Original subtitles

At last, winter is over.

And this English farm...

...is slowly coming back to life.

An extra fluffy bumblebee is waking up

after an eight-month hibernation.

She's no ordinary bee; she's a queen.

Your Majesty!

But this is no time for ceremony.

Chickens make terrible roommates.

Time to get out of here.

But she's too cold to fly the coop.

Dislocating her wing muscles and shivering them rapidly

raises her body temperature just enough for her to--

That's no way to treat royalty!

Let's try that again.

And she's off.

From now till the end of summer,

this bee is gonna be busy.

And so are all the other bugs on the farm.

The good times won't last long.

So they must rush to complete a life's worth of work

before their time runs out.

The first weeks of spring are all about preparation.

The queen must gather as much nectar and pollen as she can,

to fuel up for busy days ahead.

Along the way she helps pollinate the flowers

so they can turn into fruit later.

Mmm, strawberry.

But this is the last time she'll ever work in the fields.

She has royal duties to attend to.

And this old hay barn could be the perfect spot

to make a nest.

'Cause our little queen is about to become a mom.

New life is starting all around the farm,

and the farmer helps it along,

by leaving the place a little rough around the edges.

It's an ideal nursery for these 500 orb-weaver spiderlings.

No bigger than a grain of sand.

Adorable.

Only a few days old,

it's already time for this intrepid youngster

to leave home.

Byeee!

Gotta get all the way up there.

It's an epic climb for eight little legs.

But she has a plan.

Up here is the perfect place

to deploy her spider girl superpower.

A single strand of silk.

Stronger than steel,

but light enough to float on the breeze.

Ballooning spiders can travel thousands of miles this way.

But why go so far...

...when the perfect place is right here on the farm?

Ahh. This place again.

The old hay barn.

All sorts of creatures make a home here.

Some are not so easy to live with.

A tiny terminator is on the hunt

with ultrasonic hearing.

Just don't make a sound.

A Eurasian shrew can kill up to 35 bugs a day.

So, he'll be back.

Best stay out of his way.

Especially now.

Because deep in the hay,

the queen's hiding something very precious.

A tiny golden cradle.

And inside, her hopes for the future.

Keeping her baby warm helps it grow.

And nothing speeds up incubation like a hug from mom.

Her first daughter.

Hopefully the first of many.

Over the next few months, she could have hundreds.

Late spring.

Flowers are beginning to bloom.

And crops are coming along nicely.

But not all that's growing is good.

There are freeloaders on this farm.

This doodlebug grub has been munching on roots

for three years.

Yeah. Three years.

One beetle larva can only do so much damage.

But soon he'll transform into an adult doodlebug

and try to spawn a whole army of crop munchers.

Up above, the pest problem is already out of control.

Aphids!

They may look cute,

but these sap-suckers could destroy the whole garden.

Veggie vampires.

They're no bigger than a pinhead,

but what they lack in size, they make up for in numbers.

You see, aphids can clone themselves...

...and fast.

Babies are born already pregnant.

So, mothers give birth to daughters and granddaughters

at the same time.

Oh, man, that's too much.

Each aphid can pump out 80 more in a week.

In a month, one can become 40 million.

Pesticides struggle to keep up.

But this farmer has a secret weapon.

A more natural approach.

An aphid assassin.

Ready for deployment.

The plant is releasing a chemical distress call.

It helps lead the ladybug to her target.

And what's this?

Honeydew.

Mmm, sounds delicious.

Till you know where it comes from.

Aphid anuses.

But this ladybug loves it.

And it tells her the enemy is close.

Jackpot!

Aphid HQ.

But she can only eat so much.

Maybe next time go easier on the butt juice.

It's all good.

She's hatching a plan.

Lay some eggs nearby

and wait for backup to arrive.

Things are also developing nicely over in the barn.

After two months,

our little spiderling

is now 400 times bigger.

Ah, they grow up so fast.

And now she can weave wonders.

Every day she creates

one of the most elaborate structures in nature.

In just one hour,

she spins 30 yards of silk.

After weaving 2,500 attachments,

her masterpiece is complete.

Her trap is set.

Just below, it's horsey spa time.

There's healthy snacks.

Mmm, hay!

And a fab grooming service.

But it's hard to relax

when you're getting unwanted attention.

This farm is a breeding ground for blood-sucking stable flies.

Using a sharp, stabby proboscis...

...they drink triple their body weight in blood.

And, man, that bite hurts.

Got one!

Wrap it in silk,

paralyze it with venom,

then liquefy it with digestive vomit.

Mmm! The sickest stable fly smoothie.

Delicious.

Okay, so her table manners suck,

but she's a keen member of the farm's pest control team.

And she's sure to keep up the good work,

because the more she eats now,

the more eggs she'll lay later.

Deep in the hay,

the queen has also been hard at work.

During her lifetime, she could lay up to 1,000 eggs,

which hatch into larvae;

babies.

Up to 15 are born every day.

Now, she has a family of 400 daughters.

Dealing with so many kids

requires some creative parenting.

The queen keeps her daughters in line

by releasing a pheromone

that stops them from reproducing

and keeps them working.

Might sound controlling,

but there's a lot of mouths to feed.

They have to find food nonstop.

So, they're all making a beeline

for one special place.

The farm's wildflower meadow.

Full of sweet, sugary treats.

A bumblebee can visit 1,000 flowers an hour.

Pollen gets stuck all over them.

So, as they go about their work,

they help transfer it from flower to flower...

...making sure they'll bloom next year, too.

But now there are so many flowers to visit...

...the pollination patrol needs a night shift.

This hot pink elephant hawk moth

has a fabulous talent.

Stunning!

But it's not his wings.

No, the real magic is in his eyes.

Elephant hawk moths were the first animals discovered

to have full color night vision.

It makes him a bit of a VIP in the insect world,

because he's fantastic at finding flowers in the dark.

Some nocturnal bugs play a crucial role

pollinating flowers and crops.

But others are more the destructive type.

After three years devouring roots in the soil,

the doodlebug's terrible transformation is complete.

From greedy grub to beastly beetle.

Aw, he's kinda cute now!

But don't be fooled.

He only has one thing on his mind:

making more crop-destroying doodlebugs.

Yep, he's out looking for love.

And those adorable antennae give him his pickup superpower.

Mm-hmm.

He's feeling the feminine pheromones.

They're lifting him higher.

Even though he's never flown before,

thanks to millions of years of evolution,

somehow, he instinctively--

Yo, doodle! Get off your back.

The clock's ticking.

A female!

Gotta make a good first impression.

Nice landing.

Now, let's just hope she likes him.

Oh.

Oh, okay.

I guess she likes him.

And our little Casanova even has a few moves.

Hey, this is a family show!

The female will go lay their 80 eggs in the soil.

More little root munchers, ready for next year.

But now this little lover wants more.

Classic doodlebug.

Oh, well.

Once he's back on his feet,

he could mate every night of his short life

and become a real player on the pest scene.

Or maybe not.

Summer is in full swing.

But no vacation for the bees.

Or anyone else.

The meadow is now full of tiny creatures

all making the most of plentiful times.

But this ain't no picnic.

When you're focused on feeding,

you're an easy target.

This hobby has flown all the way from Africa

to feast on this bug bonanza.

When she's above,

best stay low.

But the queen's loyal air force

have to keep the food coming in.

Good thing they can fly at 30 miles an hour.

Problem is, hobbies are twice as fast.

Many sisters will be lost this summer.

But thanks to queen and colony,

they always have numbers on their side.

Speaking of numbers,

the aphid population has exploded.

Now that winged adults are developing,

they're ready to spread all over the vegetable garden.

But just in time,

the ladybug backup plan is hatching.

Her beautiful babies.

Ew!

Late bloomers.

Right now, all they want to do is eat.

Each ladybug might devour 5,000 aphids in its life.

Sucking them dry like a kid's juice box.

Oh, a baby!

As quick as aphids are pumped out,

they get gobbled up.

Natural pest control.

And before anyone thinks of flying away,

mom takes them out.

For the rest of the summer, this is a real bug's life.

Everyone's rushing to make the most

of what little time they have left.

As summer draws to a close,

our spider stops catching flies.

All that hard work, building to this moment.

Soft, strong,

and high out of harm's way,

she's spinning a tiny cradle...

...for 500 precious eggs.

She won't survive the winter,

but this fluffy blanket will protect them.

She's given them the best possible start.

Her work is done.

Down below in the nest,

the colony is bigger than ever.

But now, the aging queen is producing her last babies.

They're fed extra pollen portions

so they grow bigger than ordinary workers.

The chosen few, destined to continue the queen's legacy,

if they survive.

The tiny terminator has found their nest.

If he breaks in, it's hasta la vista, babies.

But when bumblebees sense carbon dioxide

from a predator's breath,

they all rally together

and turn the volume up.

Looks like this time...

...he won't be back.

The last days of summer.

Time to find out if everyone's hard work has paid off.

It's a mega harvest at the vegetable garden.

Mmm, strawberry.

And now that the meadow is being cut for hay,

there's plenty of food to last the horses all winter.

And thanks to all the pollinators,

the meadow will rise again next year.

That's how things work around here.

When little creatures are welcomed,

they help create a farm full of life,

that keeps its own balance.

Great job, guys!

It's a natural approach

that's more successful and more sustainable.

But not all things last forever.

The royal mission is complete.

The monumental effort has taken its toll.

Her daughters gently carry her from the nest.

A funeral fit for a queen.

But her death is not the end.

It's a new beginning.

Young queens are emerging

with hopes of starting colonies of their own.

They'll spread far and wide,

and wait until next spring,

when work on the farm starts all over again.