How Insects Use Tools of Their Own Design to Appear Larger and Louder Than They Really Are

Stefan Chin of SciShow explained how certain insects use tools of their own design to make themselves appear larger, louder, and more deadly than they otherwise may be.

You’ve heard of tool-making crows and chimps. But there’s a whole world of insects, spiders, and bugs that manage to get crafty with the things in their environment. Even some spiders, who use the bodies of other insects as the tools. Here’s a few of the weirdest ways they do it.

Examples include crickets, who use leaves as megaphones, ants who drop rocks on other ants to steal food, assassin bugs who use sticky resin to capture prey, and spiders who use fireflies to lure other fireflies for a yummy meal.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.