DVD BBC Life On Earth Disc 1: The Swarming Hordes (1979)

BBC Life On Earth Disc 1: The Swarming Hordes (1979)

A six-legged body with a hard covering proved to be a very adaptable pattern.It enabled insects not only to crawl and hop but to fly. Such creatures could not, however, grow very large, but some - the ants and the termites - dealt with that problem by forming colonies, each containing several million individuals and so became super-organisms that can dominate a plain or a jungle.

Peter's DVD rating: 4.5 stars

David Attenborough explores the world of insects. Here are some details he omits: the "Locust" at the beginning of this episode is the Desert Locust; the orchid pollen are carried by wasps in packets called pollinia; the "antennae" of a swallowtail caterpillar are its osmeterium; the "tubes" and "holes" an insect breathes through are trachea and spiracles. Wonderful scenes include Yucca Moth pollinating the Yucca, the amazing Flower Mantid, and the antics of the various ants, though again Attenborough doesn't really identify many of the species. Be careful watching this episode: once you start watching, it's hard to stop. It would be perfect if he had included parasitic and aquatic insects.

1:20	Desert Locusts	3:40	Magnolia	7:00	Meadow Cranesbill in UV light
8:05	Hazel flowers	8:45	Arum Lily	8:55	Stapelia smells of rotting flesh, attracts Fly
9:20	Corpse Flower (Far East)	9:35	Cuckoopint produces unpleasant smell and warmth; Insects trapped in spathe	11:40	Sage stamps pollen on bee
13:00	Flying Duck Orchid opens	13:15	Orchid attracts Ichneumon wasp by mimicking female, and having the male wasp carry pollinia	17:45	Yucca is actively pollinated by Yucca Moth (Central America)
18:30	Flower Mantid hides in Ginger blossoms to catch Butterfly	21:20	Spiny Leaf Insect molting	22:05	Caterpillar eating its own egg shell
24:00	Orchard Swallowtail caterpillar looks like bird dropping, extends osmeterium	27:10	Common Crow Butterfly chrysalis	28:05	Orchard Swallowtail emerges from chrysalis
29:35	Birdwing Butterfly mating	31:20	Atlas Moth	32:25	Termite queen (Western Australia)
37:40	Solitary Bees mating	35:50	Sweat Bee colony (Kansas)	38:50	Honey Bee queen inspecting cells
38:35	Honey Bee worker waggle dancing	42:30	Green Tree Ant S (Weaver Ants) use larvae to produce silk and build nest in leaves (Southeast Asia)	44:10	Leaf Cutter Ants (Parasol Ants)
45:50	Leaf Cutter Ants cultivate fungus garden	47:05	Bullhorn Acacia ? defended by Stinging Ants (Central America)	49:35	Army Ants linking to form bivouac

1:20 Desert Locusts	3:40 Magnolia	7:00 Meadow Cranesbill in UV light
8:05 Hazel flowers	8:45 Arum Lily	8:55 Stapelia
8:55 Fly	9:20 Corpse Flower	9:35 Cuckoopint
9:35 Insects trapped in spathe	11:40 Sage stamps pollen on bee	13:00 Flying Duck Orchid
13:15 Orchid	13:15 Ichneumon wasp	17:45 Yucca
17:45 Yucca Moth	18:30 Flower Mantid	18:30 Ginger blossoms
18:30 Butterfly	21:20 Spiny Leaf Insect molting	22:05 Caterpillar eating its own egg shell
24:00 Orchard Swallowtail caterpillar	27:10 Common Crow Butterfly chrysalis	28:05 Orchard Swallowtail emerges from chrysalis
29:35 Birdwing Butterfly mating	31:20 Atlas Moth	32:25 Termite queen
37:40 Bees mating	35:50 Sweat Bee colony	38:50 Honey Bee queen
38:35 Honey Bee worker waggle dancing	42:30 Green Tree Ant S	44:10 Leaf Cutter Ants
45:50 Leaf Cutter Ants cultivate fungus garden	47:05 Bullhorn Acacia ?	47:05 Stinging Ants
49:35 Army Ants


Index	Jan 10, 2006	Peter Chen