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Why are there so many beetles? (That We Know Of) | Lindsay Nikole

Lindsay Nikole | July 13, 2026



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Why does one single insect order account for a quarter of all known animal life on Earth? The answer to “why so many beetles?” turns out to be a three-part evolutionary story involving armored wings, survival through mass extinctions, and a genetic heist stolen straight from bacteria and fungi. Along the way, meet nature’s strangest beetles: the bombardier beetle that cooks up explosive chemical sprays inside its own body, the trilobite beetle with females stuck in a permanent larval form, the “unkillable” diabolical ironclad beetle that can withstand being crushed by 39,000 times its body weight, and the Namib Desert fog beetle that harvests drinking water from morning fog. Nature’s most successful animal group is way weirder than you think.

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ABOUT LINDSAY NIKOLE
Join zoologist Lindsay Nikole for vivid stories about evolution, animal behavior, and the wonderfully weird life around (and before) us. Each video dives into creatures you’ve never met and facts you’ll never forget, blending science with humor, visuals, and memorable explanations. From viral mystery IDs and prehistoric deep dives to myth-busting and conservation context, this channel makes complex biology easy and exciting to understand.

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Chapters
00:00 What Actually Makes a Beetle a Beetle
02:43 Beetles = “The Insect World’s Upper Class”
04:47 Complete Metamorphosis “Two Lives in One Body”
05:34 The Biggest, Heaviest, and Smallest Beetles
06:15 Beetle or Not a Beetle? (The Game)
07:16 The Bombardier Beetle’s Boiling Chemical Bombs
09:19 The “Trilobite Beetles” Bizarre “Forever Larva” Females
11:17 The “Violin (Banjo) Beetles” Bite and Acid Defense
12:43 The “Diabolical Ironclad Beetle” Nearly Unkillable
14:14 The “Namib Desert Fog Beetle” Drinks the Air
16:44 “Bettles” Surviving Three Mass Extinctions
17:22 The Angiosperm Explosion 130 Million Years Ago
18:37 “The Great Enzyme Heist” Horizontal Gene Transfer
20:06 The Final Answer “It Was a ….”

Why are there so many beetles? (That We Know Of) | Lindsay Nikole
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrc2iv2-G1FZ3VscM3zu2jg

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Written by Lindsay Nikole

Comments

This post currently has 38 comments.

  2. @omegafoxxtrot7248

    July 13, 2026 at 3:26 pm

    Fun fact! In parts of the US there is a compound derived from blister beetles that is used to remove some skin deformities, unseat plantar warts, and dig out slivers. Additional fun fact, this is how I found out that I am severely allergic to blister beetles

  10. @loqkLoqkson

    July 13, 2026 at 3:26 pm

    is Lindsay the most aussie american? I tend to not notice australian accents, since they're normal here, and have to actively listen to realise when a popular youtuber is australian rather than the normal youtube american accent.

    I keep listening for Lindsay's australian accent, and picking up the distinct usa tones, but my brain keeps getting me to check.

    like, it took me weeks to listen to his accent and realise that beardy, from beardy does clocktower, was a local, and not american, or from the uk. i think I only listened for his accent because he made some local references.

  31. @janLipija

    July 13, 2026 at 3:26 pm

    13:15
    wait but how much weight is that total?
    little quick math with 0.3 grams on the low end for their weight according to terry google says like 25ish pounds?

  37. @IdiotPosterBoy

    July 13, 2026 at 3:26 pm

    Not quite true. 1/4 of named species may be beetles, but from mass DNA sequencing studies, we know both flies and wasps are massively understudied and in reality much more species-rich than beetles.

    If you count known species, Diptera is the biggest order, but if you count the ones we have gotten around to name, it's beetles.

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