies are white! (Cabbage White Butterflies)

16 april 2024 | 10 min

Oh yes, Katy did! (Katydids/Bush Crickets)

9 april 2024 | 10 min

Me oh My oh Mayfly! (Mayflies/Shadflies/Fishflies)

1 april 2024 | 12 min

Green Lacewings! aka Aphid Lions

25 mars 2024 | 8 min

Horseshoe Crabs! Wait...they aren't actually crabs?

19 mars 2024 | 10 min

Patreon Episode: Butterfly memories, the decision making of insects, native plants on insect diversity and more!

5 mars 2024 | 8 min

Harvestmen/Daddy Long Legs!

27 februari 2024 | 12 min

Isopods as Pets 101!

19 februari 2024 | 12 min

These cats could send you to the hospital! (Puss Caterpillars)

13 februari 2024 | 10 min

Harlequin Beetles! (Acrocinus longimanus)

5 februari 2024 | 8 min

Compost Companions! (top 3 critters that love eating your leftovers)

29 januari 2024 | 11 min

Nature's Grave Diggers! (Sexton Beetles)

22 januari 2024 | 9 min

Giraffe Weevils!

15 januari 2024 | 8 min

Insects that don’t lay eggs!? (live birthing insects and how they do it)

8 januari 2024 | 10 min

Prehistoric Insects! When they appeared, what they were like and why they’re gone..

1 januari 2024 | 9 min

Christmas Beetles!

18 december 2023 | 9 min

Bed Bugs 101!

12 december 2023 | 14 min

Tarantula Hawks!

4 december 2023 | 8 min

These violins can walk? (Violin Beetles)

27 november 2023 | 9 min

Sea Monkeys! What the heck are they anyway?

20 november 2023 | 11 min

This one’s a stinker! (Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs)

13 november 2023 | 11 min

Are insects Crustaceans? Are Lobsters just Roaches of the sea?

6 november 2023 | 11 min

Insect Horror Stories: 2

3 november 2023 | 10 min

The most misunderstood centipede! (House centipede)

31 oktober 2023 | 8 min

Insect Horror Stories: 1

27 oktober 2023 | 11 min

Why we hate Cockroaches and why it’s justified!

23 oktober 2023 | 16 min

The North American moon moth! (Actias Luna)

16 oktober 2023 | 10 min

Secrets of the sand trap (Antlions)

9 oktober 2023 | 10 min

Natural born divers! (Predacious Diving Beetles)

2 oktober 2023 | 10 min

I can’t believe they’re not wasps! (sesiidae clearwing moths)

25 september 2023 | 10 min

These beetles can blast boiling acid! (Bombardier beetles)

18 september 2023 | 8 min

How do insects smell, taste and hear? Do they feel pain? These questions and more!

11 september 2023 | 11 min

Parasitoids! The rulers of Biological Control

4 september 2023 | 9 min

These wolves are no bark and little bite! (Wolf Spiders)

28 augusti 2023 | 11 min

I can’t believe they aren’t gummies! (Jewel Caterpillars)

21 augusti 2023 | 6 min

These Ants are NOT what they seem... (Velvet Ants)

15 augusti 2023 | 7 min

This is not a Scorpion or a Fly! (Scorpionflies!)

7 augusti 2023 | 7 min

Don’t Kill these Killer Wasps! (Cicada Killers)

31 juli 2023 | 9 min

It’s all about what you do with the doodoo! (Dung Beetles)

24 juli 2023 | 11 min

The Majestic Morpho Dragonfly! (Zenithoptera lanei)

17 juli 2023 | 7 min

Do they actually go in your ears!? (Earwigs)

10 juli 2023 | 9 min

Insects in Medicine! (Entomotherapy)

3 juli 2023 | 9 min

The American born Chinese Mantis! (Tenodera sinensis)

26 juni 2023 | 9 min

The wild world of Velvet Worms!

19 juni 2023 | 11 min

This stick is walking without me! (Australian Spiny Stick Insect)

12 juni 2023 | 8 min

Toe Biters! The beasty bugs of our fresh waters (Giant Water Bugs)

5 juni 2023 | 7 min

Everythin’s Bettah with a Wētā! (Wētās)

29 maj 2023 | 15 min

What a peanut head… wait… that’s actually the name? (Fulgora laternaria)

22 maj 2023 | 8 min

Something is in Deez Nuts! (Acorn Weevils)

15 maj 2023 | 9 min

That’s not Bob... that builder is a... Bee!? (Carpenter Bees)

8 maj 2023 | 8 min

Ahoy Halobates! (Oceanic Water Skaters)

1 maj 2023 | 7 min

The strange relationship between Gossamer Butterflies and Ants

24 april 2023 | 8 min

These moles can fly and swim!? (Mole Crickets)

17 april 2023 | 8 min

The Stars That Fly Among Us! (Fireflies with Guest Speaker: Sarah Lower)

10 april 2023 | 39 min

Special Collaboration with Just Bugs!

3 april 2023 | 66 min

That’s not an owl... right? (Owl Butterflies)

27 mars 2023 | 9 min

The Hickory Horned Devil! (Citheronia regalis)

20 mars 2023 | 10 min

Locusts vs Grasshoppers and a swarm the size of Japan!?

13 mars 2023 | 12 min

The fungus that inspired HBO’s and Naughty Dog’s “The Last of Us”

6 mars 2023 | 9 min

Not your average Bull! (Bull Ants)

27 februari 2023 | 8 min

The Blue Winged Helicopter! (Damselfly)

20 februari 2023 | 8 min

Wait... insects can make webs too!? (Webspinners)

13 februari 2023 | 7 min

The Caterpillar that eats Garbage!? (Greater Wax Worms)

6 februari 2023 | 7 min

Dragonfly or Demonfly?

30 januari 2023 | 8 min

The first domesticated insect and sericulture! (The Silkmoth: Bombyx mori)

23 januari 2023 | 7 min

Hercules! The myth. The legend. The beetle? (Hercules Beetle)

16 januari 2023 | 7 min

The oldest living insects! (Silverfish & Firebrats)

9 januari 2023 | 9 min

The Blue Morpho isn’t actually Blue!? (Blue Morpho Butterflies)

2 januari 2023 | 9 min

Something ACTUALLY lives there!? (Antarctic Midge)

26 december 2022 | 6 min

Human Invaders! (Parasites)

19 december 2022 | 14 min

The ants with no home! (Army Ants)

12 december 2022 | 9 min

Lesser Known Jewels! (Jewel Bugs)

5 december 2022 | 8 min

Fighting Crime with Insects! (Forensic Entomology)

28 november 2022 | 9 min

The Truth behind the Murder Hornet! (Northern Giant Hornets)

21 november 2022 | 8 min

These bugs are spitting on my lawn! (Spittle Bugs)

14 november 2022 | 7 min

Who’s that butterfly!? (Question Mark Butterflies)

7 november 2022 | 8 min

The bug that can’t stop campaigning! (Boxelders)

31 oktober 2022 | 7 min

Interview with The Bug Chicks! (Special Episode)

24 oktober 2022 | 161 min

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a Caterpillar!? (Woolly Bears)

17 oktober 2022 | 9 min

The Falling Monarch (Monarch Butterflies)

10 oktober 2022 | 8 min

All About The Ladies! (Ladybugs)

3 oktober 2022 | 10 min

The Late Bloomer Bug! (Cicadas!)

26 september 2022 | 8 min

The Butterfly of Death!

19 september 2022 | 7 min

Is it a bug or an insect?

12 september 2022 | 7 min

Do we REALLY need bees?

5 september 2022 | 8 min

Insects are our friends AND food!?

5 september 2022 | 7 min

Is it Preying or Praying? Mantises!

5 september 2022 | 10 min

Insects that use tools!

Senaste avsnitt

Are we screwed? (Screwworms)

Tiny Creatures, BIG legends!

Mighty Mites!

Tiny Insect Imposters! (Springtails)

Freshwater Goblins? (Dobsonflies!)

Carnivorous Caterpillars!

Gall Wasps!

Lobster Moths!

Cave Dwelling Insects!

Insects that live in extreme heat!

Insects that use tools!

Rainbow Stag Beetles!

Is it a giant bumblebee or a goddess? (Bombus Dahlbomii)

Underwater Spiders! (Diving Bell Spider)

New Blue Ants and the Medical Techniques of Florida Carpenter Ants!

Mole Crabs!

When you've got lemons in NZ, you probably have "lemon tree borers"

The European Ground Beetle (Carabus coriaceus)

The Dubious Dubia Roach!

Oil Beetles!

The longest legged arthropod! (Japanese spider crabs)

The silkmoth that squeaks! (Rhodinia fugax)

The Devil's Idol Mantis! (Devil's Flower Mantis)

Yellow Crazy Ants!

The fastest land insects have a secret that no other beetles can use!

Interview with entomologist, artist, and author Barrett Klein (New Book: The Insect Epiphony)

Joro Spiders! (The new spiders on the block)

Spotted Lanternflies! (what we now know)

Tortoise Beetles!

Jumping Spiders! (Cutest Spiders?)

Leaf Miners!

Trilobites! The prehistoric rolly pollys of the sea.

Carnivorous Plants!

Patreon Episode: A two day delay beetle, ants that make lions lose their game, and more!

Hermit Crabs! (are they actually hermits?)

Cherry Shrimps! (Neocaridina davidi)

Giant Wood Moths! (Heaviest Moth)

Goliath Beetles!

Swallowtail Butterflies! (An Overview)

Paper Wasps!

Urban Entomology! (Insects in the city and more...)

Sea Slaters/Wharf Roaches!

Millipedes!

Centipedes!

These skippers skipped the Butterflies 101 lecture (Skipper Butterflies)

It's Tony the Tiger Beetle!? (Tiger Beetles)

Insect culture in Japan and why it's so good!

We get it, these butterflies are white! (Cabbage White Butterflies)

Oh yes, Katy did! (Katydids/Bush Crickets)

Me oh My oh Mayfly! (Mayflies/Shadflies/Fishflies)

Green Lacewings! aka Aphid Lions

Horseshoe Crabs! Wait...they aren't actually crabs?

Patreon Episode: Butterfly memories, the decision making of insects, native plants on insect diversity and more!

Harvestmen/Daddy Long Legs!

Isopods as Pets 101!

These cats could send you to the hospital! (Puss Caterpillars)

Harlequin Beetles! (Acrocinus longimanus)

Compost Companions! (top 3 critters that love eating your leftovers)

Nature's Grave Diggers! (Sexton Beetles)

Giraffe Weevils!

Insects that don’t lay eggs!? (live birthing insects and how they do it)

Prehistoric Insects! When they appeared, what they were like and why they’re gone..

Christmas Beetles!

Bed Bugs 101!

Tarantula Hawks!

These violins can walk? (Violin Beetles)

Sea Monkeys! What the heck are they anyway?

This one’s a stinker! (Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs)

Are insects Crustaceans? Are Lobsters just Roaches of the sea?

Insect Horror Stories: 2

The most misunderstood centipede! (House centipede)

Insect Horror Stories: 1

Why we hate Cockroaches and why it’s justified!

The North American moon moth! (Actias Luna)

Secrets of the sand trap (Antlions)

Natural born divers! (Predacious Diving Beetles)

I can’t believe they’re not wasps! (sesiidae clearwing moths)

These beetles can blast boiling acid! (Bombardier beetles)