News
The Night of Science 2026: The Future of Hylochares cruentatus
IHME Helsinki’s 2026 began traditionally with The Night of Science on Thursday, 22 January. We showed Swedish artist Henrik Håkansson’s IHME Project 2018, THE BEETLE film. Its main character is the endangered, native halavasepikkä beetle (Hylochares cruentatus), found in Myyrmäki, Vantaa. Before and after the film, we discussed the beetle’s current status with insect researcher and Professor Jyrki Muona. Muona acted as scientific expert during the filming in 2017. It was thanks to him that Håkansson got to know about the insect and became interested in it. Muona also enabled the filming of the animal in the studio.
From the branch of a bay willow to the studio and back
During the evening, Muona explained how he found the beetles for filming. The habitat of the Hylochares cruentatus beetle in Myyrmäki is protected, and no plants, plant parts, or animals may be removed from the site. Muona explored the area and found branches with beetle’s exit holes outside the protected area and collected them. After waiting for a few days, three individuals emerged at Muona’s home. He took them to a studio and, after filming, returned them all to the nature reserve.
Håkansson filmed the beetle jumping and recorded the click sound it made, the first time this was done anywhere. According to Muona, the beetle’s jump is remarkable. It generates as much as a 7000 G-force. The insect can jump 10–15 times its own length at lightning speed. Håkansson managed to capture the jump with a high-speed camera.
In the discussion before and after the film, the audience was interested in hearing more about the purpose of the jump, the artistic choices made in the film, and about how the beetle came to be native to Finland.
In aftermath of ice age meltwaters
The halavasepikkä beetle and Muona have a long history. The species, which was thought to be extinct, was unexpectedly found in the early 2000s in the Mätäoja wetland in Myyrmäki, during a nature survey in Vantaa. Muona has been studying false click beetles for over 40 years. Even he found it hard to believe that the species discovered in the Mätäoja stormwater area was the same one as described in the 19th century. It was also hard to believe that it was native to the area, as Finland was covered with ice during the Ice Age.
Nevertheless, the beetle is an example of a species that emerged at the end of the Ice Age, when meltwater flooded the land. Flooded areas are fertile ground for willows. The hypothesis is that some of the representatives of Hylochares populi, which thrives on aspen, ended up in willow thickets where there were no aspens, and began to develop into a distinct species. The larvae of Hylochares cruentatus feed only on fungi found in decaying bay willow and dark-leaved willow.
In a discussion before the film screening, Muona said that there are future plans to carry out a new assessment of the beetle and its distribution. Since the species thrives only in willows and willows thrive on flooded shorelines, the species may also be found on the banks of other rivers. The species’ few potential habitats are often overgrown and difficult for humans to access. Human activity, plus the drive to clean up riverbanks and prevent flooding, are the main reasons for the species’ disappearance and its endangered status.
Muona revealed that, just the day before the Night of Science, he had submitted an article to Luonnon Tutkija journal, calling for an assessment of the beetle’s future prospects. As the climate warms, rainfall increases, and winters get shorter, conditions for the halavasepikkä are improving. The human-heated climate may create conditions similar to those in which the species originated. With many other species disappearing, Hylochares cruentatus may thrive, if humans do not intervene. Unfortunately, human interference in areas favourable to the beetle is unlikely to be avoided.
Necessary slowness
Håkansson’s film is a slow-paced, meditative exploration of the Mätäoja wetland and the beetle’s movements, set to music by Mika Vainio (1963–2017). The slow-motion close-ups on the silver screen show a moving, jumping beetle, which is the only way to see it up close. In nature, the insect, which is less than a centimetre long, is difficult to spot. Its habitat is also difficult for humans to access.
The purpose of the jump is not known for certain, but Muona responded to questions from the audience by saying that it is probably a means of escape. It allows the insect to free itself from the grip of a bird’s beak or to flee from a threatening predator. The jump is so fast and high that it can only be seen with the naked eye when captured on high-speed camera. Ultimately, the way that the beetles could be filmed in practice also set the framework for the artistic choices made in the film: slow motion, close-ups, and reflections.
Many visitors to the Night of Science praised the film’s slow, meditative pace, even though it could also cause some frustration. Frustration can also be “quite necessary in this hectic world,” as one respondent noted. During the evening, art and science complemented each other:
Art that makes something small into something big and puts it on a pedestal continues to be interesting, and people invest in it. An insect whose role in human daily life is small, and which is not particularly cute, can be interesting due to its mere existence. Håkansson treated the beetle beautifully, as if it were a miracle, creating mythical images and atmospheres with imprecision, and showcasing the beetle’s special skills. Jyrki Muona’s interview brought a scientific perspective to complement the artistic experience, but carried on the story begun by the artist, with decades of shared history and a nighttime return trip to the burrows, still in the same calm, male voice as in the video. There must be something magical about that beetle!
– audience feedback
As always, the discussion could have gone on longer. Hylochares cruentatus, its characteristics, and its habitat received the attention they deserved on the screen. For those who want more information, the discussions with Henrik Håkansson at the 2018 IHME Contemporary Art Festival, as well as scientific perspectives on the beetle from Jyrki Muona, and from Marjo Saastamoinen on the endangered status of insects, are still on IHME Helsinki’s YouTube channel. The Festival publication can also be downloaded from the history section of our website.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version) Revised by MG
