the Insect Insights
Chill insect stories to relax, and wonder
The Insect Insights is a short-form scientific podcast. Its aim is to tell short and simple stories about arthropods, mostly terrestrial, mostly insects, to make them a bit more familiar to you. The stories are always told using the second person, so you can feel like you are actually living them. Hop on for a meditative journey into entomology!
You can find it on most podcast platforms, and here is the RSS feed link.
Some more info
I edit the podcast using Ardour, a free/libre DAW software. I build the acoustic atmospheres using free use samples from https://www.musicscreen.be/, recordings from INaturalist users, and personal recordings. The INaturalist credits can be found on the episode pages, and you can find some of the soundscapes I built here. My voice is recorded at Agentur Sisigrant.
If you want to support the podcast, you can make donations on my ko-fi page! For insect questions, or general questions about the podcast, drop me an email at mail[at]maxaubrydotcom.
The episodes
You can also find all the episodes' scripts and sources below:
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The alkali fly, a specialised swimmer
The story of a salty dive.
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Aphelocheirus, a longlasting diver
The story of a well-equipped swimmer.
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The wrong caterpillar, an unlucky victim
The story of a mistake that left a trace.
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The Strepsipteran larva, a treasure of miniaturization
The story of an animal at the apex of smallness.
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The silverfish, a picky eater
The story of a diet choice.
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Solenopsis, a little thief
The story of a band of minute thieves.
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The leafminer, a minute moth
The story of a hacker in a leaf.
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Colobopsis, an explosive ant
The story of an unexpected encounter.
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Volucella, a fly living among wasps
The story of a guest in a wasp nest.
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Erigone, a miniature flying spider
The story of an aerial journey.
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Acropyga & pet, a matriarch duo
The story of a partnership between ant and mealy bug.
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Myrmeleon, a hidden foe
The story of a battle in the sand.
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Tyrannomyrmex, a captive ant
The story of an ant in an unusual setting.
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The angel insect, and its exceptional wings
The story of a delicious mating.
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Ant larva, an immobile worker
The story of a industrious little baby.
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Podagrion, a passe-muraille wasp
The story of wasp breaking in a fortress.
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The Rusty Tussock moth, a task splitter
The story of a caterpillar at a morphological crossroad.
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Rhynocoris, an assassin with a multitool
The story of a bug with a versatile venom.
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Extatosoma, an early runner
The story of a young spiny leaf insect on an escape trajectory.
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Teleopsis, a fly with the eyes of a stalker
The story of a fly with several millimeter between its eyes.
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Staphylinidae, a family of crafty beetles
The story of a beetle with its wings neatly packed.
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Meloe, an explorer of possiblities
The story of a larva trying new things.
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Winter special! The snow dwellers
The story of insects who defy the cold.
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The vulture bee, a carrion enjoyer and her iron belly
The story of a bee who went through a major diet switch.
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Eristalis tenax, a crafty maggot
The story of a larva breathing through its elongated butt.
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Xenos vesparum, a twisted parasite
The story of a clever parasite in a wasp butt.
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Nicrophorus, a beetle hiding its treasure
The story of a beetle and its microbial friends.
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Austrospirachtha, a double-agent
The story of a sneaky beetle with a special rear end.
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Pisaura, a generous spider
The story of a male spider preparing his mating.
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Scarabaeus, a navigator in the night
The story of a beetle with an eye for the night sky.
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Ammophila, a caring mother
The story of a solitary wasp looking for a prey.
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Antarctophthirus, a travelling louse
The story of a louse starting its journey on the back of a sea lion.
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Myrmica microrubra, a royal cheater
The story of a queen ant, slightly different from the other queens.
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Sphecodes albilabris, a bee stealing from other bees
The story of a cuckoo bee looking for a host nest.
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Cupido minimus, a territorial butterfly
The story of a female butterfly laying her eggs.
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Tetragnatha, a spider ready to bite for love
The story of a male spider looking for a mate.