Most of the fastest animals on earth are arthropods. They swing their appendages, snap their jaws and propel their bodies at incredible speeds, sometimes using spring-loaded mechanisms. But because of their small size and cryptic lifestyles, the behaviors of many of these fast-moving organisms have yet to be captured on video or described. Adrian Smith, head the of Evolutionary Biology and Behavior Research Lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science, will present his work filming the behaviors of creatures such as trap-jaw ants, beetles, moths, springtails and more. He will show footage and describe behaviors that reveal how remarkable these organisms are.

Smith's talk is part of the Coffee and Viz, a series that allows researchers to share their visualization work and discuss topics of interest.