Original subtitles

- All right check this out, you guys gotta see this.

I'm a little bit out of breath because

I was just running down this road

to chase this guy.

Look how big this wasp is.

He's almost too big for the collecting jar, look at this.

I'm just gonna try to get him real quick.

Got it!

Woo hoo!

Oh man, look at that.

Look at that.

That's a wasp.

Huge!

It's almost as big as my face.

This is a Tarantula Hawk Wasp.

And what they do is they go out,

wow, look how big that is!

They'll go out

flying around all throughout this canyon

looking for tarantulas.

And I'll show you right here,

(chuckling)

which I just found last night.

They'll catch them, wrestle around them,

and then lay their eggs inside

of the tarantulas, bring them back into their den,

lay their eggs inside of the tarantulas,

and their larva will feed on the insides

of the tarantula, but look.

Just a beautiful,

crazy huge,

crazy painful insect.

My name is Alex Jones.

I'm a wildlife filmmaker and explorer.

My passions is to bring you out

into the world of bugs.

I love shrinking down to their level

and seeing through their eyes,

because every day is a real adventure.

(insects chirping)

In Arizona it's starting to become monsoon season.

And that means a lot of rain.

So before the rains come,

bugs start to emerge.

And the ones coming first

are these guys.

Dung beetles.

They're popping out from the ground everywhere.

And they're looking for this.

Yeah, dung.

Right now I'm scouting the areas

looking for piles of dung just like this.

This is a cow patty.

Ah!

And the cool thing about these things

is that they're actually packed full

of all kinds of insects.

Check this out.

You can see

ants going all over it.

If I open it up even more

you'll see all the little tiny termites inside there.

I don't know if you can see them crawling around.

And, more importantly,

oh, look at that.

All kinds of termites in there.

And look at this, even, whoops, beetle grubs.

There's some that live inside of the dung,

bury themselves inside.

But right now, I'm looking for the rollers.

And these are the rollers.

They're the first to arrive.

A male and a female both find a piece of dung.

They begin to use their serrated arms

and their head-like shovel

to push it and pull it

and even roll it into a perfect dung ball.

(playful music)

I gotta be honest, it can get pretty gross.

But, these guys love it.

And they feed off of this stuff exclusively.

Pretty soon other dung beetles start to arrive

and they try to fight the other beetles off.

Making your dung ball is a lot of work.

So stealing, that's easy.

But the main male is determined

so he starts fighting him off.

Got him.

Just caught him in mid-air.

Look at that.

That's the American dung beetle.

Oop, watch this, shew. (chuckles)

Pretty soon the entire patty

gets infested with dung beetles,

and the male and female work really hard

to try and get that dung ball out.

More and more start coming,

which means more and more fights,

and the more competition.

So the both of them, they decide to move on.

Now they're on a journey.

They're going across the entire field

to find a perfect spot to bury their dung.

Oop, watch out buddy.

But obstacles, they're along their entire path.

Tufts of grass for these guys

is like hurdling over a car.

Others have to deal with hills,

and they try really hard, but...

Okay, this is getting way more difficult than it should be.

(inspirational music)

As they make their way across the field,

other beetles wait along their path.

Like this guy.

He's a stealer beetle.

He basically just waits along the path

for other beetles,

like our male and female,

to come by

and steals the dung.

(suspenseful music)

But there's nothing sneaky about it

he just goes straight for them.

Oh man, another obstacle, seriously?

He catches up with them and starts fighting them off.

This guy is literally trying to steal their dung ball,

and I'm betting it's the same guy from before.

Geez, these guys are mean!

Okay, cool, he's gone, I think.

Wait, what?

Finally, it's over.

The interloper loses.

Now he goes off to try to find his own dung.

Yeah, hard work pays off, buddy.

A little bit rattled, they decide to carry on.

And eventually they find a perfect spot

to bury their dung.

The female, she waits atop.

It's the male that does all the digging.

(playful music)

Soon they both dig down

and bring the dung ball with it.

Now it's time to lay their own eggs inside the dung.

Until next year when those babies

turn into dung beetles themselves.

When I put my hand out of the car,

it's actually the feeling of putting your hand

really close to a fire.

It's 116 degrees.

That's crazy.

But, it's all in the name of wildlife films.

At least I'm getting a nice tan though.

Right now I'm looking for one of my favorite insects.

But in order to catch these guys.

Ready.

You've got to be really,

really,

quick.

(smacks)

I'll show you what I mean.

(electronic whooshing)

The Tiger Beetle.

This guy is built to be extreme.

His long legs keep him off the scorching ground,

and his big sharp mandibles

are designed to crunch.

His eyes, tack sharp.

But what sets him apart,

among other bugs,

he is

fast.

(upbeat electronic music) (engine revving)

The tiger beetle is the fastest insect on Earth.

The Lamborghini of bugs.

(engine revving)

If you were a tiger beetle,

you'd be running at an equivalent speed

of 300 miles per hour.

Sprinting at full speed

their environment becomes a complete blur around them.

In other words, they're so fast

they temporarily go blind while running.

And if you're a bug passing by,

watch out.

(thudding)

Hey!

(engine revving)

Their eyes just can't grasp enough light

to form an image around them.

So when he can't predict where he's going much longer,

he'll stop.

They've got amazing eyesight when still.

In fact, some of the best in bugs.

But now, he needs to reorientate himself

and get back on course.

Ah, now I see.

But here's the thing,

if they can't see well running,

then how is it that they don't hit oncoming objects?

(suspenseful music)

(thuds)

At high speed,

it's hard enough to dodge rocks and sticks,

anything that really gets in the way.

But try doing it practically blind.

I mean let's face it,

running into anything

at the speed of a tiger beetle

is a splatter waiting to happen.

In the bug world,

something like a small pebble

is a towering boulder.

Or even a fallen stick

is a giant log.

So then what is it that makes this beetle not hit

these enormous obstacles?

The answer

is the antenna.

These are its sensor detectors.

Being longer than its body

he can sense anything in its path.

With both receptors touching the ground

he can process information in milliseconds.

So, in a sense,

they're kind of like walking sticks

for the visually impaired.

Except, for a bug.

(engine revving)

Woo!

Just driving on the dunes.

Whoa!

(laughing)

(dramatic music)

The desert is a tough place to live,

especially during the day.

And anything that lives out here

is subject to cooking in the sun.

This is a Desert Hairy Scorpion

and they found a way to flourish out here.

Good morning.

I'm just waking up.

I want to show you my view.

Man.

The problem with the sand

is it holds in heat, baking the surface.

At a quick glance it may seem like

nothing could survive here.

There's almost nowhere to hide

against the hot sun.

But the scorpion has adapted

to this environment beautifully.

I mean she's been around for about 300 million years,

and they've barely even changed their body structure.

But she's still cold-blooded,

that means if she's out here long enough,

she will die.

So she's gotta find a place, fast.

Maybe over this hill.

But for a scorpion, it's like trudging up a mountain.

(dramatic music)

And on top of the heat, sandstorms are coming.

But for a bug, sandstorms are much more intense.

(wind gusting) (sand tinkling)

Her armored body can handle it,

but not for long.

(wind gusting)

(sand tinkling)

The other side of the dunes are calmer.

She carries on.

(gentle music)

Now she's making her way down

to find a perfect spot to make a new home.

This place might work.

Hmm, you got this tree like thing

that'll keep her shaded from the sun,

and its seeds will attract prey.

Perfect, let's dig.

She starts digging away at the sand,

creating a burrow.

But it takes a lot of work.

Her legs are designed to dig in such a way

that the sand doesn't collapse around her.

Oh, not just yet.

She'll continue to dig and make her new burrow

until nightfall.

During this time, I'm sleeping,

and I'm about to wake up to follow her.

But something else becomes my alarm.

(coyotes yipping)

(sighs)

You can hear the coyotes about

(exhales) I don't know,

maybe about

a few hundred feet.

(coyotes yipping)

That was crazy.

I'm pretty sure that they came through my campsite

earlier.

That was awesome.

See if they start back up.

Nope.

(gentle music)

Once finished, she's created a tunnel system

about three feet long,

deep underground.

And after a long day's work,

she's starting to get hungry.

Her new home is much more than just a hole in the ground.

Down here it's cooler by 25 degrees,

and while being cool,

the moisture sticks around, keeping it damp.

It's a natural cool box down here.

She makes her way towards the entrance,

coming out at night is how she escapes the sun.

(gentle music)

Something's stirring behind her.

(suspenseful music)

What is that?

Her eyesight may be adapted for the night,

but ours aren't.

So in order to get a better understanding

of the scene it's best to flick a switch.

And turn on the black lights.

(dramatic music)

All scorpions glow under UV light.

And what's great about the UV light?

I'm able to track scorpions much easier.

All right look at this guys, look what I just found.

Right here, one,

there's another one over here, two,

and over here, check this out,

there's a third one,

and four.

That's four scorpions in a row,

and I found them all with this black light.

Right next to each other.

Six, seven,

eight, nine.

Scientists don't really understand why

scorpions glow under UV light.

10, 11.

But, one theory that I

particularly agree with is that

they are able to see each other better at night

under the UV lights coming from the moon.

And another scorpion is exactly what she sees.

It's a male.

And he's digging away at her own burrow.

Because scorpions work hard at their homes,

they're really territorial.

(soft tense music)

They have really fast legs.

And crab-like claws.

And don't forget, the stinger,

filled with venom.

Both scorpions use their design

for combat.

If he doesn't leave, she'll make him.

(dramatic music)

The fight's over, and he leaves unscathed.

She wins.

But maybe it's best for her

to go looking for food another night.

Some bugs might hide underground,

but when you're in the forest,

camouflage, that's the best way to hide.

This is my favorite kind of stuff.

This thick, jungle.

(branches snapping)

Ugh!

Forests are filled with insects.

And each needs to adapt to their environment.

Praying mantises hide in plain sight.

(soft dramatic music)

The Dead Leaf Mantis looks like a rotting leaf

and blends in so well almost nothing can see it.

The odds of picking up prey are much higher

when they can't see you coming.

When I spot her, I quickly grab my camera

and start filming the astonishing way

how she hunts.

(dramatic music)

Flies.

Now that's bug fuel.

As much as she loves a tasty fly,

there's only one problem.

These guys are fast.

She's gonna need all of her skills

to catch this guy.

All she has to do,

is wait.

For the right moment.

(suspenseful music)

The mantis is an ambush predator.

And she uses stealth to her advantage.

She waits patiently

for the moment to attack.

Right no- whoa!

(leaves crunching)

I was so close.

Where'd it go?

Is it alive?

Missed.

She's gotta get higher.

Time to climb.

Tiny suction cups on her feet

help her to climb as high as possible.

It's not easy,

but she needs a better attacking position.

(suspenseful music)

Almost there.

Made it!

Closer.

Closer.

Perfect.

(fly buzzing)

Now it's a waiting game.

Blades ready.

(suspenseful music)

She waits silently

for the right moment.

(suspenseful music)

(metallic clashing)

(thud) (fly buzzing)

(metallic clanking)

This is a great spot for bugs.

Long, long grass.

Let's keep going.

The best thing to do is get on all fours and crawl.

That way you get really close to the ground

and find something

that you couldn't otherwise see standing up.

Especially when their camouflage is almost perfect.

Like the Orchid Mantis.

Although she doesn't live on orchids,

she lives close to flowers

that look just like her.

And she blends in so well

that predators aren't really a problem.

She even sways like a flower in the breeze.

(playful music)

The Orchid Mantis uses camouflage in a different way.

To attract her favorite meal.

Fruit flies.

I mean hey, they're not the brightest upstairs, but,

they're her favorite.

And the perfect size for this baby mantis.

The Orchid Mantis uses color to entice its prey.

And it works so well

that flies are almost hypnotized.

They find her an irresistible flower to feed on.

All she has to do is sit and wait.

(playful music)

In fact, the flies around her

find her more attractive

than the flowers around her.

But they're so into her

that she's constantly being bombarded by them.

Even when she's not hungry.

(tinkling)

Okay, maybe we'll do this another time.

It's frustrating being this pretty.

Too much attention.

But you don't necessarily have to go through forests

to find amazing insects.

Sometimes the most interesting, and important

are closer to home.

Let's go check it out.

Look at all these bees.

(laughs)

And I'm not even wearing my head suit.

And I don't necessarily have to.

Because bees aren't aggressive

unless you threaten their hive.

Which is the only thing they care about.

(gentle orchestral music)

Among the chaos, bees work collectively

to build a colony and a hive.

And they all work as one solid mind.

Individually they collect pollen,

but collectively they produce

as we know it, honey.

As they pollinate different flowers,

they bring it back

in their special honey-making stomach,

with enzymes that turn it into honey on the go.

They repeatedly regurgitate it into each other's mouths

until it solidifies and they eventually store it

in their honey cells.

(gentle orchestral music)

(squelching) (gentle orchestral music)

But working together as one

also means protecting one another as one.

Bees can be aggressive towards each other

in their own hive.

Threats may come and go,

but mites, they infest hives.

And they completely destroy entire colonies.

When a bee has a mite,

the others start to attack it.

First, bombarding from the air.

Eventually they hone in.

Stinger out, they start to wrestle the infected bee.

Envenomating her and taking her down.

(bees buzzing)

But these mites are very dangerous,

and at this point it doesn't really matter

if she's a part of the colony.

Infested bees need to be taken down.

But the queen is their key for survival.

The workers will last for about six months.

Whereas the queen will live up to three years.

And each day she'll lay up to 2,000 eggs.

When they hatch,

baby bees are born.

Their transformation begins.

(gentle piano music)

This section of the hive is a designated nursery.

Most will be fed honey.

But queen larva are fed a special royal jelly.

Being worker or queen is solely dependent on their diet.

(bees buzzing)

From bee crib to adult,

the worker is hatching.

She becomes an adult,

so she gets her fist drink.

And begins being a bee.

(gentle piano music)

Good little guys that I'm filming.

I want to show you what I've actually captured right now.

That alien creature is called an Antlion.

In order to film them

I'm off-roading deep into the canyons.

Woo!

This place is literally off the map.

And how did I find it?

Woo!

Now this is how you look for bugs on the road. (laughs)

Yee-hoo.

Let's me see better.

In warmer climates

a lot of insects take cover from the sun.

But ants,

they work all day to try to get food

for their ever growing colony.

But surrounding them

are these pits.

And they're an ants worst nightmare.

Inside, are antlions.

Their location has to be just right.

Soft sand and close to ants.

And the deeper it is, the harder to get out.

Some ants find it suspicious and go around it.

Which means it needs to go deeper and hide.

(dramatic music)

This ant doesn't really know what's going on.

It is a place for a potential meal,

or is it dangerous?

She can't really see the bottom.

That's what the antlion is hoping for.

(metallic whooshing)

(dramatic music)

She tries to escape,

but the fine grains tumble beneath her feet,

and it pulls her back.

As the antlion tosses sand,

it keeps the ant from climbing out,

and the more she climbs,

the more sand rains down.

(dramatic music)

Once under its venomous jaws,

it begins to smash her against the ground.

Hoping to stun her and impair her ability to escape.

No matter how much the ant struggles,

the antlion brings her to the depths.

(somber music)

There's almost no way out of this.

The antlion's jaws can also suck up the insides

of the ant once she's buried.

One last breath.

(dramatic music)

Escaped!

She climbs as fast as possible.

But the walls are so tall she can barely hold on.

Made it.

Not all hunts are successful with the antlion.

The insect world is a daily adventure.

And it's my passion to go out,

film them,

good little guys I'm filming.

Huge!

It's almost as big as my face.

And scale you down to their level

to reveal their incredible lives.

I know this is really cliche, but,

just another day in the office.

(dramatic electronic music)