Insect acrobats are engineering marvels

Dr Gregory Sutton from the University of Bristol has been using high speed cameras to reveal the secrets of the most acrobatic of the world's invertebrates for almost a decade.

Along with his colleagues at the University of Bristol, he is working out how fleas, locusts and even praying mantises take to the air.

This clip shows a sample of his footage and findings.

Produced by Victoria Gill. All footage courtesy of Dr Gregory Sutton, University of Bristol and Prof Malcolm Burrows, University of Cambridge