All creatures great and very small are front and center in Jessica Oreck's Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo, a documentary that sheds light on Japan's obsession with the world's six-legged inhabitants, Narrated in Japanese (with English subtitles), the movie looks to establish a cultural understanding of why the Japanese spend so much time catching, buying and writing about moths, butterflies, beetles, dragonflies (said to symbolize bravery), crickets (known as singing insects) and fireflies (symbols for unrequited love).

Melodic and poetic, Beetle Queen makes bug collecting seems positively fascinating and utterly cool -- to the point where I shuddered when, toward the end of the film, one insect gatherer involuntarily swatted the back of his neck to brush off any bugs there. I mean, who knows what untold riches he was casually brushing aside?

I wish there had been more hard information in the film, identifying the vartious insects, explaining just how much of an economic force the critters are in the Japanese economy (beetles can sell for hundreds of dollars) and detailing just how bug-pet owners keep their companions alive. Still, Beetle Queen was a lovely, rich exploration of an arthropod-centric culture I barely knew existed. Next time I find a praying mantis crawling up my screen door, I'll show a lot more respect.

Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo will have a second screening, at noon Sunday at MICA's Brown Center, 1301 Mount Royal Ave. Leave the bug spray at home.

Photo: Director Jessica Oreck, during the post-film Q&A.