The World of Insects - Unveiling Earth's Mini Giants | Full Documentary

0:04 [Music] the animal kingdom a remarkable collection of living breathing natural wonders ening impressive tenacious and nurturing innovative tough surprising always genuine discover their past present and future just breathtaking just intriguing just tremendous just [Music]

1:02 [Music] animals insects the multitude that make the air [Music] Buzz Earth is the planet of the insects it's been estimated that for every one of us there are 1.4 billion of [Music] them of all

1:53 known animal species insects make up at least 80% of the creatures found on Earth [Music] these delicate appendages are often attributed to the extraordinary success of insects they are the only invertebrates with wings the power of flight allows many bugs to broaden their Horizons taking them far a field to colonize new territory or to help make a swift Escape survival

2:39 is something insects excel [Music] at members of this class have been around for hundreds of millions of years some predating and outliving the dinosaurs though small these creatures are [Music] Mighty the only environments insects have not managed to conquer are those near active volcanoes and the Frozen extremes at times they may be annoying but without bugs we would be lost

3:29 [Music] pollination decomposition environmentally friendly pest control food and ethereal Beauty a small sample of the gifts that insects bestow on the world [Music] the diversity of insects is

4:16 astounding yet they all have one thing in common a body made of three parts what they do not have is a backbone making them [Music] invertebrates the fact that they lack a spine is no handicap more than 90% of the planet's creatures are [Music] invertebrates corals jellyfish and clams are all types of invertebrates as are arthopods [Music] there are four types of arthropods crustations

5:11 myop pods arachnids and [Music] insects a tough external skeleton or exoskeleton is one distinguishing feature of arthropods [Music] members of this class also have segmented [Music] bodies and at least three pairs of jointed legs while some of their close relatives have numerous legs insects only ever have three pairs

6:01 three seems to be a special number for insects their bodies comprised of a head thorax and abdomen the head is tasked with feeding and sensory perception insects have one pair of compound eyes and up to the three simple eyes or oselli light sensitive organs an insect's head is adorned with one pair of antenna located between or above the eyes typically an insect's mouth has a pair of upper jaws or mandibles that move

6:55 from side to side and Claw like lower draws called maxil that manipulate [Music] food the midsection of an insect's body is the thorax transport is its main task a thorax is made up of three segments each with its own pair of legs the last two segments on an insect's thorax may also support a pair of wings known as for- wings and hind Wings [Music] respectively finally

7:41 the abdomen the largest softest section of an insect's body within it are the organs in charge of digestion reproduction and perhaps surprisingly respiration insects don't have lungs instead they breathe in Air via tubes connected to a series of pores or spiracles located along both sides of their [Music] abdomen the Science World has classified insects into at least 29 orders which insect is the largest there are a few contenders depending on length

8:29 or weight one of the biggest is the Titan beetle found in the Amazon rainforest they can grow to almost 17 cm similar in size is the Hercules beetle from the Americas another impressive example is Asia's Atlas moth with wings wider than a human handspan at the other end of the insect Spectrum are petite creatures such as fruit flies which measure about 3 mm approximately 3 to six times smaller are the best contenders for the tiniest known insects the fairy [Music]

9:20 wasps be they Titans or simply tiny insects are truly fat fascinating 5 and a half million a recent estimate of the number of insect species that fly hop and crawl about the globe of the known insects the largest order are the kopans better known as Beatles kottra means sheath Wings in reference to

10:08 the hard protective front wings or elytra that encase a Beatles hind Wings these miniature Warriors are Rhino Beatles named for their distinctive horn [Music] horns only the males have horns using their formidable weapons to compete for mating rights and also for digging rainbow stag Beetles from New Guinea are equally feisty [Music]

11:00 [Music] weevils are also classed as Beatles this unusual example is a giraffe Weevil from Madagascar the long necks of the males are used for fighting and nest building this next type of beetle may be small but they are well known while many lady birds are bright red they can come in yellow and orange with a varying number of [Music] spots another large diverse order of insects are the true flies or dipterans which

11:48 means two Wings mosquitoes are an Infamous member of this group slender bodies long antenni and leg eggs being typical features their fly cousins have different builds sturdy bodies and short antenni a group of insects often seen flitting about are butterflies and moths again their wings are responsible for the name of their order lepid optra which means scaly [Music] Wings to differentiate between the two groups there are

12:40 various Clues to look for butterflies tend to be vibrant and rest with their finely scaled Wings folded in comparison moths have furry outout bodies when settled they leave their scaly Wings open the next group of insects are named for their membranous wings the himon optra bees [Music] wasps and ants are some common examples bees tend to have furry roton

13:29 bodies in contrast wasps have bare tubular bodies with narrow waistlines in the Ant World only reproductive ants have wings and then only during the breeding season [Music] insects are often generally called bugs but there's only one group of true bugs the critters that belong to the order [Music] hemiptera they all share one common feature a sucking mouth

14:16 [Music] part another order of sucking insects are the siphon apons better known as fleas [Music] these small flightless parasites feed exclusively on blood dragonflies and their Aviation skills are said to have inspired the design of helicopters they along with damsel flies are Odin Aras toothed flies one type of insect that can evoke a strong respon response is the Cockroach a type of bodian a Latin term that means to shun the

15:07 light termites also belong to this order despite their similarity to ants apart from looks these two distinct groups do share something they both exhibit social [Music] behavior it's true that some insects C cause revulsion but others can spark Intrigue such as the phasmids better known as stick insects this is a baby or nymph spiny stick insect from Australia pretending to be a fearsome ant

15:53 keeping a lower profile in the folds of a leaf is a native of the Western Pacific a peppermint stick insect while camouflage is a speciality of phasmids orthopterans are especially talented jumpers this agile group includes grasshoppers locusts and [Music] crickets with such incredible diversity the 29 orders of the insect world will likely never never cease to Captivate any that take time to stop and watch them in [Music] action to survive and thrive in any given

16:44 environment insects rely on an assortment of skills and adaptations One Way insects ensure their kind will live on is to produce a large number of offspring while not all of them make it enough do this survival strategy is more about the longevity of the species rather than the individual another survival tactic some insects use is to behave as a unit ants and termites plus some bees and wasps live in large organized colonies working together

17:29 for the collective good this is known as usocial Behavior members of a colony have defined roles with honeybees only the queen reproduces male drones breed with the queen and the female workers perform a number of tasks such as caring for L producing wax and foraging acting as one has its benefits such as safety in numbers no matter their size every insect comes with their own natural suit of armor their tough

18:16 exoskeleton an insect's exterior can also help it hide in plain sight some simply choose to blend in While others take things a step further stick insects are masters of mimicry their bodies taking on the appearance of their leafy homes this huntsman spider is Crawling by a huge opportunity should their camouflage fail them peppermint stick insects have a clever backup

19:01 the ability to douse an attacker with a repellent [Music] spray equally unappetizing is the lval form of an orchard swallowtail butterfly from Papa New Guinea the mtled skin of these caterpillars make them look like bird droppings when it comes to survival an insect's wings are obvious [Music] assets aerial transport boosts their ability to find food suitable environments and to quickly Escape

19:48 threats Wings can also help to ward off danger some butterflies have ice SP on their wings that are thought to scare off Predators or Draw their attention away from vulnerable body [Music] parts bright colors and striking patterns often act as a warning in [Music] nature animals that use this tactic are called aposematic using their bodies like a billboard to advertise the fact they are unappetizing and not worth the trouble bad tastes and smells are only a couple of ways insects defend

20:39 themselves if threatened bees wasps and ants can strike back with Venom laced stingers [Music] another means of Escape is jumping a centipede is on the prowl amongst Leaf litter it's found a Target this Predator is fast

21:31 but the hind legs of the cricket power it to safety catering skills are a must for any insect and desert dwelling Honeypot ants have devised an ingenious way to ensure their masses never go hungry hanging from the seed of this underground Nest are living storage vessels special worker ants called repletes during the rainy season when food is plentiful the repletes are fed drop by drop with nectar plus body fluids from prey then when the seasons change

22:24 and supplies run low the repletes are ready to serve up a meal to their hungry [Music] cohorts the leaf cutter ant from the American Tropics is another Innovative provider as their name suggests these insects Harvest sections of leaves the cuting are then marched down to their underground Nest to help keep them on track scent trails are laid [Music] down leaf cutter ants don't

23:15 actually eat their cargo instead this plant material will become compost that produces an edible fungus for these miniature Farmers to enjoy like other animals insects rely on their senses to help them interpret their surroundings compound eyes and oselli are photo receptors sensory organs that detect [Music] light mecho receptors sense movement as well as vibrations hairs are are the simplest type of these receptors clumps of these sensitive hairs can be seen behind the head on legs or close to

24:10 joints some insects hear through tonal organs drum-like membranes which can be located on the thorax the abdomen or on the front leg [Music] for smells in the air and tastes on surfaces insects have chemo [Music] receptors the mouth has many taste receptors but they also exist on their antenni feet and [Music] genitals thanks to their senses well-honed adaptations and

24:56 clever skill sets these comparatively small creatures are an immense success around the [Music] globe there's no doubt that dinosaurs left an impressive mark on Earth's history but insects have as [Music] well some of these ancient Critters had an an incredible Head Start over those reptilian [Music] Giants while the earliest dinosaurs date back 245 million years the ancestors of insects are thought to have been around for at least twice that

25:45 time when terrestrial plants began to flourish 500 million years ago so did insects dragonfly are the closest modern relatives to the first winged insects approximately 300 million years ago prehistoric insects were at their largest dragonfly like creatures had wingspans of up to 70 cm it's thought these early insects were able to reach such massive proportions because oxygen levels were higher at that point in time 100 million years years later fossil evidence shows Grasshoppers and crickets began to

26:32 hop [Music] about in another 30 million years cockroaches joined them flies ants bees and wasps followed after the fall of the dinosaurs it was time for praying mantises to rise as for their arthropod cousins researchers believe that insects and Crustaceans went their separate ways between 500 and 450 million years ago myop pods are just as ancient and the first spiders beat dinosaurs by about 150 million

27:21 years so in the grand scheme of life on Earth be being small is no [Music] disadvantage one of the qualities that draws attention to Insects is their wide range of interesting behaviors some are instinctive such as how the creature gets around the act of Grooming [Music] or knowing when and how to spin a

28:06 cocoon another is how insects move at a constant 9° angle to a source of light known as the dorsal light [Music] reaction this innate habit of keeping the sun directly above them helps an insect in Flight stay parallel to the ground in addition insects are capable of learning worker honeybees show off this ability every time they leave The Hive in order to make it back with their precious supplies they must memorize [Music] landmarks one Behavior insects are famous for is

28:58 this their use of sound to communicate it's hard to ignore male caders make their calls by vibrating membranes in their bellies another way signals can be transmitted is via chemicals many insects produce pheromones chemicals that prompt change es in the behavior of members of the same species a trail can be laced with pheromones to help guide ants along a certain path pheromones have other uses when insects

29:50 are ready to breed many species advertise the fact by releasing pheromones in addition addition these chemicals can work like a siren a guard Weaver ant has detected Invaders in response it's releasing an alarm pheromone a silent but effective Call to Arms migration is another Behavior seen amongst insects monarch butterflies are well known for their Marathon [Music] flights in the Americas millions of monarchs migrate south from Canada in the

30:37 Autumn the journey can cover more than 3,000 km eventually the masses settle in Southern California and Mexico where they enjoy a milder winter at the end of the day the butterflies start to perch together in clusters known as roosts this behavior is thought to be a survival tactic a cold butterfly cannot take [Music] off being in a warm crowd gives them a better chance should Predators

31:23 attack in in early spring these masses will begin their Journey northwards using an internal compass in combination with directional cues from the Sun these delicate insects are well equipped to navigate their [Music] way being part of a colony means the members enjoy improved foraging or hunting success above ground a group of Australian Bulldog ants have landed some food these fresh supplies will keep the growing laa below satisfied during this early phase they are canorous meat

32:15 [Music] eaters on the same continent a Hunting Party of Weaver an make light work of that large catch gradually the group coordinates their movements to shift this Feast through the trees then up and into their [Music] nest Weaver ants are named for their outstanding construction [Music] skills teamwork work is second nature to these petite Builders first worker ants will locate good

33:05 nesting [Music] leaves then grip onto the edge with their Vice like mandibles next others form ant chains linking their legs together then as a coordinated group they pull and and bend the leaves into a tent [Music] shape to glue this marvelous dwelling in place the youngest members of The Colony are brought out to [Music] help adults squeeze the L encouraging them to secrete silk that binds the leafy walls together

34:00 [Music] when completed these oval-shaped nests can be half a meter long a feat that's often accomplished in less than 24 [Music] hours this type of group mentality behaving for the good of the many is one of the clever strategies insects employ to ensure their ongoing survival [Music] change is a big part of life especially for insects to start a new generation they can use a variety of methods to find a partner visual signals such as gender specific colors

34:49 can alert any patrolling male that they're in luck some insects communicate their desires through sound cicadas sing and crickets chirp in the hope their songs will lure receptive females others release pheromones those emitted by female sopia silk moths are so potent they can attract mates kilometers [Music] away while many creatures have relatively simple life cycles insects develop in a more complicated way they along with amphibians go through

35:35 metamorphosis a multi-stage process which sees the animal quickly go through extreme physical changes from the time they hatch with insects there are two types of metamorphosis complete which takes four stages and in in complete which occurs in three stages about 90% of insects develop via complete metamorphosis which begins with an egg these are monarch butterfly eggs the size of a pencil tip

36:28 they hatch about 4 days after being laid the L's first meal is often the egg casing then they start on the milkweed leaves their mother laid them on as they mature bright Stripes appear on their bodies a hint of what's to come after feasting for 2 weeks the caterpillars look for somewhere to pupate pupation is a time of transformation

37:21 adult structures form while the immature body breaks down [Music] finally the adult stage emerges now free of its chrysalis this butterfly will spend about an hour drying its wings and pumping hemolymph the blood-like fluid of insects around its body in 5 to 7 days it will be ready to find a mate and start off a new generation in summer the average Monarch lives for 6 weeks those that migrate in the Autumn can survive for

38:08 about 6 [Music] months insects that go through incomplete metamorphosis also hatch from eggs but the youngsters that emerge are not lar these immature creatures are called nymphs in this type of metamorphosis the pupil stage is [Music] skipped instead the growing nymphs shed and malt their exoskeletons between four to eight times gradually they form reproductive organs and finally Wings which are present by their last mold

39:02 scientists believe the reason why insects go through metamorphosis is because it reduces competition for resources Lara generally consume different types of food to their adult counterparts less competition for food means juveniles have a better chance of reaching the breeding stage a win for the species as a whole [Music] food is an essential part of life and insects refuel their bodies in a variety of ways there

39:50 are a number of different mouth types seen on insects one is the chewing mouth part insects with this type of mouth part Munch their food side to side some insects do not chew instead they have sponging mouth Parts nectar is a popular food source and lapping mouth Parts work like straws to help insects such as butterflies drink their fill another way insects access their preferred food source is via a sucking mouth part

40:36 often they are sword likee mosquitoes have a cluster of six needles to help them dine on blood roughly 50% of insects are herbivorous meaning they eat plant material epin stic insects do not have to travel far for a meal they take shelter amongst their favorite food spiky pandanis [Music] leaves locusts are generally solitary creatures but when Food Supplies are abundant populations

41:22 boom swarms can be made up of tens of millions of locusts their voracious appetites are often [Music] devastating and when the greenery Runs Out locusts are known to become cannibalistic as a kind of payback some plants are able to even the score with [Music] insects carnivorous plants like the famous venus fly trap have

42:08 trigger hairs that snap their leafy cages shut when set off by wandering [Music] visitors a close call not all are that lucky while carnivorous diets are unusual for plants many insects thrive on meat such as this ant lion lava this tiny Predator is cunning burrowing into the sand ready to Ambush any prey that slipped down this Sandy fire

43:04 the lava's Trap has worked from a peaceful stance comes the lethal blow of a preying [Music] mantis once these stealthy Predators commit to striking out they cannot stop this reflex action it is that quick many insects are predators but no matter their diet they are all potential prey while they're both arthropods this centipede shows its Katy did cousin no mercy a meal is a

43:51 [Music] meal without insects in the mix food chains would [Music] collapse apart from being a food source insects play other important roles in the environment pollination is one the majority of crops would fail if these industrious foragers did not visit down on ground level the actions of insects can aade the soil the tunnels they dig allow water oxygen and nutrients to reach plant [Music] roots many species help to recycle nutrients

44:43 feeding on rotting materials and speeding up the decomposition [Music] process the eating habits of insects are beneficial in that they keep their overall numbers in check in addition many good bugs are now used as natural pest controls replacing harmful chemicals apart from the Bounty insects help to provide these small creatures bring something simpler to the world fascinating Beauty

45:31 with their long history and countless numbers it's no surprise that insects have been making an impact on Humanity for Millennia ancient Egyptian artworks and hieroglyphics often star the scarab beetle symbols of renewal and Resurrection they are often associated with kepri the god of creation rebirth and The Morning Sun it was believed this Scarab headed entity was responsible for moving the sun across the sky in the same way the Beatles roll their balls of dung in ancient Greece the goddess of Soul psyche was often depicted with butterfly

46:21 wings these delicate threads produced by silk worms are the reason behind one of the best kept secrets in history the Chinese art of silk production was closely guarded for thousands of years finally in about 130 BC the Han Dynasty officially started trade with the West Via the Silk Road an ancient series of trade routs that not only saw the exchange of this precious fabric but also ideas culture and prosperity a remarkable Legacy for a humble [Music] caterpillar bees have been cherished Through the Ages in ancient Greece

47:10 the city of Ephesus had a strong association with bees they symbolized timus the goddess of fertility and nature the City built a temple in her honor it eventually became known as one of the seven wonders of of the ancient world its ruins stand in what is present day Turkey it's extraordinary how influential and inspiring this vast group of relatively small animals has been and continues to be the effect insects have on the planet and its well-being is undeniable

47:59 they may not have a backbone yet these invertebrates support many life forms yes there are billions of them but their numbers are on the decline researchers working internationally have been reporting drops in biomass and diversity for decades an insect's small size gives it no immunity they face the same threats as other larger members of the animal [Music] kingdom habitat loss

48:44 pollution overuse of agricultural [Music] chemicals extreme weather conditions climate change humans tend to see themselves as the dominant species on Earth as such it falls on us to look out for insects the planet's unsung [Music] heroes by raising awareness about the Myriad of benefits insects provide scientists hope our habits will sh shift knowing that insects pollinate the crops that produce over a third

49:37 of the world's Food Supplies should be incentive [Music] enough on the plus side insects are by Nature masters of adaptation their astounding resilience has seen them survive eons of change many around the globe are working to assist the recovery of insects through breeding programs and the use of organic fertilizers simple actions such as planting native flowers and placing out feeding stations can make a difference to local insect populations

50:27 setting up an insect hotel is another option by providing a large selection of nooks and crannies these structures can accommodate a wide range of guests enough small changes can lead to positive outcomes not only for insects but the entire Animal Kingdom [Music]

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