They Beetles and the Natural Context

Insects are everywhere, and most of them hide in plain sight. But when you really stop and take a look, you realize how strange they truly are. But I have to say, in all my years of filming wildlife, some of them are much, much stranger than others. And in this video, I'm counting down the most bizarre insects Brave Wilderness has ever filmed. And the top one, it looks like it crawled straight off the movie set of Jurassic Park. This is Brave Wilderness Wild Files. In the rainforest of Borneo, some of the strangest insects that live there blend in completely to their environment, to the point you wouldn't notice them at all. But then there are others like the beetles

that advertise themselves with bright colors and others with sheer size. But this group announces themselves with antennas so long, they look a whole lot more like medieval battle armor than body parts. And this group of insects is known as the Longhorn Beetle. They're called Longhorn Beetles because they're defined by their antenna that can match and sometimes even exceed the entire length of their bodies. And those super long antenna are not just for decoration. They are sensory powerhouses loaded with receptors that help the beetle detect chemicals in the air, locate their mates, and read their world through scent and vibration.

And what's even more fascinating than their unmistakable longhorns is their life cycle. Longhorn beetle larvas spend months and sometimes years hidden inside trees before the adults ever emerge. So you could call them the sleeping oddities of the forest, but that's not always where you find them. We found this longhorn beetle while exploring an abandoned hotel at the top of a mountain in Borneo. It was quite the unexpected encounter, I must say, but one I will never forget. Check this out. Whoa. What is that? This is a longhorn beetle, but I have never seen or heard of one that looks like this.

He's trying to bite me. Ah. God, Jesus sharp and he's strong. Oh, no, no. Ah. Get off, get off, get off. Ah, ah, it's got me. It's so strong, guys. Ah. You want to see the power of those jaws? Oh my gosh. Locked in. Ow. That is one strong insect. I really had a difficult time managing my fingers around its body and it's all of its spiny parts to not get chad, let alone keeping my fingers away from those bolt cutter-like mandibles that surely would have sliced down all the way to the bone.

These are insects that are built to detect what we cannot see. As cool as they are, they read their environment through chemistry and motion. But the next bizarre insect on this list doesn't rely on sensing the forest at all. It survives by becoming the forest, turning its camouflage into an art form so convincing you could be staring right at it and never see it at all. In the forest of Ecuador, the canopy is packed with exotic animals that survive by hiding in plain sight, especially once the sun goes down and the jungle turns into a living soundscape. When nearly everything in the forest is some variation of green, it makes sense that survival would favor an animal that doesn't just hide among the leaves,

but rather becomes a leaf altogether. And one night as I was scanning the brush with my flashlight, we discovered an insect that pushes camouflage to the absolute limit, the giant leaf Katie did. At a glance, this insect looks like a large jungle leaf that somehow grew legs. Its wings are etched with vein-like patterns and ragged edges mimicking torn plant tissue, so convincing that predators don't see it at all. Feeding primarily on leaves, its body mirrors the very plants it lives among. And while filming that night, I was able to spot a cadidid that was perfectly still, that allowed us to get up really close with our cameras

and film those micro details that allow it to blend in so perfectly. I definitely had to mind those jaws. I have seen people lacerated by the jaws of Katydids where they would instantly bite and draw blood. Now, not all cadidids are this big and this powerful. They vary in size from the large to the very small. But those monster sized Katie dids, you need to mind those mouth parts and keep your fingers far from. Camouflage like that doesn't just hide you from predators. It literally turns you into the background. But this next bizarre creature doesn't need to disappear into its environment at all.

It uses a far more sophisticated defense mechanism. And while some insects rely on their venom, this one uses a far stranger compound. We're talking acid. Deep within Borneo's rainforest, some insects feel unnaturally large. And if there's one thing I know well after all these years of field work, it has to be supersized ants. I filmed some of the largest and most infamous species of ants on the planet. So when I saw this particular ant moving through the forest, I immediately knew I had found something special.

This wasn't just another large bug. This was a behemoth and it dwarfed every other ant I had seen before it. This is the giant forest ant. Adult workers can reach nearly an inch and a half in length and they are also big and bulky, making them the largest ant in the world by weight with elongated bodies and oversized mandibles built for gripping and cutting. But unlike many large ants, the giant forest ant has no venomous stinger. Instead, it relies on a slightly surprising defensive maneuver. First comes their bite, which is strong enough to break through human skin. And then while still clamped down on their victim,

the ant releases concentrated formic acid from its abdomen, directing it straight into the bite wound. The result isn't just a bad bite, it's a chemical burn that worsens over time. Knowing that these giant ants couldn't sting, I still wanted to test the strength of their jaws and the infamous bite followed by searing acid. Here is how it went down.

Ah. Ah, it just bit me twice. Ah, that wasn't a good bite. I got to put it back. Here we go again. Ready? One, two, three. Ah, yeah, he's getting me now. Ah. The jaws are razor sharp, but it's not locking down. I'm really shocked. So as it turns out, the bite from this ant was nowhere near as intimidating as those jaws look. So it's probably a good thing that it does have that secondary acidic effect because without it, I would say the bite from the giant ants of Borneo, not much to ride home about. And if you think an acidic burn is bizarre, just wait until you see the next insect on our list.

It doesn't spray anything at all. In fact, its secret weapon is hidden within its mouth that it uses like a red hot needle. In tropical forests like Borneo, some hunters don't just chase their prey. They wait perfectly still until the right moment to pounce. And while some ambush predators rely on their speed, others rely more on their accuracy. And this particular insect carries a singular weapon that is designed to pierce, inject, and feed all in one motion. This, of course, belongs to the assassin bug. Using its rostrum, a rigid needle-like mouth part, assassin bugs can pierce the tissue of their prey, inject a dissolving saliva that helps break them down from the inside out,

and then slurp them up using the same tube like a straw. Most species hunt other insects, but some are blood feeders that are drawn to warmth and exposed skin. And it is these assassin bugs that will oftentimes bite people in the face by the eyes or by the mouth. And this is how they got their infamous nickname, The Kissing Bug. After feeding, some kissing bugs will defecate, that means poop, which can lead to lifelong diseases and turn a freaking counter into an emergency. A vampire bug feeding on your blood in the middle of the night is creepy enough. But when you add on top of that, those long legs, flat body, and that assassin-like rostum appendage make it feel a lot more like an alien than an insect.

And even knowing how strange and unsettling this is, I still decided to test the assassin bug's bite to place it on the Brave Wilderness Bite Sting Index, coming face to face with one of the rainforest more disturbing insect predators. Bite from this bug can kill you and I'm about to enter the bite zone with the assassin bug. It starts in, it's insane. Ah, yeah, it's getting me. Oh yeah. Ah. Ooh. Okay. Yeah, that hurts. Mm. Oh yeah, that got me. That is instant fire. That is like a hot poker going into your skin.

I have to say, the bite from the assassin bug surely earned its place on the bite sting index. However, it, for me, it was in the aftermath. It was the waiting for days for those negative test results to come back. The silent assassin bug bite is no joke. Its bizarre hunting strategy means you might not know you're bitten until it's too late. But the next species on our list doesn't leave you wondering at all. It delivers its defense with a punch, almost like a jolt of electricity. And the forest of Japan in East Asia lives an insect with the nickname that sounds like an exaggeration until you experience it firsthand.

Locals in Japan call it the danky mushy, but we know it as the electric caterpillar. This insect is compact and brightly colored with the body resembling the spiky hair of a punk rock star. And that bold coloration, it's not just for show, it's a warning sign. The electric caterpillar is armed with rows of venomous spines. And those spines are what delivered the immediate shock-like sting. But this isn't electricity surging through your body like the shock of an electric eel. This has to do with neurotoxic venom. And the pain hits so fast and so sharply that many people describe the feeling as an electric jolt.

Now in my quest to rate the electric caterpillar, the danky mushy on the Brave Wilderness BSI, I decided to take things to an extreme level where I placed dozens of these caterpillars on my hand to then induce a sting to see if it could create that electric jolt that has been legendary in the foothills of Japan for decades. Little did I know at the time I was setting myself up for one of the most painful and scariest experiences I have ever had by intentionally taking a sting from any insect. Here is how it went down. Tonigh I'm about to enter the sting zone with 25 electric caterpillars.

Ah. Oh. Oh, got it. Ah, okay. Woo. That felt like a grinding wheel sparked, just ripping onto my skin. So as we left the grounds where we had performed this sting test, I began to experience systemic reactions. What that means is I wasn't only feeling symptoms from the sting site. I was feeling symptoms all over my body, and it is the closest I have ever been to actually going to the hospital.

I had tingling in my fingers, my teeth and gums hurt, my whole face went numb, my nose was numb, my lips were numb, and I began to have panic and anxiety symptoms on top of that. Not something I would ever recommend anyone do. But in this case, I was lucky enough that those symptoms did subside eventually and I didn't have to end up going to the emergency room. However, that's about as close as you can ever push it. And looking back on the whole experience, I would say the electric caterpillar was a lot more shocking than I had ever expected it to be. But this next bizarre insect on our list doesn't rely on

inducing any kind of pain. In fact, it relies on an illusion where it makes you believe it is something that is already dead. After dark, the forest of borneo changed completely. What looked ordinary during the day becomes a maze of shadows, broken shapes, and subtle movements that trick the eye. And in this kind of environment, your camouflage is no longer just a bonus. It's a means of survival. And as we scanned that forest at night, something caught our attention that didn't move, didn't react, and didn't even look alive at all. At first, my eye just registered it as debris, a curled up dying leaf just clinging to a branch.

But the longer I looked and stared at it, the more the shape refused to make sense. And that of course is because this is no leaf at all. This is the infamous dead leaf mantis. This mantis doesn't look alive at first glance, and that's the point. Its body is flattened uneven and jagged with edges that resemble torn, dying leaves rather than the clean plant material itself. Its abdomen is shaped to look like a curled and broken leaf, something that's fallen right off the tree. Now this level of camouflage serves the dead leaf mantis to very different purposes. On one hand, it's great to avoid predators

because the mantis is nearly invisible, something to overlook, rather to investigate. But on the flip side, it also turns the dead leaf mantis into the perfect ambush predator. When prey doesn't recognize it, it's not a threat until it's too late. So like a magic trick, the mantis can transform in the blink of an eye. Camouflage when calm and then flash into aggression when cornered. The team and I were super lucky to spot this mantis with our flashlights during a night hike. And once we realized what we were looking at, I carefully picked it up, immediately struck by how convincing the deadly disguise truly was.

Now, beyond being visually stunning, another thing that I find remarkable about all mantis is just how intelligent they seem. Every time I've encountered a mantis, there's been this social dynamic between us. They tend to stand their ground. They're inquisitive. They look at you with some kind of concern or conviction, and I find that something that you don't see in too many species of insect.

Now holding something like a deadly mantis, you are truly in awe by just how far some species will evolve to remain hidden and unseen. But the next species doesn't hide in the shadows or the leaf litter. It stands out with a silhouette so strange that it looks like it came from a different world. In the rainforest of Thailand, trees are life. They're massive living homes packed with hidden nooks, crannies, crevices, and secret passageways, forming an entire miniature world where countless small creatures live, hide, hunt, and do their best to survive.

Now while scanning under those same trees, I came across the shape of an insect I had never seen before. It was flat, large, and almost looked manmade. An insect whose outline resembles a certain famous musical instrument more than a living creature, the violin beetle. Built like a living wedge, its body's extremely flattened from top to bottom, far more than most beetles I have ever seen. This allows it to slide deep into narrow bark crevices where predators cannot reach, but being nimble and camouflaged aren't its only defenses. If a predator does manage to grab it, the violin beetle has a backup plan.

Specialized abdominal glands release a burst of defensive chemicals that are sharp, pungent, and irritating, that are meant to trigger an immediate release. It doesn't fight. It doesn't chase. It makes itself so unpleasant to be around that holding onto it even briefly becomes a major mistake. I found several violin beetles under the log that I crawled under to try to capture one. By having to twist my body under that log, I exposed my face to the beetles above, risking getting sprayed in the eyes, which locals say can cause blindness.

When I saw those violin beetles under the log, I was shocked. Of course, I had to catch one, but my biggest fear was I would miss the catch and they would all fly right at my face like a bunch of bats. So that was a little unnerving, not to mention the fact I was laying on the ground in an environment where there's venomous snakes, spiders, and all kinds of other creatures that could do you harm. So I wanted to get one of those violin beetles in the jar safely and quickly, but they sure are amazing, flattened, chemically armed and shaped like nothing else in the forest. But the final creature on our list doesn't just look strange.

It looks ancient and it easily takes the top spot on the most bizarre insects I have ever filmed. In Southeast Asian rainforest, some insects don't just bend the rules of what a normal insect is supposed to look like. They ignore them entirely. And this insect is just that. It looks like something straight out of prehistory that has survived multiple world extinction events just to be around in the time and age of cameras to show up on the Brave Wilderness Channel. Of course, I'm talking about the most bizarre insect I have ever caught, the Trilobite Beetle. When you first see it, it doesn't even register as a beetle at all or even an insect for most people.

Its body is wide, flattened, and heavily segmented, built low to the ground and reinforced with body armor. Its name comes from its resemblance to trilobites, ancient marine arthropods that once lived hundreds of millions of years ago long before dinosaurs ever walked the earth. And another thing that makes this insect truly bizarre isn't just its looks, it's how it lives. Female trilobite beetles never complete a traditional metamorphosis. They remain in this larva form state their entire lives without developing wings or the typical adult beetle shape.

Males, however, do transform where they briefly become small winged adults that only have one purpose to reproduce. Now when we got to Borneo, this was the one insect that I had to find. And after hours and hours of searching, I finally spotted one perched up on a long. Luckily for me, that trilobite beetle was not only amazing, it really popped out from the rest of the rainforest. If it wasn't so colorful with those oranges around the carapace, I'm not sure I ever would have spotted this trilabite beetle and I wouldn't be sitting here talking about one of the most magical finds I have ever had on any of my adventures on Brave Wilderness.

This is the kind of insect that makes you stop talking and just observe, not because it's big or flashy, but because it looks like something that has been lost in the pages of time. For Brave Wilderness, some of our most unforgettable adventures have come from searching for these truly bizarre insects all over our planet. And that's why we keep coming back to these places again and again, because you never know what you're going to find next. And it might just be something more bizarre than you could have ever imagined.