Startled Insects has been played over 10 times on NTS, first on 22 March 2014. Startled Insects's music has been featured on 18 episodes.

Startled Insects were an experimental 1980s trio from Bristol, UK. Its members were Bob Locke, Tim Norfolk and Richard Grassby-Lewis. Their music was difficult to pin down, mixing elements of new wave with fourth world fusion jazz and ambient music. They released two EPs and two albums, Curse Of The Pheromones (1987) and Lifepulse (1991).

After Grassby-Lewis left the band in 1996, Locke and Norfolk continued as a duo, renaming themselves as The Insects. Confusing matters, their subsequent three albums are credited to Richard Grassby-Lewis & The Insects, two of which feature Jon Hassel. They started composing for television and film, while also producing and playing with the likes of Massive Attack, Alison Moyet, Goldfrapp and Madonna.