The Six-Legged Narrative EPS 2026-06-24

From courtship gifts to Roman war machines made of silk — this episode of The Six-Legged Narrative covers six stories that prove the invertebrate world never runs out of surprises. Tiny dance flies are performing elaborate love rituals right in your garden. A newly described spider in the Queensland rainforest has engineered a silk catapult that fires ants at forces that would knock a human unconscious. A decade-long partnership between scientists and a brewery has raised thousands of dollars for imperiled butterfly conservation in ways no journal article ever could. Researchers in Japan have mapped 842 genetic switches that control honeybee metamorphosis. An invasive sawfly from Asia has turned up in Michigan for the first time. And the National Audubon Society wants you to try bugwatching — here's why that's actually a great idea.