Original subtitles

[theme music plays]

[Narrator] Some bugs seem to have it made.

Take this handsome little damselfly dude.

He's just chilling by the pool.

Cruising around at four miles per hour,

and flexing his cool blue outfit.

He's living the high life.

During summer in an English village there's a real

buzz around the pond.

[splashing]

It's where it's all going down.

[splashing]

But this bug's life wasn't always so sweet.

Our tiny hero has the most unexpected origin story.

Growing up on the wrong side of the pond.

Hustling a living amongst the bottom feeders,

and the type a low lives,

who prey on the vulnerable.

This is a tale about how little creatures overcome

giant odds,

crawl their way to the top,

and become real high flyers.

[♪ dramatic music]

[ice freezing]

[wind blowing]

In late January the pond is a very different place.

Only 23 degrees outside, not a bug in a sight.

But insulated under the ice, look who it is.

Yeah, the same damselfly guy from above,

but stuck in larval form.

With a body full of a natural antifreeze,

he's just about clinging on.

Whoops.

Okay, so he's swimming a little stiff.

Hey the water's icy, man.

Barely grown since last fall, he's got a long way to go

before he can escape the dangers lurking in this

murky underworld.

A water shrew can eat it's own weight in bugs every day.

Time to hide little buddy.

Those whiskers can detect the slightest movement.

Yeah, that's not helping.

Better.

Now just stay put.

No, no, no, don't move.

A shrew is just a passing problem, compared to this.

The damselfly's bigger, badder cousin.

A dragonfly larva,

almost 100 times his weight,

intent on devouring as many bugs as he can.

All a little larva can do is keep his head down.

[footsteps]

Up above, change is coming.

[quacking]

[birds chirping]

In England, temperatures barely creep above freezing

and everyone's like "Woo hoo, pool party!"

For frogs Spring Break is all about one thing.

Eggs are getting laid.

Each female produces thousands of spawn.

They need to, only around 2% make it to adulthood.

Odds get even worse when you factor in an invasion

from outer space.

The alien.

It strikes without warning.

Abducting hundreds at a time.

[splashing]

A lone egg's chances are slim, but compared to some,

it develops fast.

In just a few days

one cell becomes 100,000.

A week or so later, she's a tiny tadpole.

A.K.A. a sitting snack trapped in a Jell-O jail.

But incredibly, she can detect the scent of a predator

and emergency eject.

Now to find some friends

'cause hiding in the crowd

is a tiny tadpole's best hope.

But damselfly larvae have a different survival strategy.

Keep a low profile and avoid shady characters.

But he can't hide forever.

If he wants outta here, he's gotta build that body.

Pinhead-sized water fleas are a good source of protein,

if you eat enough of 'em.

These jitterbugs are hard to catch.

[crash, chewing]

An extendable quick draw jaw,

three times faster than a blink of the eye.

One down, but many more to go before he's strong enough to

escape into the free world.

For some, pond prison is a life sentence.

No chance of this stickleback ever breaking out.

So, he's making the most of his life aquatic.

Now spring's here, it's a good time to start a family.

Oh, ladies.

As catches go, a two-inch dink could be a little underwhelming

Thankfully these females are more impressed by a male's

interior design skills,

and this guy is so extra.

Oh, a rusty piece of junk.

Love the distressed look.

Just needs a little zhuzhing up.

Okay.

A little here.

Maybe a bit of that.

I'm just gonna stick this in here real quick.

Okay, let me just slap that in there and I'm gonna have that.

No, I don't like that.

Is it crooked?

Actually, oh yeah, feeling the fishy feng shui.

Wait.

What the?

Really?

Another alien invasion?

And more of 'em this time.

It's "Deep Impact."

But once the silt settles,

they leave behind a cleaner,

clearer water world.

[Narrator] Ah, finally, a bit of sunlight.

[quacking]

It sends the pond into a period of rapid growth,

and everyone's taking advantage

Aw, tiny tadpole found some friends

and she's growing up fast.

Sooner you mature, the sooner you're outta here.

Now eight months old, even our slow developing damsel is

upping his game,

from water fleas to water lice,

pond portions just got super-sized.

But so have the predators.

Uh-oh.

Dragon on your tail again.

Thankfully with side facing eyes,

he can watch his own back.

[♪ intense music]

Yeah, you can run, but this dragon's just gonna

keep coming.

Time for more drastic action.

Uh, shaking a tail feather?

Is that wise?

[♪ intense music]

Oh, okay.

Seems drawing attention to his butt just saved his head.

And these smooth moves help another way too.

Those tail feathers are where his gills are located.

So, waving them around increases the flow of oxygen,

'cause right now bugs are struggling to breathe.

The pond is heating up

and warm water can't hold as much oxygen.

But one ingenious little bug has a breathtaking solution.

The diving bell spider

breathes air but hunts under water.

So, by trapping a bubble with thousands of tiny hairs on his

abdomen, he makes a scuba suit.

This aquatic arachnid catches bugs other spiders can't reach.

He not only hunts in the pond, he makes his home here.

First he weaves an underwater web,

then ascends back up to the surface.

A quick bubble butt refill

and he's back down to release it beneath his silk canopy.

A few more trips to the top

and the bubble building is complete.

An underwater abode where he can rest up and dine in peace.

Now, the tadpole must breathe air too 'cause

she's reabsorbing her gills and growing lungs.

So, she sucks in as much air as she can...

Then...

[burps]

Nice.

But she won't be blowing bubbles forever.

She's almost ready for life on land.

Little damsel larva is moving on up too and preparing for

his own amazing transformation.

But as bottom dwellers begin to surface,

they face even deadlier monsters.

Duckzilla and her bug-eating babies.

[quacking]

When ducklings attack,

they don't discriminate.

Little larvae, or tiny tadpoles

it's all lunch to them.

But dodging death by ducks

seems an easy escape compared to this.

Guess who's back?

Oh man, not another abduction.

Little larva's in hot water now.

Oh no.

Breaking through the surface is a real battle for bugs.

But after almost a year of bodybuilding,

he rises to the challenge.

But now he's getting so dry, his body is cracking.

[cracking]

Don't worry, it's all part of the exit strategy.

[cracking]

Pumping body fluid, he inflates his new wings.

[♪ dramatic music]

And at last, he's airborne.

Woo-hoo!

Later pond scum.

Catch me if you can alien girl, but you can't.

I'm free!

[crashing]

Oh, oh.

[clears throat]

Whoa! Okay. Nothing to see here.

Just chilling in these reeds as it were.

Oh man.

Probably safer sitting tight, till he's found his wings.

Speaking of which,

looks like the dragons have also emerged from the deep,

and now they can fly too.

[Narrator] Down below, life only gets tougher

for the stickleback.

Mating season is almost over,

and despite making major home improvements,

still no visitors.

She's gotta be out there somewhere.

Come on, go find that girl.

Oh.

Now she looks like a fish who appreciates good décor.

Hey, don't be shy, invite her home.

See, she's loving the shabby chic woven weeds.

Only next time you're entertaining females

full of eggs, maybe make a wider entrance.

Never mind, looks like she's laying her clutch anyway.

Quick, get in there and fertilize 'em.

Wait, hold up.

Is that another female?

And another 100 eggs.

Suddenly he seems to be Mr Popular.

From sad singleton to polyamorous parent

in under five minutes.

Way to go stickleback.

Maybe this pond life ain't so bad after all.

Yeah, maybe.

But some are still set on getting out.

The tadpole's transformation is accelerating.

First some lungs, now a couple a limbs,

back, yep, then the front.

Finally, ditch that tail and what do you know?

Our little pond princess has turned into a beautiful frog.

Now to get away from the pond predators.

[quacking]

Time to bounce.

That's quite the climb when you've only just

found your feet.

But spring-loaded legs give her more air

than Michael Jordan.

Well, comparatively speaking.

But when searching for a home in a strange world,

watch out for unidentified driving objects.

Although this time,

the alien comes in peace.

She's landed on her feet.

A stone-built home with a pool just outside,

and not a duck in sight.

[splashing]

Back at the mother pond,

a certain someone has had quite the glow up.

Mm-hmm.

Electric blue.

This damselfly is ready for romance.

Trouble is, everyone's already attached,

and there's nine males competing for each female.

He can't risk a fight so early in his quest for love

and he's got bigger problems.

His arch enemies now control the skies.

Dragonflies are the fastest flying insects of all,

with a 95% kill rate,

and now they're making more damsel-eating babies.

Somehow he must stop them.

He knows when a female dragonfly is laying eggs,

her defenses are down.

Time to launch his secret weapon,

pester power.

Ballsy move, but up against a dragon now 30 times heavier,

he's just a pesky little fly.

So, he rallies his rivals to come help.

United against a common enemy,

the mob take turns biting her wings

and bugging her so much, she can't take it anymore,

and our boy in blue leads the charge.

Yeah, that's right.

Go drop your babies in someone else's pool.

[buzzing]

Success.

Fewer dragon eggs means more chance their damselfly larvae

will survive.

But before any of that,

he's gotta find a female.

Looks like he's too late to the party.

Poor little guy.

Maybe it just wasn't meant to be.

Wait.

What's that?

A damsel in distress.

[buzzing]

Trapped in the water, she's in danger of drowning.

Man, talk about surface tension.

Don't just sit there, time's running out.

This is your chance to be a hero.

Okay, careful now.

You got this.

Hold on tight.

Come on!

Pull!

One more try!

[♪ heroic music]

Our hero flies her to a safe secluded spot

where two little love hearts

might get a little privacy.

[clears throat]

I said privacy, please.

Eggs fully fertilized, he escorts her to lay them.

Right here in the same pond in which he grew up.

Once the final egg is laid,

the two love bugs part,

and go their separate ways.

Nice work, buddy.

You've come a long way.

When it comes to totally transforming their lives,

no one does it better than bugs

And it turns out even the littlest creatures can rise up

and become the greatest of heroes.

[music plays through credits]

Captioned by Cotter Media Group.