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World s Biggest And Baddest Bugs
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Bugs. They fascinate us. |
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They frighten us. |
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Some are as big as dinner plates, |
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others as dangerous as the plague. |
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And I love'em! |
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G'day. I'm Ruud Kleinpaste, the Bugman. |
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And the opportunity |
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...as big as bugs can get and |
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...was an opportunity |
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Aah, he got me! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! |
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I'll do whatever it takes |
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...so I can understand |
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...and others turn so bad... |
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...on world's Biggest and Baddest Bugs. |
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I begin with a journey |
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I'm going to need all my experience |
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...if I'm to uncover their secret |
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and discover why some bugs |
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...and the very biggest can be |
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First up, the biggest cockroach |
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Ugh! |
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Oh! |
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This is what we always think of |
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Yuh! |
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You know, there's monsters |
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and in your kitchen cupboards. |
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Ugh. |
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These ain't no giants. |
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These are giants. |
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But don't worry. |
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You're not going to find these |
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anywhere near your kitchen cupboard. |
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This is where they occur. |
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My search for giants brings me |
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You got to be tough to live out here. |
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Whew! It's hot. |
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Ah. Now. Ah, ah. |
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Come over here. |
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See this? |
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There's some dry soil here |
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sort of, like, recently excavated. |
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What I'm looking for is |
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Most cockroaches are too easy to find. |
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These giants aren't. |
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They live only in Queensland |
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See? Oh ho ho! |
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Oh, come on. Don't be... |
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Oh, don't be a spoilsport! |
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I got him. Got him, got him, got him. |
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Righto. Now, there we are. |
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Ow. Spiky legs, all right. |
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That is what I call a cockroach. |
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Look at it. Might not even be full-grown. |
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And by the looks of it, it's a male. |
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It's a boy. |
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Ohh. |
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How long? About 3 inches. |
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See this little lip here? |
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That means it's a male, and it can dig. |
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It's like having your hat like this |
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and dig out with your thorax - |
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Isn't that gorgeous? |
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These cockroaches don't come |
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They're strictly country cousins, |
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and they burrow. |
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They can burrow through |
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like mini excavators. |
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Now, underneath is the head. |
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And you know what? |
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It feels nice and cool, |
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And that is a dead giveaway |
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why these cockroaches live underground. |
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Compared to the 90-plus-degrees |
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their burrows are as cool as wine cellars. |
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And like a good wine, |
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They live for up to 10 years. |
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The roach in your kitchen lives |
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Even more remarkable |
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is that mother giant roaches |
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Now, this is very unusual for cockroaches. |
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Others lay eggs. |
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And she looks after her young |
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But why do these junior roaches |
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Well, it's a mystery, but scientists think |
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it could have something to do with moisture. |
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The biggest cockroaches are found |
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When it rains, they all |
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to meet, to mate, and to move on. |
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This is the only time |
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in the fierce Australian heat. |
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So the moment it rains, they come out, |
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they gather up all these leaves |
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eucalyptus leaves and |
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and take them down in the burrow. |
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And these leaves are dead, |
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Mmh. Mmh. |
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Dry? |
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They taste like dead, old, dried leaves. |
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Not something that I could live on, |
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but these roaches can. |
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This guy has had a heck of a day today. |
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Exciting, mind you, but in the process, |
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we've destroyed its burrow totally. |
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Now, luckily, I've found |
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You can always tell a deserted burrow |
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It's never closed off. |
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So I'm gonna let him go here. |
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Ah, put a leaf in for good measure, |
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Away you go. |
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Giant cockroaches are big, |
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And the next bug helps answer the question, |
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"Why aren't bugs as big as buses?" |
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Dragonflies. |
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I love them because they're so ancient. |
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They were flying around |
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That's the time when coal was deposited. |
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Can you imagine? |
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Another thing I like about dragonflies |
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is that they used to be |
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Oh, yeah, once they were |
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the largest flying insect in the world. |
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Now, of course, this is a much smaller |
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It's the hawker dragonfly. |
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But I'd like you to meet |
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a long and slender cousin of this one |
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The very first flying insects appeared |
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There were giant dragonflies |
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and damselflies the size of hawks. |
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So, what happened? Why did they shrink? |
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My journey to find out begins in Panama. |
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Near water should be the perfect place |
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They gather around fallen logs |
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because logs have holes |
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and females come to |
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And where there are females, |
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Males are superb fliers. |
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They hover over their ponds |
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And if they receive unwelcome visitors, |
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they become attack helicopters. |
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Got him! |
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Why do they get so big? Well, very simple. |
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Areas like this and habitats |
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don't come around very often, |
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So if you're a big male, |
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you got a better chance of securing a female |
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with such a piece of real estate. |
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Believe it or not, |
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these helicopters are |
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Body length - around 4 inches. |
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Wingspan - 31/2. |
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In the past - and we know |
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damselflies got a lot, lot bigger. |
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About a size like that. |
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And why was that? |
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Well, one simple reason - oxygen. |
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We humans have evolved in |
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We're used to it. |
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That's enough for me |
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no problems. |
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I feel okay. |
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Enough oxygen here, you know. |
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But damselflies - |
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and their close relations, the dragonflies - |
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evolved long ago, |
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when there was twice |
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Now, with more oxygen, |
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Imagine dragonflies with a 2-foot wingspan. |
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Then imagine what happened |
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Scientists think that decomposing |
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began using a lot more of it. |
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With less oxygen in the air, |
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Now, if lowering oxygen can shrink a bug, |
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I'd like to know, what could it do to me? |
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I've asked my TV crew to find me |
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These help scuba divers recover |
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Now, for me, they will reduce it by half. |
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When I take off my mask, |
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it will be like trying to breathe |
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Here we go. |
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Ugh! |
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Oh, it's tough. |
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As soon as I start pedaling, I want to stop. |
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I have no energy. |
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After a minute, my heart is thumping, |
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and by two minutes, I can't get enough air. |
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My muscles are screaming in pain. |
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21/2 minutes gone. |
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Ohh. 57% oxygen in my blood. |
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So it's really getting tough. |
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How are you feeling? |
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Really tired. And a bit headachey. |
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I'm worried how less oxygen |
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You see, our brains only weigh |
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but use nearly 20% of all the oxygen |
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Without enough oxygen, |
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we'd suffer memory loss, |
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Can I go back now? |
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I want to go back. |
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I'm gonna go back. Hang on. |
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I - I tell you what - |
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Out here it feels like I'm in a... |
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in an enormous carbon dioxide |
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and I can't get enough air. |
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I - I - I do need air. |
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You need air to perform. |
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You need air - you need air to... |
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Trying to work without enough oxygen |
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I want to cry. I want to sleep. |
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I feel terrible. |
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But my problems are really small |
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Their respiration is inefficient. |
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They carry little oxygen in their blood, |
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and they rely on air coming in |
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through tiny portholes, or spiracles, |
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So a bug's size is limited |
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by the amount of oxygen it can absorb. |
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My search for the biggest bug |
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takes me back to Queensland, Australia. |
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If I were to describe to you |
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an insect that can grow |
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has perfect 360-degree vision, |
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lightning-fast reflexes both |
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what do you think |
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You guessed it. A praying mantis. |
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A predator that can blend into the foliage, |
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stay still as a statue, |
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but then strike fast enough |
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Praying mantis's weapons of choice |
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are their pairs of extraordinary front legs |
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that are like spring-loaded jackknives. |
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They use them to lunge |
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It's amazing. |
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This praying mantis has given |
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...and modified them |
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that they're only killing machines. |
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But as skilled and as lethal as |
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they must be very careful... |
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...not to end up as the prey |
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So how do praying mantises avoid ending up |
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on other predators' breakfast tables? |
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Their first line of defense is camouflage. |
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All mantises blend into their environment, |
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but few go as far as the orchid mantis. |
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It even sways like an orchid in the breeze. |
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It can also hide in papaya |
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Even its legs are shaped like petals. |
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Just beautiful. |
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But praying mantises have |
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When cornered by predators |
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they will stand and fight. |
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So size is not a big deal |
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It's attitude. |
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And no matter how big |
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inside they all think they are giants. |
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So how can a small mantis beat a big enemy? |
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Well, my TV crew has sent me |
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to discover their secret. |
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I'm to receive my instructions |
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"Prepare 4 combat! |
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Tiffany, your host, is the mantis... " |
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Ha ha ha. |
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Oh, I get it. |
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Tiffany is an exponent of mantis kung fu, |
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and I've got to fight her. |
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Are you sure I'm gonna need all this? |
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Yes. You'll need it. |
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"Your challenge is to pin her arms |
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for just one second. " |
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AII I know about mantis kung fu |
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is that it was developed hundreds of |
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who closely watched the moves |
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There's something like 12 arm |
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Hmm. Her technique looks really good. |
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But my arms are longer. |
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Ah. Ha ha. |
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Ding! |
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Ugh! |
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Oh, I give up. Give up. |
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Shows you, though, |
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when you're small and you got technique, |
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you can battle just about anything. |
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I mean, I'm no slouch. Pbht! |
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But this was too quick. This was technique. |
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This was small, fast, and furious. |
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Inside every praying mantis |
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Next, bugs that are not only big |
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but tough when the going gets cold. |
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A bug with tusks? Yeah, that's right. |
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They're on the face of a tusked weta. |
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Wetas are related to crickets |
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and tusked weta males |
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just like male elephants or walrus. |
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They fight for territory and for females. |
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And battles like this have been going on |
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for nearly 300 million years. |
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They are truly, truly ancient. |
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Wetas might be ancient, |
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but they're still being |
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as we speak. |
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This creature is the tusked weta. |
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It was only found a few years ago. |
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It's rare. It is very, very rare - |
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...so rare that they're breeding |
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so that, in a few years' time, |
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this fellow might have |
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Now, wouldn't that be |
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Tusked wetas are one of |
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They include giants like this. |
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Giant wetas are super heavy |
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And because they weigh more than 3 ounces, |
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they're right up there amongst |
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But by far the coolest weta of them all |
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lives to the south of here |
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And when I say "cool," I mean cool. |
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The mountain weta survives |
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And when spring comes |
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it emerges from its frozen tomb, |
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But it is not magic. |
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You see, the weta has special chemicals |
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that prevent harmful ice crystals |
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Now, that was a clever trick. |
| 00:18:13 |
So I can appreciate the alpine |
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I've come to a human-performance center, |
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where Dr. John Marsden will let me |
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to be in the mountains |
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And like wetas, I'll have no clothes, |
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except for a pair of shorts for modesty. |
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The freezer has been set to |
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or minus-8 Celsius. |
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And the cold hits me like a brick. |
| 00:18:38 |
We are not built for the cold. |
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If our temperatures drop |
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more than just a few degrees for too long, |
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we get hypothermia, which can kill us. |
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But all it would do to the mountain weta |
| 00:18:50 |
would be to slow it down a bit. |
| 00:18:53 |
To the old mountain weta, |
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this must be like the first day of winter, |
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and they're just getting into their game. |
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I'm starting to conk out. |
| 00:19:01 |
They thrive at these sort of temperatures. |
| 00:19:03 |
It's unbelievable. |
| 00:19:05 |
But I have to keep warm, |
| 00:19:07 |
and I can do that by running and jumping |
| 00:19:09 |
because when my muscles are working, |
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By 15 minutes, running can't keep me |
| 00:19:21 |
This is where the weta and I differ. |
| 00:19:23 |
You see, the weta will continue cooling |
| 00:19:25 |
until it is as cold as ice - |
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not moving, not eating, as if it was dead. |
| 00:19:32 |
I can't do that. |
| 00:19:34 |
I must stay warm if I'm to survive. |
| 00:19:36 |
I'm literally freezing from the outside in. |
| 00:19:39 |
As I get colder, my body |
| 00:19:42 |
to keep my center part warm, |
| 00:19:49 |
But my brain's already cooling. |
| 00:19:51 |
John's math tests are becoming impossible. |
| 00:19:55 |
44 plus 18. |
| 00:19:57 |
44 and 18. 44 and 18... |
| 00:20:04 |
60-something - 2. |
| 00:20:07 |
59 plus 21. |
| 00:20:11 |
Oh, 59... |
| 00:20:13 |
80- 80. |
| 00:20:16 |
Okay, that took over a minute |
| 00:20:19 |
so we're getting pretty near the edge here. |
| 00:20:21 |
If the temperature goes much lower, |
| 00:20:23 |
then we'll pull you out of there. |
| 00:20:25 |
Okay. |
| 00:20:29 |
Ruud, do you want to tell us |
| 00:20:30 |
how you're feeling at the moment? |
| 00:20:32 |
I don't think I've ever been this cold. |
| 00:20:35 |
It really hurts my ears |
| 00:20:41 |
It's actually quite awful. |
| 00:20:44 |
I think it's about time to pull out now. |
| 00:20:46 |
Okay. Come and get me. |
| 00:20:49 |
My core temperature is now lowering, |
| 00:20:53 |
It's reached a point where to go any lower |
| 00:20:55 |
would be very dangerous. |
| 00:20:57 |
Ahh. |
| 00:21:01 |
Ah, the sun. |
| 00:21:03 |
Warm. Ooh. |
| 00:21:05 |
I had to get out of there. |
| 00:21:07 |
I had to get out. |
| 00:21:09 |
That mountain weta has got |
| 00:21:12 |
I suppose that's one up for the bugs, eh? |
| 00:21:18 |
My search for the world's biggest bug |
| 00:21:20 |
now takes me to the Venezuelan |
| 00:21:28 |
This is what rainforest is all about, |
| 00:21:30 |
and these are conditions |
| 00:21:35 |
Have a look at this. |
| 00:21:37 |
We're going large now, man. Look at this. |
| 00:21:39 |
61/2, maybe 7 inch of the giant millipede. |
| 00:21:43 |
Beautiful creature. Very thin-skinned. |
| 00:21:46 |
This is why it cannot afford |
| 00:21:49 |
This is why it likes to be hidden |
| 00:21:50 |
and comes out when it rains. |
| 00:21:52 |
Look at it move, will you? |
| 00:21:56 |
So graceful the way |
| 00:22:11 |
Now, as I said, they are totally |
| 00:22:14 |
But there is a similar sort of species |
| 00:22:16 |
that, uh, hmm, needs a little bit more care |
| 00:22:19 |
when you encounter it. |
| 00:22:26 |
Something down the road. |
| 00:22:30 |
Whoa. |
| 00:22:34 |
What's that? |
| 00:22:36 |
Con cuidado. |
| 00:22:37 |
Let's have a look. |
| 00:22:39 |
Be careful, be careful. |
| 00:22:42 |
Oh, no. There it is - giant centipede. |
| 00:22:45 |
Hang on, hang on. |
| 00:22:46 |
Don't - Hang on. Here we go. |
| 00:22:50 |
You don't want that to go away. |
| 00:22:53 |
That is one of those ones |
| 00:22:55 |
that you don't put your hands in front. |
| 00:22:56 |
You treat him with respect. |
| 00:22:58 |
And once it's disturbed, |
| 00:23:02 |
because it's in the defense mode. |
| 00:23:03 |
And, boy, it's got fangs. Mwah! |
| 00:23:06 |
Like this. Like knives and forks. |
| 00:23:07 |
You don't want to be... |
| 00:23:16 |
I'll show you what you don't do. |
| 00:23:19 |
But you can, if you're careful, |
| 00:23:21 |
Oopsy-daisy. |
| 00:23:23 |
Huffy-puffy. Bit of a temper here. |
| 00:23:25 |
Oops. Thank you. |
| 00:23:28 |
Look. See that? And then these rear legs. |
| 00:23:30 |
Now, if I would do this |
| 00:23:33 |
turn around, make a figure of eight, |
| 00:23:36 |
There's no doubt about it. |
| 00:23:38 |
Those fangs at the front |
| 00:23:41 |
which have been - in evolution, |
| 00:23:45 |
and, with a poison gland from its head, |
| 00:23:47 |
made into poisonous fangs. |
| 00:23:49 |
But they are really modified first legs. |
| 00:23:52 |
God, look at it. |
| 00:23:54 |
It's sick of me. It's sick of me. |
| 00:23:58 |
Look out, look out, look out. |
| 00:24:09 |
When a giant centipede gets hold of you, |
| 00:24:14 |
And when it goes hunting, |
| 00:24:16 |
everything from bugs to birds |
| 00:24:22 |
It's a great climber. |
| 00:24:23 |
It's built for searching in holes. |
| 00:24:26 |
Nothing is safe. |
| 00:24:29 |
For its size, it's the ultimate predator. |
| 00:24:32 |
And its big advantage |
| 00:24:36 |
Long, thin, and very fast. |
| 00:24:39 |
How do you beat a bug like that? |
| 00:24:43 |
This little demonstration |
| 00:24:46 |
It's a race between the beetles |
| 00:24:50 |
Now, I am the big, round, bumbling beetle. |
| 00:24:53 |
And over there is, um, centipede man. |
| 00:24:57 |
Go, beetles! |
| 00:25:08 |
Go! |
| 00:25:15 |
Ha ha! |
| 00:25:31 |
Oh, you! |
| 00:25:44 |
When you have to get a lot of body |
| 00:25:47 |
through a very small space in a hurry, |
| 00:25:50 |
it pays to be long, flat, and thin - |
| 00:25:53 |
built like a centipede. |
| 00:25:54 |
You won, mate. |
| 00:25:58 |
We were so lucky to find this. |
| 00:26:00 |
I mean, they lead such a sheltered |
| 00:26:02 |
I'm gonna put it back, though |
| 00:26:04 |
because it really doesn't want to dry out. |
| 00:26:06 |
Oh, now, man. Here we go. |
| 00:26:08 |
The king of the predators of the jungle. |
| 00:26:10 |
Isn't it gorgeous? Ooh! |
| 00:26:13 |
Lucky us, lucky us. |
| 00:26:14 |
Come on, mate. This is where you live. |
| 00:26:16 |
Here we go. Put it right down here. |
| 00:26:18 |
Come on. Bye-bye. |
| 00:26:20 |
Have a good time. |
| 00:26:21 |
I'm getting out of your way. |
| 00:26:24 |
Down here. Come on. |
| 00:26:26 |
Tut! Whoa! |
| 00:26:28 |
There you go. Bye-bye. |
| 00:26:30 |
Making your body long and thin is one way |
| 00:26:32 |
of getting among the world's biggest bugs, |
| 00:26:34 |
but the next bug has done that to the max. |
| 00:26:42 |
I've been sitting here now for half an hour, |
| 00:26:44 |
not 10 foot from a tree, |
| 00:26:47 |
looking for one of the |
| 00:26:50 |
and I can't see it. |
| 00:26:52 |
I'm gonna give it a bit longer. |
| 00:27:02 |
This creature's been eluding me |
| 00:27:05 |
I'm going to get in there and get it. |
| 00:27:12 |
Whoops. |
| 00:27:13 |
This is the place where you find them. |
| 00:27:15 |
On the leaves. |
| 00:27:16 |
They sit on the outside of the tree, |
| 00:27:18 |
and they gobble up leaves. |
| 00:27:19 |
But despite their size, |
| 00:27:21 |
they're surprisingly |
| 00:27:24 |
Here it is. This is it. |
| 00:27:26 |
This is a leaf insect. |
| 00:27:29 |
Some people call them stick insects, |
| 00:27:31 |
and they belong to the same group. |
| 00:27:33 |
Look. I'll come down, and I'll show you. |
| 00:27:35 |
Yah! Whoa. |
| 00:27:37 |
There we are with the leaf insect. |
| 00:27:39 |
Now, leaf insects and |
| 00:27:42 |
and they all got one thing in common. |
| 00:27:44 |
They can grow to huge sizes. |
| 00:27:47 |
Now, you wonder why they get so big, eh? |
| 00:27:49 |
The trick apparently is that - |
| 00:27:51 |
You think about little warblers |
| 00:27:55 |
They come across something like that, |
| 00:27:56 |
and they say, "Whoa! Whoa! Back the bus up! |
| 00:28:00 |
That's too much of a mouthful. |
| 00:28:03 |
So size is a protection from being eaten. |
| 00:28:06 |
But there's something else. |
| 00:28:07 |
There's this wonderful camouflage. |
| 00:28:09 |
Because if they can help it, |
| 00:28:11 |
they don't even want to become discovered. |
| 00:28:13 |
They just look like their environment. |
| 00:28:15 |
But does camouflage really work? |
| 00:28:18 |
Can a stick insect really fool a predator? |
| 00:28:21 |
I've told my TV crew |
| 00:28:23 |
to see if they can fool me with camouflage. |
| 00:28:25 |
So, here's the challenge. |
| 00:28:26 |
I've been told there's food upstairs, |
| 00:28:28 |
and I've got two minutes |
| 00:28:31 |
Hey, this is the sort of job I like. |
| 00:28:41 |
Mmm. |
| 00:28:58 |
Nothing to it. Very easy. Yummy. |
| 00:29:00 |
Mmm, great. |
| 00:29:01 |
And now I get to do that all over again. |
| 00:29:04 |
But this time, the rules have changed. |
| 00:29:07 |
This time, there's still lots of food, |
| 00:29:09 |
but it's all disguised - camouflage. |
| 00:29:11 |
It doesn't look like food, |
| 00:29:13 |
just like a stick insect |
| 00:29:25 |
Mmh. |
| 00:29:27 |
There's nothing here. |
| 00:29:31 |
It's empty. |
| 00:29:32 |
This is ridiculous. |
| 00:29:40 |
Time's up. |
| 00:29:42 |
I'm hungry. I can't see anything, honestly. |
| 00:29:44 |
This is a list of all the things |
| 00:29:46 |
I've apparently missed in this room. |
| 00:29:48 |
Didn't know. Gonna have a look. |
| 00:29:54 |
Oh, hello. |
| 00:29:56 |
Wow. |
| 00:30:01 |
Well, you can eat that. |
| 00:30:03 |
Blow me days. Clever. |
| 00:30:08 |
You can eat that. |
| 00:30:11 |
Look at this. |
| 00:30:12 |
Did you see that? |
| 00:30:15 |
No idea. |
| 00:30:18 |
Look! |
| 00:30:20 |
This is not cable. |
| 00:30:25 |
Licorice. I love licorice. |
| 00:30:30 |
There's something else. |
| 00:30:32 |
The list. |
| 00:30:35 |
Oh, it was great camouflage. |
| 00:30:37 |
How much would you have got? |
| 00:30:40 |
The plate was marzipan. So was the cup. |
| 00:30:43 |
And the TV cable was licorice. |
| 00:30:45 |
And the list was written on rice paper. |
| 00:30:49 |
And that is what it is all about. |
| 00:30:51 |
Stick insects are absolutely |
| 00:30:53 |
They just look like a twig and think, |
| 00:30:56 |
"See if you can find me. |
| 00:31:02 |
Stick and leaf insects are |
| 00:31:05 |
That's why they must be |
| 00:31:08 |
They have no other way to |
| 00:31:11 |
This one is just like lichen |
| 00:31:16 |
How about this leaf insect? |
| 00:31:18 |
It's so perfect, |
| 00:31:20 |
it has insect bites taken out of it. |
| 00:31:22 |
And a leaf-eating leaf. |
| 00:31:24 |
How about that? |
| 00:31:28 |
But even their eggs are camouflaged. |
| 00:31:30 |
They look like seeds on the forest floor. |
| 00:31:36 |
And when the young hatch, |
| 00:31:39 |
they're camouflaged to look like ants |
| 00:31:42 |
and instinctively climb straight up |
| 00:31:44 |
into the branches of the nearest tree. |
| 00:31:51 |
Many stick insects have |
| 00:31:54 |
Some females don't even |
| 00:31:57 |
They do it all on their own. |
| 00:31:59 |
Unfertilized eggs hatch into females |
| 00:32:02 |
that grow up to produce more females. |
| 00:32:04 |
Instant family! Ha! Very clever. |
| 00:32:09 |
The spiny leaf insect might be big, |
| 00:32:12 |
but it certainly isn't the fastest |
| 00:32:15 |
Oh, no, no, no. But she knows |
| 00:32:17 |
She's going up there to blend |
| 00:32:20 |
and to eat a little bit more |
| 00:32:22 |
Now, while she's racing up into the tree, |
| 00:32:25 |
I might go away to see |
| 00:32:28 |
even bigger than this. |
| 00:32:33 |
Go left! Slightly left! |
| 00:32:35 |
Up the trunk, up the trunk, up the trunk! |
| 00:32:38 |
Yeah. Oh! Oh, just don't never mind. |
| 00:32:40 |
I'll come down. Here we go. |
| 00:32:42 |
Aah! Oh, no! |
| 00:32:44 |
Ugh. |
| 00:32:45 |
Boy, oh, boy. Oh. |
| 00:32:47 |
Are you all right? |
| 00:32:50 |
Oh! I think she's in better shape than I am. |
| 00:32:54 |
Isn't it a beauty? |
| 00:32:56 |
Now, this is the giant |
| 00:33:00 |
and it's one of those creatures |
| 00:33:03 |
because it pretends to be a stick, |
| 00:33:05 |
not a big, fat trunk like that. |
| 00:33:08 |
The Malaysian giant stick insect |
| 00:33:10 |
is the longest insect in the world. |
| 00:33:12 |
Well, not this particular one. |
| 00:33:13 |
But somewhere out there- |
| 00:33:20 |
The longest stick insect in the world |
| 00:33:22 |
was a Malaysian forest walking stick. |
| 00:33:25 |
It was found some years ago |
| 00:33:43 |
I'm Ruud Kleinpaste, |
| 00:33:47 |
takes me back to the |
| 00:33:57 |
Oh. |
| 00:34:01 |
Look at that. |
| 00:34:03 |
That is the largest arachnid in the world - |
| 00:34:06 |
the largest bug. |
| 00:34:08 |
It takes the cake. It is the champion. |
| 00:34:11 |
Whoo. |
| 00:34:12 |
These spiders can grow up to |
| 00:34:17 |
They can be a quarter pound |
| 00:34:21 |
Can you imagine that? |
| 00:34:22 |
These are the things Hollywood |
| 00:34:48 |
Magnificent. |
| 00:34:49 |
What a monster. What a hunter. |
| 00:34:51 |
No wonder they've made movie |
| 00:34:53 |
Oh, man, they can kill people at 12 paces. |
| 00:34:56 |
That's all rubbish. |
| 00:34:59 |
Look at this docile creature, will you? |
| 00:35:01 |
Sure, it's a hunter. Sure, it's big. |
| 00:35:05 |
But it's slow, too. |
| 00:35:07 |
These creatures have no ears. |
| 00:35:09 |
They've got eight eyes. |
| 00:35:11 |
But they have thousands of hairs |
| 00:35:15 |
And those hairs all help to monitor airflow. |
| 00:35:19 |
That means |
| 00:35:22 |
They can feel predators coming closer. |
| 00:35:24 |
They can feel prey coming closer, as well. |
| 00:35:26 |
If I make a quick move like this... |
| 00:35:28 |
You see immediately how she reacts. |
| 00:35:30 |
She can feel this easily, |
| 00:35:33 |
just with all those hairs |
| 00:35:36 |
Come on. Turn it down. |
| 00:35:37 |
It's all right, girl. |
| 00:35:39 |
See, if I were a predator, |
| 00:35:43 |
knowing that the fangs are at the front. |
| 00:35:45 |
And when I come from the back... |
| 00:35:47 |
Oops! Pbht! |
| 00:35:48 |
What it does is it dislodges all these hairs |
| 00:35:52 |
straight into my face. |
| 00:35:54 |
The hairs are venomous |
| 00:35:56 |
and cause irritation to skin, |
| 00:36:00 |
But the hairs also tell us |
| 00:36:01 |
that goliath spiders are, |
| 00:36:04 |
And like all tarantulas, they are predators. |
| 00:36:09 |
They ambush prey and kill with |
| 00:36:14 |
But they must take care |
| 00:36:22 |
When a male and female |
| 00:36:25 |
the male protects himself from her bite |
| 00:36:27 |
by holding her fangs |
| 00:36:31 |
while they copulate. |
| 00:36:39 |
There are no records of |
| 00:36:43 |
but their bite is very, |
| 00:36:48 |
Like most spiders, |
| 00:36:54 |
This is as large as spiders |
| 00:36:57 |
or, for that matter, any bugs can get. |
| 00:37:00 |
Any larger and they wouldn't be able |
| 00:37:03 |
to get oxygen right to their bodies. |
| 00:37:06 |
Oh, where you going? Where you going? |
| 00:37:08 |
That's not where you should be going. |
| 00:37:10 |
Hey. Oh, oh, oh. |
| 00:37:14 |
Isn't that gorgeous? Look at this. |
| 00:37:19 |
Come on. |
| 00:37:20 |
Off you go. |
| 00:37:27 |
Where's she gone? Right. |
| 00:37:29 |
That's what I call a good spider. |
| 00:37:31 |
Straight back. |
| 00:37:32 |
You see, the only time these |
| 00:37:37 |
is when they molt. |
| 00:37:40 |
When a spider is about to molt, |
| 00:37:46 |
It also loses hair on its abdomen, |
| 00:37:48 |
and its skin has a slightly blue color. |
| 00:37:52 |
Under its old skin, |
| 00:37:54 |
there's a new, soft skin already forming. |
| 00:37:56 |
And between the two, |
| 00:38:00 |
When the pressure of the fluid builds up, |
| 00:38:03 |
the old skin splits along its back, |
| 00:38:05 |
and the spider steps out of its old suit. |
| 00:38:10 |
Goliath spiders keep on |
| 00:38:15 |
As youngsters, |
| 00:38:17 |
As adults, they molt once a year. |
| 00:38:20 |
Each skin they shed brings them |
| 00:38:25 |
and one of the world's biggest bugs. |
| 00:38:29 |
The next bug might not beat |
| 00:38:34 |
but it is a true champion |
| 00:39:05 |
There's something weird |
| 00:39:09 |
And it's all to do with growing. |
| 00:39:12 |
Getting to become |
| 00:39:15 |
means eating your rotten wood |
| 00:39:19 |
Rotten logs build champions. |
| 00:39:22 |
Now, have a look at this. |
| 00:39:25 |
Hoo hoo hoo! Hoo hoo! |
| 00:39:26 |
This is merely a baby. |
| 00:39:29 |
It is the immature or larva |
| 00:39:34 |
If you want to see something really nice, |
| 00:39:36 |
have a look at this creature's father. |
| 00:39:40 |
The very best-fed larvae |
| 00:39:45 |
After spending over a year hidden |
| 00:39:50 |
...the adult Hercules beetle |
| 00:39:54 |
as big as a truck. |
| 00:40:00 |
Papa Hercules. |
| 00:40:02 |
Isn't it a wonderful specimen? Look at it. |
| 00:40:05 |
This is as large as they're going to |
| 00:40:08 |
It's a contender for |
| 00:40:11 |
And they're built - listen - like a nut. |
| 00:40:15 |
Strong and hard. |
| 00:40:17 |
They can lift 80 times |
| 00:40:21 |
Look, they're really, really, |
| 00:40:25 |
Now, the horn - Yes. |
| 00:40:27 |
Well, that horn is not for aggression. |
| 00:40:29 |
Oh, no. |
| 00:40:30 |
It's not even for defense against predators. |
| 00:40:33 |
That beautiful horn is for jousting. |
| 00:40:40 |
And jousting is where size of |
| 00:40:45 |
When a stranger comes along, |
| 00:40:47 |
it becomes a battle |
| 00:40:49 |
and defend your food. |
| 00:41:03 |
The upper and lower horns move like a claw |
| 00:41:06 |
to grasp an opponent |
| 00:41:13 |
Among Hercules beetle males, |
| 00:41:17 |
And if a male can keep |
| 00:41:20 |
it just might become a breeding ground. |
| 00:41:23 |
If he wins, |
| 00:41:24 |
there's a good chance |
| 00:41:29 |
To prove that size makes |
| 00:41:32 |
my TV crew has set up another challenge. |
| 00:41:38 |
Oh, no! |
| 00:41:41 |
Aw, a sumo wrestler! |
| 00:41:43 |
Ugh. |
| 00:41:45 |
He's the big beetle. |
| 00:41:48 |
Oh, and there's the girl. |
| 00:41:51 |
And I guess I'm supposed to |
| 00:41:55 |
Yeah, right. |
| 00:42:31 |
Hee hee hee! |
| 00:42:33 |
Oh ho ho ho ho! |
| 00:42:35 |
Hey! |
| 00:42:48 |
When two beetles fight, |
| 00:42:52 |
and the winner gets the territory. |
| 00:42:56 |
And as a bonus, he gets the female, as well. |
| 00:42:59 |
Now, how cool is that? |
| 00:43:00 |
So you go claim your prize. |
| 00:43:17 |
Oh, I feel for male Hercules beetles, |
| 00:43:19 |
especially the losers. |
| 00:43:21 |
You know, it's not easy, |
| 00:43:24 |
Oh ho! No! |
| 00:43:28 |
My journey now continues |
| 00:43:29 |
in search of the world's baddest bugs. |
| 00:43:32 |
I'm Ruud Kleinpaste, |
| 00:43:33 |
and I'm going to need |
| 00:43:36 |
if I am to avoid danger |
| 00:43:38 |
and discover why some bugs |
| 00:43:42 |
...and how others can cause |
| 00:43:45 |
But first up, the stinkiest bugs |
| 00:43:49 |
Ugh! |
| 00:43:51 |
It's just not a good idea. |
| 00:43:54 |
This cute bug is called the man-faced bug, |
| 00:43:56 |
and I'm sure you can see why. |
| 00:43:58 |
Well, if I turned it around, you would see. |
| 00:44:02 |
That's better. Ooh, great hair. |
| 00:44:05 |
But wait. Is that Ronald Reagan? |
| 00:44:08 |
But what's the man-faced doing |
| 00:44:10 |
amongst the baddest bugs in the world? |
| 00:44:13 |
Well, it belongs to the stinkbug family. |
| 00:44:16 |
And where do they hang out? |
| 00:44:17 |
To find the worst-smelling bug in the world, |
| 00:44:21 |
all you really need to do is |
| 00:44:25 |
anywhere on this planet. |
| 00:44:26 |
Now, I found some of these coreids |
| 00:44:29 |
right here on this sunflower. |
| 00:44:31 |
I'm going to pick one up |
| 00:44:34 |
Oopsy. Here's one. I got one. Aha. |
| 00:44:36 |
It's a beautiful, |
| 00:44:38 |
because it's got these lovely legs |
| 00:44:40 |
with these leaflike flaps on the side. |
| 00:44:43 |
It's called a leaf-footed bug sometimes. |
| 00:44:46 |
Now, this is the point. |
| 00:44:48 |
If I were a bird - a young, |
| 00:44:52 |
and I think, "Hmm. A leaf-footed bug. |
| 00:44:54 |
Let's have a go. " |
| 00:44:56 |
I would pick it in my mouth like this. |
| 00:44:58 |
They have this awful taste! |
| 00:45:01 |
And as a bird, I would - Oh! |
| 00:45:03 |
Oh, this is - Oh. |
| 00:45:05 |
As a bird, I'd learn my lesson. |
| 00:45:08 |
I would never, ever do that again. |
| 00:45:10 |
Stinkbugs get stinky and horribly tasting |
| 00:45:14 |
by feeding on plant juices |
| 00:45:17 |
to manufacture bad smells and tastes. |
| 00:45:20 |
They do it to keep predators away. |
| 00:45:24 |
Oh, this is a big one! |
| 00:45:26 |
I'm gonna try that one, too. |
| 00:45:28 |
Oh, a pretty good pong. |
| 00:45:30 |
I wonder what it tastes like. |
| 00:45:31 |
Look at it. Beautiful, though. |
| 00:45:33 |
Ugh! |
| 00:45:36 |
It's just not a good idea. |
| 00:45:38 |
Stupid. |
| 00:45:43 |
Go away. Get back. |
| 00:45:46 |
If you don't believe me |
| 00:45:48 |
when I say that stinkbugs really smell, |
| 00:45:51 |
that these cute little bugs |
| 00:45:54 |
well, here's an independent |
| 00:45:57 |
that you might believe. |
| 00:46:05 |
Oh, my God! |
| 00:46:10 |
Smell it. |
| 00:46:12 |
Ew. |
| 00:46:13 |
No, no, no, no. |
| 00:46:16 |
Ugh! |
| 00:46:18 |
Oh! |
| 00:46:21 |
It's just a stinkbug. |
| 00:46:22 |
Pbht! Blimey. It is a stinkbug. |
| 00:46:27 |
Aah! Oh! |
| 00:46:28 |
Ohhhh! |
| 00:46:30 |
Aah! |
| 00:46:34 |
Yeah! |
| 00:46:38 |
Eww! |
| 00:46:39 |
Uh! |
| 00:46:41 |
Eww! |
| 00:46:45 |
That's the bug. He ate it. |
| 00:46:48 |
Aah! |
| 00:46:52 |
Smells are bad, but they're not dangerous. |
| 00:46:55 |
Now, the next bug has a hot solution |
| 00:46:57 |
to help escape predators. |
| 00:47:08 |
In nature, predators usually win. |
| 00:47:11 |
So how can a defenseless creature |
| 00:47:16 |
Answer - With a nasty surprise. |
| 00:47:19 |
Aaaah! |
| 00:47:25 |
Sometimes the best form of defense is attack |
| 00:47:29 |
or, rather, confusion. |
| 00:47:30 |
And when you're a small bug |
| 00:47:34 |
the more time you can buy yourself |
| 00:47:38 |
the more time you have to get away. |
| 00:47:40 |
Meet the bombardier beetle. |
| 00:47:42 |
Bombardier beetles are |
| 00:47:46 |
They create explosive reactions |
| 00:47:48 |
by combining chemicals inside their bodies. |
| 00:47:50 |
And if you're on the wrong end |
| 00:47:53 |
then these guys are bad. |
| 00:47:55 |
But how bad? |
| 00:47:56 |
World bombardier expert |
| 00:47:59 |
No, I haven't, actually. |
| 00:48:00 |
- Never seen one blast? |
| 00:48:03 |
Let's do it. |
| 00:48:04 |
What I'm going to make believe |
| 00:48:06 |
Oh, you are? |
| 00:48:07 |
I'm gonna just bite him gently on the leg. |
| 00:48:10 |
Oh, where? Which side? |
| 00:48:12 |
The left front leg. |
| 00:48:14 |
Okay. Here we go. |
| 00:48:15 |
Oh! |
| 00:48:17 |
Oh, look at that. |
| 00:48:18 |
And it squirted in your direction. |
| 00:48:20 |
He's the best marksman in the world. |
| 00:48:23 |
Wow. Look. |
| 00:48:25 |
It didn't miss a degree. |
| 00:48:27 |
- Okay. Watch the other leg. |
| 00:48:30 |
We're gonna take the middle leg |
| 00:48:33 |
Here we go. |
| 00:48:34 |
Oh, yeah! Oh! |
| 00:48:36 |
Put on your goggles. Here are the forceps. |
| 00:48:38 |
Just pinch him very gently. |
| 00:48:41 |
Try the left hind leg. |
| 00:48:43 |
Yes, I'll try the left hind leg. Here we go. |
| 00:48:46 |
Okay. |
| 00:48:48 |
Look out. |
| 00:48:51 |
- It works. |
| 00:48:54 |
And imagine, he can do |
| 00:48:57 |
Ooh, that's a pretty good national average. |
| 00:48:59 |
It's a good national average, |
| 00:49:00 |
and he's not forced to expend his supply, |
| 00:49:03 |
because after he fires, |
| 00:49:06 |
The bombardier beetle is a walking zap gun. |
| 00:49:09 |
It's quick on the draw, |
| 00:49:12 |
and it's guaranteed |
| 00:49:18 |
Thanks, Tom. |
| 00:49:20 |
It was a random one. |
| 00:49:22 |
It got you straight in the nostrils. |
| 00:49:24 |
I'm sorry. |
| 00:49:25 |
No, that's... |
| 00:49:27 |
This is what it's all about. |
| 00:49:29 |
This is the master blaster. |
| 00:49:31 |
Oh, beetle. These are visitors. |
| 00:49:33 |
Behave yourself. |
| 00:49:34 |
It's quite remarkable. |
| 00:49:37 |
The mechanism is not unlike the one |
| 00:49:39 |
that the Germans put in |
| 00:49:43 |
It's also a system where chemicals |
| 00:49:47 |
So to avoid getting zapped themselves, |
| 00:49:50 |
bombardier beetles keep |
| 00:49:53 |
and only mix them to blast an enemy |
| 00:49:55 |
with their boiling-hot, smelly gunk. |
| 00:49:58 |
This is concentrated hydrogen peroxide. |
| 00:50:01 |
It is exactly the same material |
| 00:50:04 |
that is fabricated inside |
| 00:50:07 |
Can you imagine? It's rocket fuel. |
| 00:50:10 |
That's what they send these |
| 00:50:13 |
And I'm going to mimic exactly |
| 00:50:17 |
This is it. Look at it. |
| 00:50:21 |
First, a bit of peroxide. Here we go. |
| 00:50:25 |
To this we're going to add |
| 00:50:29 |
It's a catalyst to set off the explosion. |
| 00:50:32 |
Now, I'd like you to meet my self here, |
| 00:50:35 |
standing just like that. |
| 00:50:37 |
And if this is the bombardier beetle, |
| 00:50:40 |
we're scaling everything up to my size. |
| 00:50:42 |
That's what we're trying to do here. |
| 00:50:44 |
Watch what happens. |
| 00:50:46 |
Holy moly! |
| 00:50:53 |
Ooh hoo! We got him, we got him! Yay! |
| 00:51:08 |
The search for the baddest bugs in the world |
| 00:51:11 |
brings me back to Latin America |
| 00:51:12 |
and the busy shipping highway, |
| 00:51:17 |
I'm Ruud Kleinpaste, |
| 00:51:20 |
that is the terror of the rainforest - |
| 00:51:22 |
a fierce predator that devours |
| 00:51:26 |
and other small creatures every day. |
| 00:51:47 |
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. |
| 00:51:49 |
Oh, oh, oh. |
| 00:51:53 |
Here we are. |
| 00:51:55 |
Missed. Hang on, |
| 00:51:58 |
Got one. |
| 00:52:00 |
This is what I'm looking for. |
| 00:52:03 |
This is what we call an army ant. |
| 00:52:06 |
Small, insignificant? Yes. |
| 00:52:08 |
Aah! It bites. No, it stings. |
| 00:52:09 |
It does both Small |
| 00:52:13 |
but it's part of a much larger community. |
| 00:52:17 |
We're talking about hundreds |
| 00:52:20 |
This is only a tiny-weeny column here. |
| 00:52:23 |
But if I'm going on, |
| 00:52:24 |
I'm sure I'll find a bigger trail than that. |
| 00:52:26 |
Isn't that amazing? Aah! |
| 00:52:28 |
God, they found me, all right! Look. |
| 00:52:30 |
Straight through my pants there. |
| 00:52:32 |
Stinging. And it hurts. |
| 00:52:34 |
They all sting. |
| 00:52:35 |
The interesting thing is they're all blind, |
| 00:52:37 |
but somehow they find me all right. |
| 00:52:40 |
Here we go. Bye-bye. |
| 00:52:41 |
Army ant colonies are so perfectly organized |
| 00:52:44 |
that they are sometimes |
| 00:52:47 |
And I'm heading towards this one's heart. |
| 00:52:50 |
Ohh. |
| 00:52:54 |
The trail is over there. |
| 00:52:57 |
I have the feeling I'm close to the nest, |
| 00:52:58 |
because they're getting |
| 00:53:01 |
and it's like a highway. |
| 00:53:03 |
So they're split up a bit further up. |
| 00:53:05 |
The food is going that way, |
| 00:53:06 |
so I must be close to the bivouac. |
| 00:53:09 |
Really exciting stuff. Come on. |
| 00:53:18 |
Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. |
| 00:53:21 |
That's where they are. Ooh. |
| 00:53:24 |
Look at it. |
| 00:53:25 |
This is the bivouac. |
| 00:53:27 |
It's not a |
| 00:53:29 |
it's not a nest. |
| 00:53:31 |
It's basically, |
| 00:53:34 |
...all holding hands |
| 00:53:35 |
...forming their |
| 00:53:39 |
It's a bit like having |
| 00:53:41 |
all handing hands and forming a house |
| 00:53:42 |
where the other human beings walk inside - |
| 00:53:44 |
on the staircase, going upstairs, |
| 00:53:46 |
going to the fridge. |
| 00:53:47 |
You know, find mum, find the kids. |
| 00:53:50 |
And there they are. |
| 00:53:52 |
This is, I would say, |
| 00:53:55 |
700,000 individuals. Something like that. |
| 00:53:58 |
This bivouac is part of a nomadic phase. |
| 00:54:04 |
What I'm trying to say is that |
| 00:54:07 |
The workers move their camp, |
| 00:54:11 |
As they take the queen |
| 00:54:12 |
and thousands of helpless larvae and pupae |
| 00:54:16 |
to a new feeding location, |
| 00:54:18 |
big, well-armed soldiers guard them. |
| 00:54:21 |
During the nomadic phase, |
| 00:54:22 |
the colony is a bit like a ravenous beast. |
| 00:54:25 |
Its appetite is insatiable. |
| 00:54:28 |
Lizards, birds, even snakes fall prey |
| 00:54:34 |
You know what I reckon is going to be fun? |
| 00:54:37 |
Going to the front of the column. |
| 00:54:39 |
That is the swarm. |
| 00:54:42 |
That's the battlefield. |
| 00:54:46 |
The swarm will move out |
| 00:54:50 |
There are no scouts. |
| 00:54:51 |
And because they're all blind, |
| 00:54:53 |
they follow a pheromone or scent trail |
| 00:54:55 |
laid down by the workers. |
| 00:55:01 |
Army ants sometimes enter our world. |
| 00:55:04 |
And when they do, |
| 00:55:05 |
you can clearly see how |
| 00:55:08 |
It's like traffic |
| 00:55:10 |
Except there is no accidents |
| 00:55:22 |
Now, this is something |
| 00:55:24 |
army ants invading homes |
| 00:55:28 |
Now, the locals don't mind that too much |
| 00:55:31 |
because the army ants perform |
| 00:55:34 |
They're taking away all the vermin, |
| 00:55:36 |
all the insects that |
| 00:55:38 |
in their kitchens, in their bedrooms. |
| 00:55:42 |
Workers are voracious. |
| 00:55:44 |
When they detect prey, |
| 00:55:46 |
they become like a pack of tiny wolves. |
| 00:55:53 |
But the colony concentrates |
| 00:55:56 |
at the front of the swarm. |
| 00:55:58 |
This is like the mouth of a fierce predator. |
| 00:56:03 |
I'm literally at the front of the column. |
| 00:56:06 |
This is where the swarm is. |
| 00:56:08 |
There are big columns over there. |
| 00:56:11 |
Huge numbers. |
| 00:56:13 |
And the funny thing is |
| 00:56:14 |
they really don't make tracks, as such. |
| 00:56:16 |
They literally swarm all over the place. |
| 00:56:20 |
At the leading edge, |
| 00:56:23 |
They lay pheromone |
| 00:56:26 |
Any prey is heavily marked with pheromone |
| 00:56:29 |
and swarmed by those that follow. |
| 00:56:32 |
If the kill is too big to move, |
| 00:56:35 |
and hundreds of ants each carry a piece back |
| 00:56:38 |
along the feeder column to the bivouac. |
| 00:56:43 |
Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, |
| 00:56:46 |
Now, if the front of the swarm |
| 00:56:48 |
is like the mouth of a fierce predator, |
| 00:56:51 |
I could easily become its next meal. |
| 00:56:53 |
Ow, ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow! Don't do that. |
| 00:56:56 |
Oil! Stop. |
| 00:56:58 |
I'm in the wrong place. |
| 00:57:01 |
I'm in the wrong place. |
| 00:57:02 |
Oh, no! |
| 00:57:04 |
Army ants hurt. |
| 00:57:05 |
But next, an ant that can really hurt. |
| 00:57:08 |
It has the most painful sting |
| 00:57:15 |
The good news is this bug lives |
| 00:57:17 |
in Central American forest treetops, |
| 00:57:19 |
so I get a ride in a crane. |
| 00:57:21 |
The bad news is that |
| 00:57:24 |
and I've agreed to experience it. |
| 00:57:28 |
Far out. |
| 00:57:29 |
To forget that I'm about to get a bad sting, |
| 00:57:32 |
I'm really trying hard |
| 00:57:36 |
You can imagine that |
| 00:57:38 |
have not been studied much in the past |
| 00:57:40 |
because there's no way of getting there. |
| 00:57:42 |
But once you get there, |
| 00:57:45 |
Entomologist's dream. |
| 00:57:50 |
Every tree you see here is different. |
| 00:57:52 |
I mean, there's a home |
| 00:57:55 |
And there's ants. |
| 00:57:57 |
There's ants even at this elevation. |
| 00:57:59 |
Where's my bullet ant? |
| 00:58:02 |
I'm going to be stung by a bullet ant. |
| 00:58:05 |
They live in colonies at the base of trees |
| 00:58:08 |
but mainly feed on flowers and |
| 00:58:15 |
Bullet ants are blind. |
| 00:58:17 |
They use their antennae as walking sticks |
| 00:58:19 |
as they move about up here. |
| 00:58:22 |
And that's why they have a sting |
| 00:58:23 |
that causes such incredible pain. |
| 00:58:27 |
The only disadvantage of living up here is |
| 00:58:30 |
you're in the public eye. |
| 00:58:31 |
The stakes are really high here. |
| 00:58:34 |
All insects want to feed here, |
| 00:58:37 |
because they go and hunt |
| 00:58:40 |
And if you are a big insect |
| 00:58:43 |
you'll really want to arm yourself |
| 00:58:45 |
so that those predators |
| 00:58:47 |
Hmm. |
| 00:58:49 |
Worker ants travel alone. |
| 00:58:51 |
Nothing will mess with you |
| 00:58:54 |
when you've got a major sting |
| 00:58:58 |
They say that being stung by a bullet ant |
| 00:59:01 |
feels like being shot. |
| 00:59:03 |
And I'm about to find out. |
| 00:59:06 |
Un poco. |
| 00:59:08 |
Gracias, gracias, gracias. |
| 00:59:12 |
There's heaps of ants here, |
| 00:59:14 |
Look at them. Whoa! |
| 00:59:16 |
They describe this ant |
| 00:59:19 |
as if your hand is being |
| 00:59:22 |
for a couple of hours. |
| 00:59:23 |
Yeah. |
| 00:59:25 |
So why am I doing it? |
| 00:59:27 |
Well, the world's stinging insects - |
| 00:59:29 |
bees, wasps, and ants - are all bluffers. |
| 00:59:32 |
It's a painful bluff, mind you, |
| 00:59:33 |
but the sting is simply their trick |
| 00:59:35 |
to make us think that |
| 00:59:38 |
They really just want us to go away. |
| 00:59:40 |
Even a bullet ant's sting |
| 00:59:41 |
is nothing more than a painful sting. |
| 00:59:44 |
Got it, got it. Nearly. Nearly got it. |
| 00:59:46 |
Come on, come on, come on, come on! |
| 00:59:49 |
Yeah! |
| 00:59:54 |
I think I got one. |
| 00:59:57 |
Now I'm going to take that ant |
| 00:59:58 |
and see what it's really made of. |
| 01:00:01 |
Here we go. |
| 01:00:03 |
This is the bullet ant |
| 01:00:06 |
And I'm going to bite the bullet. |
| 01:00:08 |
I'm gonna see if it's really |
| 01:00:12 |
Come on, mate. Down you go. |
| 01:00:14 |
I'll put it on my arm here. |
| 01:00:16 |
Aah, he got me! Got me, got me, got me. |
| 01:00:17 |
Get out. Get the sting out. |
| 01:00:19 |
Come on, come on. Off you go. |
| 01:00:20 |
Please get off me. |
| 01:00:21 |
He keeps going, keeps going. Hang on. |
| 01:00:23 |
Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! |
| 01:00:24 |
Aah! Come here. |
| 01:00:26 |
I'll get you anyway. Oh! |
| 01:00:29 |
You can see how my watch is getting really - |
| 01:00:32 |
See how it's swelling up |
| 01:00:34 |
I'm gonna take it off because |
| 01:00:37 |
Can you see that? |
| 01:00:38 |
They call it the 24-hour ant. |
| 01:00:40 |
And that means that |
| 01:00:43 |
the pain will subside. |
| 01:00:45 |
It's like slowly creeping |
| 01:00:47 |
It's starting to move. |
| 01:00:50 |
The pain is moving further up my arm. |
| 01:00:52 |
And it took, what, 20 minutes. |
| 01:00:54 |
Boy, this is something |
| 01:00:58 |
Never, ever. |
| 01:00:59 |
We're an hour after the sting occurred. |
| 01:01:03 |
The pain has absolutely not subsided. |
| 01:01:05 |
It's like a hot needle in |
| 01:01:08 |
It's started to really rain heavily. |
| 01:01:10 |
It's got really dark. |
| 01:01:13 |
And I think it's time to retire |
| 01:01:17 |
where there might be some ice, |
| 01:01:20 |
Boy, this is sore. Still. |
| 01:01:22 |
It doesn't go away. It keeps going. |
| 01:01:29 |
It's about six hours after the sting, |
| 01:01:31 |
and it just doesn't let up. |
| 01:01:34 |
It's really painful. |
| 01:01:35 |
It's not getting much better, really. |
| 01:01:37 |
It's just, like, swollen. |
| 01:01:39 |
Sore from here to there. |
| 01:01:41 |
My arm, when I don't move it, |
| 01:01:45 |
It's thick, and you cannot move much. |
| 01:01:47 |
It's very thick and fat inside. |
| 01:01:50 |
It doesn't really hurt much |
| 01:01:53 |
Then it starts to hurt again. |
| 01:01:59 |
Morning. |
| 01:02:00 |
Just had a few hours' sleep, |
| 01:02:03 |
And we're 16 hours on, after the sting. |
| 01:02:06 |
And good news is, I can wear my watch. |
| 01:02:09 |
The swelling has gone down. |
| 01:02:10 |
The pain is basically back |
| 01:02:17 |
And that means that |
| 01:02:20 |
I think I shall live. |
| 01:02:22 |
I learned a lesson. |
| 01:02:25 |
Don't mess with bullet ants. |
| 01:02:37 |
My search for the baddest bugs |
| 01:02:39 |
takes me deep into the Arizona desert. |
| 01:02:42 |
This is scorpion HQ. |
| 01:02:45 |
Here are two toughies - two scorpions - |
| 01:02:48 |
and both are from the desert. |
| 01:02:50 |
Now, one of these is a killer. |
| 01:02:53 |
It can floor and kill human beings. |
| 01:02:56 |
And the other one is almost harmless. |
| 01:02:59 |
Can you guess which one? |
| 01:03:01 |
No? I'll show you. |
| 01:03:08 |
This one... |
| 01:03:09 |
Aah! |
| 01:03:11 |
This one is the harmless one. |
| 01:03:14 |
Oh, yes, it just got me. |
| 01:03:16 |
Absolutely got me. And it draws blood. |
| 01:03:18 |
But the venom is not |
| 01:03:22 |
She's so strong |
| 01:03:23 |
that she would rarely use |
| 01:03:27 |
She would use it only really |
| 01:03:30 |
if somebody is hassling her |
| 01:03:31 |
or if she feels really threatened. |
| 01:03:33 |
A little bit like this. Look. |
| 01:03:34 |
See, there it goes. |
| 01:03:36 |
Aah, yeah. Hey, hey, hey, hey. |
| 01:03:37 |
She's pushing. She's nudging. |
| 01:03:39 |
Look at that. |
| 01:03:41 |
And the funny thing is it doesn't even hurt. |
| 01:03:43 |
Now, the other one, that's the nasty one. |
| 01:03:47 |
And there's a very good reason for it. |
| 01:03:50 |
The bark scorpion hunts out on tree trunks |
| 01:03:55 |
and is vulnerable to attack, |
| 01:03:58 |
So it uses venom, |
| 01:03:59 |
not only to catch prey but also |
| 01:04:05 |
My TV crew has rigged |
| 01:04:08 |
I'm not sure what a walk |
| 01:04:11 |
about bark scorpion stings, |
| 01:04:15 |
For this simple demonstration |
| 01:04:19 |
I was asked to walk past that girl |
| 01:04:23 |
How easy can that be? |
| 01:04:34 |
Aah! Oh! |
| 01:04:36 |
That's nasty. |
| 01:04:37 |
Aah! Oh! |
| 01:04:40 |
Aah! Oh! Aah. |
| 01:04:42 |
What is that? It's so small. |
| 01:04:44 |
Oh, that's a cattle prod. |
| 01:04:46 |
Look, that's 10,000 volts or something. |
| 01:04:48 |
Shall I'll get you? Go. |
| 01:04:50 |
Good grief! |
| 01:04:51 |
Oh, not fair. |
| 01:04:54 |
Shows you, though, |
| 01:04:56 |
and you've got something |
| 01:04:59 |
you can floor anybody. |
| 01:05:04 |
The little black scorpion's powerful |
| 01:05:08 |
...that's killed hundreds of people |
| 01:05:13 |
Some scorpions can decide |
| 01:05:16 |
Some of two kinds of venomed |
| 01:05:19 |
But, if the treat continues, |
| 01:05:25 |
As our towns move |
| 01:05:27 |
we meet more scorpions... |
| 01:05:28 |
...and another bug that likes to |
| 01:05:35 |
As American settlers |
| 01:05:37 |
built homes |
| 01:05:40 |
the deadly black widow |
| 01:05:44 |
It had a fatal attraction to the |
| 01:05:49 |
The outhouse. |
| 01:05:55 |
The relationship between |
| 01:05:58 |
shall we say, a comfortable one. |
| 01:06:00 |
And especially the black widow spider's |
| 01:06:02 |
left a trail of victims and destruction. |
| 01:06:08 |
Ewwww! |
| 01:06:10 |
What a top spot for a spider |
| 01:06:13 |
It's got everything |
| 01:06:17 |
Now, for these spiders, |
| 01:06:18 |
outdoor toilets were merely the beginning |
| 01:06:20 |
of their long association with humans. |
| 01:06:22 |
I reckon they went a couple of steps further |
| 01:06:24 |
and are now saying, |
| 01:06:28 |
Bring it on!" |
| 01:06:31 |
Many towns and cities have now spread across |
| 01:06:34 |
a lot of black widow territory. |
| 01:06:36 |
And that spells danger for us. |
| 01:06:38 |
In the last 25 years |
| 01:06:40 |
black widow spider bites reported |
| 01:06:42 |
but, thankfully, only four confirmed deaths. |
| 01:06:46 |
It's the female of the species |
| 01:06:49 |
and I'm keen to meet the lady up close. |
| 01:06:53 |
This is what I call |
| 01:06:56 |
There she is in an old clay pot. |
| 01:06:58 |
Nice and sheltered. Big web. |
| 01:07:00 |
And, of course, in an area |
| 01:07:02 |
A lot of other insects. A lot of flies. |
| 01:07:04 |
A lot of food. |
| 01:07:05 |
She sits in the back of the pot, waiting. |
| 01:07:08 |
The web is right out here. |
| 01:07:10 |
In the web there's some |
| 01:07:12 |
There's some food hanging |
| 01:07:15 |
Little fly covered with silk. |
| 01:07:18 |
Now, we all know that they're venomous. |
| 01:07:21 |
But the reason they use |
| 01:07:25 |
You see, spiders haven't invented |
| 01:07:28 |
So when they catch prey, |
| 01:07:29 |
they want to keep it as fresh as possible |
| 01:07:32 |
if they don't want to feed on it yet. |
| 01:07:34 |
So what you do is you wrap it up into silk, |
| 01:07:36 |
you give it a little bite of venom, |
| 01:07:38 |
a little bit of poison so that |
| 01:07:41 |
and it stays okay in the web |
| 01:07:48 |
Perhaps black widows are supervenomous |
| 01:07:50 |
because they are small and vulnerable, |
| 01:07:53 |
just like bullet ants and bark scorpions. |
| 01:07:56 |
But the good news is that, like all spiders, |
| 01:07:58 |
they really don't want to bite us. |
| 01:08:04 |
Now, black widows are normally |
| 01:08:07 |
But you've got to be very careful. |
| 01:08:09 |
They are venomous. |
| 01:08:12 |
But when you get a spider |
| 01:08:15 |
or bungees onto your hand, |
| 01:08:18 |
Put it back just like that, |
| 01:08:20 |
and put it back |
| 01:08:21 |
And she believe |
| 01:08:24 |
Mother black widow lays |
| 01:08:28 |
But newly hetched black widow spiderlings |
| 01:08:33 |
...where had meeting |
| 01:08:36 |
They climb up to |
| 01:08:39 |
make a long piece of sac... |
| 01:08:41 |
...use it like a parachute |
| 01:08:45 |
I can't believe. |
| 01:08:49 |
They can blow from miles and miles |
| 01:08:53 |
...it could be a forest, |
| 01:08:54 |
an office building, |
| 01:08:55 |
or your backyard, |
| 01:08:57 |
that will be the widows |
| 01:09:05 |
A black widow spider |
| 01:09:08 |
but next, the most deadly |
| 01:09:24 |
Look at this - a bustling metropolis |
| 01:09:28 |
and heaps of people. |
| 01:09:30 |
4 million, in fact. |
| 01:09:31 |
Because this is Sydney, Australia. |
| 01:09:33 |
Now, let's take a step back |
| 01:09:38 |
Ah, that's better. |
| 01:09:40 |
Clean, pristine, undisturbed bush. |
| 01:09:43 |
Now, it was in this particular area, |
| 01:09:44 |
perhaps only a couple of |
| 01:09:47 |
that there once lived |
| 01:09:51 |
a funnel-web spider. |
| 01:09:54 |
On warm summer evenings, |
| 01:09:56 |
male funnel-webs would |
| 01:09:59 |
and go wandering through |
| 01:10:08 |
Their journeys could take them |
| 01:10:11 |
And that's the way life was |
| 01:10:17 |
And then... |
| 01:10:19 |
200 years ago, the city of Sydney was built |
| 01:10:23 |
right on top of funnel-web |
| 01:10:26 |
So, what did these spiders do? |
| 01:10:29 |
Well, nothing. |
| 01:10:31 |
The males keep on wandering, |
| 01:10:34 |
Now known as the Sydney funnel-web, |
| 01:10:36 |
the suburbs are their new bush. |
| 01:10:38 |
And if their romantic journey |
| 01:10:41 |
they are likely to come in. |
| 01:10:44 |
Trouble is, |
| 01:10:46 |
they're probably the most |
| 01:10:50 |
When cornered, |
| 01:10:53 |
and 13 people have been |
| 01:10:56 |
but none since antivenin |
| 01:10:59 |
even though 30 to 40 people |
| 01:11:04 |
They normally eat beetles and cockroaches, |
| 01:11:07 |
so it's actually quite a mystery |
| 01:11:08 |
why the venom of male |
| 01:11:12 |
...to humans and other primates. |
| 01:11:15 |
I've caught one in the act here |
| 01:11:18 |
walking around. |
| 01:11:20 |
Can't stay here, mate. |
| 01:11:24 |
Some of them are more |
| 01:11:27 |
If they rear up, you know |
| 01:11:31 |
You have to be very careful |
| 01:11:41 |
This is rearing behavior. |
| 01:11:43 |
Universal language for |
| 01:11:48 |
I'm gonna try something here. |
| 01:11:51 |
I've got a theory that... |
| 01:11:53 |
...a spider just doesn't bite |
| 01:11:57 |
It's got to have a good reason |
| 01:12:01 |
if it's under attack itself. |
| 01:12:04 |
I'm gonna try and let it walk over my hand. |
| 01:12:09 |
I think. |
| 01:12:13 |
This, believe it or not, |
| 01:12:18 |
Ah, look at it. |
| 01:12:19 |
I've handled bugs, good |
| 01:12:22 |
I know when it is safe. |
| 01:12:24 |
And I know that venom |
| 01:12:28 |
They don't want to waste a drop. |
| 01:12:30 |
And they will only attack when threatened. |
| 01:12:33 |
Ooh, that was close. |
| 01:12:36 |
Ugh. |
| 01:12:37 |
God, I don't believe I did that. |
| 01:12:43 |
But please, if you live in Sydney |
| 01:12:45 |
or anywhere there are venomous |
| 01:13:00 |
My journey to find |
| 01:13:04 |
This could be anywhere in the tropics. |
| 01:13:07 |
I'm Ruud Kleinpaste, and I'm on the trail |
| 01:13:08 |
of a bug that's so unbelievably bad, |
| 01:13:11 |
it can be linked to the deaths of millions |
| 01:13:16 |
I think I can hear something. |
| 01:13:19 |
Yeah. |
| 01:13:23 |
It hasn't found me yet. |
| 01:13:29 |
These bad bugs love to feed on us, |
| 01:13:32 |
and they can find us |
| 01:13:37 |
Of course, I'm talking about mosquitoes, |
| 01:13:40 |
and these ones are in the laboratory, |
| 01:13:41 |
where researchers use |
| 01:13:44 |
what kind of smells mosquitoes |
| 01:13:48 |
This is how it works. |
| 01:13:49 |
Lots of mosquitoes in these containers, |
| 01:13:51 |
and some pipes and tubes |
| 01:13:54 |
and then you can measure the response. |
| 01:13:56 |
Number one, I know breath |
| 01:14:01 |
I've got a sachet of |
| 01:14:04 |
which I'm going to put in this chamber. |
| 01:14:06 |
Upsy-daisy you are. |
| 01:14:08 |
See what happens. |
| 01:14:11 |
And there they go, |
| 01:14:14 |
It really turns them on. |
| 01:14:16 |
If I would go "hoo!" |
| 01:14:20 |
...they would even like that better. |
| 01:14:22 |
So breath. |
| 01:14:23 |
This is another one. |
| 01:14:25 |
I put my hand in here, open that one up. |
| 01:14:29 |
This shows you that |
| 01:14:31 |
the sweat and the body odors - |
| 01:14:35 |
for those female mosquitoes |
| 01:14:39 |
But I've got something else. |
| 01:14:44 |
I've got the odor of all odors. |
| 01:14:47 |
I haven't washed those for a couple of days, |
| 01:14:49 |
so I hope it's not going to kill them. |
| 01:14:53 |
No, it doesn't. |
| 01:14:55 |
They're actually - |
| 01:14:57 |
They really like this stuff. |
| 01:14:59 |
It's like Swiss cheese to a mosquito - |
| 01:15:02 |
big foot odor, big sweat. |
| 01:15:04 |
Mmm! |
| 01:15:06 |
Only female mosquitoes come after us. |
| 01:15:09 |
They want the protein in our blood |
| 01:15:11 |
to help develop their eggs. |
| 01:15:16 |
They find us first |
| 01:15:17 |
by locking on the carbon dioxide |
| 01:15:20 |
They can detect us from over 100 feet away. |
| 01:15:24 |
When they get closer, they smell our skin. |
| 01:15:27 |
Mosquitoes react to over |
| 01:15:31 |
And, look, there they are, |
| 01:15:33 |
These mosquitoes can take four times |
| 01:15:38 |
That means that they become |
| 01:15:41 |
...than they are when they started. |
| 01:15:43 |
And that means that their abdomens |
| 01:15:46 |
and let in more and more blood. |
| 01:15:49 |
And if you look really carefully, |
| 01:15:51 |
you can see that they eject water |
| 01:15:53 |
with little droplets from their abdomen, |
| 01:15:56 |
just to make room for a bit more blood. |
| 01:15:58 |
They really want as much |
| 01:16:02 |
Different mosquitoes |
| 01:16:05 |
These striped Aedes aegyptii |
| 01:16:09 |
They live in the tropics |
| 01:16:12 |
Problem is, |
| 01:16:13 |
each one is a potentially |
| 01:16:18 |
So am I in danger? |
| 01:16:20 |
Thankfully, not from these little ladies. |
| 01:16:23 |
They are laboratory-bred and disease-free. |
| 01:16:26 |
But you can imagine that, |
| 01:16:29 |
...things like yellow fever |
| 01:16:32 |
I would be a sitting duck. |
| 01:16:34 |
Aedes mosquitoes spread |
| 01:16:38 |
by sucking up disease |
| 01:16:40 |
and passing it on to others. |
| 01:16:43 |
The disease multiplies in a new host, |
| 01:16:45 |
rupturing red blood cells |
| 01:16:49 |
fever that affects millions and |
| 01:16:56 |
Next, a bug that wants |
| 01:17:05 |
The baddest bugs in this show |
| 01:17:07 |
were bred in Brazil in the 1950s. |
| 01:17:09 |
They escaped and reached the U.S. in 1990, |
| 01:17:13 |
and they're spreading fast. |
| 01:17:16 |
They're Africanized honeybees, |
| 01:17:19 |
They look just like normal honeybees, |
| 01:17:21 |
but they are superaggressive |
| 01:17:25 |
If an intruder comes near, |
| 01:17:26 |
thousands of bees will attack |
| 01:17:30 |
Hundreds of people have been |
| 01:17:37 |
You generally don't mess around |
| 01:17:42 |
And that means full suit and great care. |
| 01:17:46 |
Ooh. |
| 01:17:49 |
I'm in Arizona, and |
| 01:17:52 |
is taking me to a killer-bee nest. |
| 01:17:54 |
We must be careful. |
| 01:17:56 |
Even a noise or vibration |
| 01:17:59 |
And when killer bees attack, |
| 01:18:02 |
and I don't want that, |
| 01:18:05 |
There it is, up there |
| 01:18:07 |
The less people, the better, |
| 01:18:09 |
so I'm going to wish you |
| 01:18:12 |
Oh, thank you. |
| 01:18:13 |
I'll need it. I'll be very careful. |
| 01:18:15 |
See ya. |
| 01:18:18 |
Must be careful. |
| 01:18:24 |
There's a huge nest of killer bees there. |
| 01:18:28 |
And you - you can hear them |
| 01:18:33 |
Now, I don't want to disturb them, |
| 01:18:35 |
because when they're disturbed, they attack. |
| 01:18:38 |
When they attack, they sting. |
| 01:18:40 |
And when they sting, they die, |
| 01:18:43 |
But I've got to be very, |
| 01:18:46 |
But what will be nice is |
| 01:18:50 |
and to see how they react. |
| 01:18:52 |
Don't forget, I'm downwind from them. |
| 01:18:55 |
And I'm going to put |
| 01:19:00 |
...and see what I can find. |
| 01:19:09 |
Oh, boy, guard bees. |
| 01:19:11 |
Oh, amazing, they haven't seen me yet. |
| 01:19:17 |
Oh, sensational. This has |
| 01:19:20 |
Oh, look, they're investigating |
| 01:19:22 |
Wonderful! |
| 01:19:26 |
Oh, God, the noise - |
| 01:19:28 |
Whoa, whoa, here they come. |
| 01:19:31 |
I've got to get out. No, this is not safe. |
| 01:19:33 |
I've got to get out. |
| 01:19:36 |
I'm on. I'm moving. |
| 01:19:42 |
Better get out. |
| 01:19:45 |
It's a bit safer here, but |
| 01:19:49 |
I reckon it's a lot safer in the dark. |
| 01:19:58 |
When I approach the nest at night, |
| 01:20:00 |
I expect the bees to be at rest, |
| 01:20:03 |
They are still aggressive |
| 01:20:07 |
As I approach, they approach me... on foot. |
| 01:20:11 |
They climb my boots |
| 01:20:15 |
Even though this is night, |
| 01:20:16 |
they are still alert, still superaggressive. |
| 01:20:21 |
They start stinging. |
| 01:20:24 |
But there will be no escape |
| 01:20:27 |
tomorrow morning. |
| 01:20:32 |
My journey to find the world's baddest bugs |
| 01:20:35 |
ends here today in the Arizona desert. |
| 01:20:42 |
I didn't sleep last night. |
| 01:20:44 |
I kept thinking about |
| 01:20:53 |
Not too sure about this. |
| 01:20:58 |
And it's hot already. I hope |
| 01:21:01 |
Um, in there, I think. |
| 01:21:03 |
I really am nervous. Hmm. |
| 01:21:06 |
You'd be, too, if you were about to |
| 01:21:09 |
put on you without any protective clothing. |
| 01:21:12 |
Going to have an exciting day. |
| 01:21:14 |
Hmm, this must be my torturer, |
| 01:21:17 |
- Are you well? |
| 01:21:20 |
Yeah, we're going to have |
| 01:21:23 |
I have no idea |
| 01:21:25 |
So tell me, what do I do? |
| 01:21:26 |
The first thing you do is not panic. |
| 01:21:28 |
No matter what happens, |
| 01:21:31 |
Okay, so, I reel- I - I - relax. |
| 01:21:33 |
- You relax totally. |
| 01:21:36 |
How can anyone relax with |
| 01:21:40 |
Uh, how many? |
| 01:21:41 |
Well, at least 50,000 bees are here today. |
| 01:21:44 |
Okay. |
| 01:21:45 |
We hope they're all in a good mood. |
| 01:21:48 |
Going to sting a lot, so... |
| 01:21:50 |
He puts repellent around my eyes. |
| 01:21:52 |
My sleeves and cuffs are taped |
| 01:21:54 |
to prevent bees getting into |
| 01:21:59 |
Norm Gary is a bee expert |
| 01:22:00 |
and has worked a lot with killer bees, |
| 01:22:03 |
but what we are planning is very risky. |
| 01:22:06 |
- This is a- |
| 01:22:09 |
Is this it? |
| 01:22:11 |
That's it, Ruud. |
| 01:22:12 |
It's not beautiful, but it's functional. |
| 01:22:15 |
This is a small vial of liquid. |
| 01:22:17 |
It's a pheromone complex, |
| 01:22:20 |
bee pheromones |
| 01:22:22 |
So, you can already see, |
| 01:22:25 |
even before I open the vial. |
| 01:22:26 |
Yes. |
| 01:22:27 |
So in order to attract the bees to you |
| 01:22:30 |
and get them to cluster on you, |
| 01:22:31 |
we're going to place |
| 01:22:33 |
wherever we want the bees to come. |
| 01:22:35 |
Wow, they're really responding. |
| 01:22:38 |
Just little droplets here and there. |
| 01:22:39 |
The pheromone is the key |
| 01:22:41 |
It's the same chemical that a queen produces |
| 01:22:44 |
when she flies from an overcrowded hive |
| 01:22:49 |
That's why they will come to me, |
| 01:22:52 |
to prove the power of the pheromone. |
| 01:22:55 |
I trust that it will communicate |
| 01:22:58 |
that they should not attack me. |
| 01:23:00 |
Just to be on the safe side, |
| 01:23:02 |
I have a fistful of medications here, |
| 01:23:04 |
most anything for any purpose. |
| 01:23:06 |
And we'll take good care of you |
| 01:23:09 |
Okay, so that's if I go absolutely out. |
| 01:23:11 |
All right, are we ready? |
| 01:23:12 |
- I'm ready, mate. |
| 01:23:16 |
Ready? |
| 01:23:17 |
Ready? Ready? |
| 01:23:19 |
What am I doing here? |
| 01:23:27 |
Once a few bees are in position, |
| 01:23:30 |
then they are quite attracted |
| 01:23:33 |
So this is gonna build up now, |
| 01:23:39 |
There's no question about it. |
| 01:23:40 |
What's even more alarming |
| 01:23:44 |
This is the first time I've ever used |
| 01:23:48 |
Africanized, so-called killer bees, |
| 01:23:51 |
As the bees go on, I start to panic. |
| 01:23:54 |
500 stings will kill me, |
| 01:23:57 |
and there must be close to |
| 01:24:00 |
But I must have confidence |
| 01:24:04 |
I have to believe they only attack |
| 01:24:06 |
if they have a queen or a hive to defend, |
| 01:24:09 |
and today, I'm their queen. |
| 01:24:12 |
If you get stung, |
| 01:24:14 |
I want you to let me know right away. |
| 01:24:16 |
I will. |
| 01:24:17 |
If you can't say anything with your mouth |
| 01:24:18 |
because you're covered, |
| 01:24:21 |
When I first did this, I was terrified. |
| 01:24:23 |
A sting is what I'm most afraid of. |
| 01:24:25 |
If one killer bee stings, |
| 01:24:30 |
That's the signal for a mass attack. |
| 01:24:33 |
It is bizarre. It is a weird sensation. |
| 01:24:36 |
It is frightening as hell. |
| 01:24:39 |
It is really frightening, because you feel |
| 01:24:42 |
that they're all going for you, |
| 01:24:46 |
Which is what they do, |
| 01:24:48 |
They're going for you because |
| 01:24:52 |
- Hmm. |
| 01:24:54 |
The biggest queen in town. |
| 01:24:56 |
Oh, gosh! |
| 01:24:58 |
It's hard to scoop the residual bees. |
| 01:25:01 |
I'm going to fling them |
| 01:25:04 |
and they will smell their way up |
| 01:25:06 |
and come and join the other bees. |
| 01:25:07 |
So, on the count of 3- 1... 2... 3. |
| 01:25:23 |
How many more do you have? |
| 01:25:25 |
Well, I would say, |
| 01:25:28 |
Oh! |
| 01:25:29 |
I can go ahead and |
| 01:25:31 |
Can I put my arms down? |
| 01:25:33 |
- Oh, yes, just keep them down. |
| 01:25:35 |
As long as they're - |
| 01:25:38 |
Just relax. |
| 01:25:40 |
As Norm releases the bees, |
| 01:25:41 |
they come flying onto me at great speed. |
| 01:25:44 |
It's like riding a motorbike |
| 01:25:48 |
I'm getting really tired. |
| 01:25:50 |
At this point, you should |
| 01:25:53 |
Yes, I can feel weight. |
| 01:25:54 |
The bees are heavy. About |
| 01:25:59 |
And you have at least |
| 01:26:02 |
Yeah. |
| 01:26:03 |
I can hear them so close-up... |
| 01:26:05 |
that they feel as if |
| 01:26:10 |
and it's, like, deafening. |
| 01:26:12 |
I can - Honestly, I cannot |
| 01:26:15 |
You have to shout. |
| 01:26:16 |
I have to learn to relax |
| 01:26:21 |
I can't see a thing. |
| 01:26:23 |
The bees are shading my eyes. |
| 01:26:26 |
Can you see that? |
| 01:26:29 |
It's awful. |
| 01:26:31 |
Under the weight of 50,000 bees, |
| 01:26:37 |
I'm starting to panic again. |
| 01:26:39 |
I want this to end now. |
| 01:26:41 |
Please. |
| 01:26:42 |
Ruud, I thought you might like to see |
| 01:26:44 |
how you appear in the mirror, so... |
| 01:26:46 |
- Oh, no... |
| 01:26:48 |
Oh, you're joking. |
| 01:26:50 |
Oh, no, look at this! |
| 01:26:51 |
Ah, this is amazing. |
| 01:26:59 |
Hmm. |
| 01:27:03 |
This is what you call |
| 01:27:08 |
They're not out to kill us. |
| 01:27:09 |
That's not what they're about. |
| 01:27:12 |
They're about to defend their honey, |
| 01:27:14 |
because we always steal it, |
| 01:27:16 |
and I reckon this is the most |
| 01:27:24 |
Okay, Ruud, it's time to get these bees off. |
| 01:27:32 |
A little bit on your cheek here, |
| 01:27:34 |
- Whoops. |
| 01:27:35 |
I'm sorry. My fault. |
| 01:27:36 |
I'm stung! I'm stung! |
| 01:27:39 |
Will they attack? |
| 01:27:47 |
Thank God, they stay calm. |
| 01:27:49 |
I can't believe it. |
| 01:27:51 |
I've done it. |
| 01:27:53 |
But don't you do any of the things |
| 01:27:55 |
you've seen me do on this show. |
| 01:27:56 |
You have to be an expert |
| 01:28:01 |
an expert and a little bit crazy. |
| 01:28:04 |
Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, |
| 01:28:08 |
You are essentially |
| 01:28:10 |
Wow. |
| 01:28:11 |
And you got two stings. Yeah. |
| 01:28:13 |
Well, I'm sorry about that, but you know |
| 01:28:15 |
it could have been 50,000... |
| 01:28:16 |
- Yeah, I know... |
| 01:28:19 |
I've never done anything |
| 01:28:21 |
and, um, I feel that |
| 01:28:26 |
and what I know about them |
| 01:28:29 |
And I'll tell you |
| 01:28:32 |
if you make one such thing |
| 01:28:37 |
Oops. That's it. You got to play their game. |
| 01:28:41 |
What a stunt to finish on. |
| 01:28:44 |
But we've done it. Yeah, we've done it! |
| 01:28:48 |
Whoo-hoo! |
| 01:28:54 |
Does it taste bad? |
| 01:28:55 |
Hoo! |
| 01:29:03 |
Ah, you did it! |
| 01:29:04 |
Aye! |
| 01:29:05 |
I call. |
| 01:29:07 |
That's right, I did. |
| 01:29:08 |
Whoa! Okay. |
| 01:29:09 |
I'd like another one. |
| 01:29:11 |
Ah! Ah, ah. |
| 01:29:15 |
Yeah-ha! |
| 01:29:16 |
Yeah! |
| 00:00:04 |
They frighten us. |
| 00:00:05 |
Some are as big as dinner plates, |
| 00:00:07 |
others as dangerous as the plague. |
| 00:00:09 |
And I love'em! |
| 00:00:11 |
G'day. I'm Ruud Kleinpaste, the Bugman. |
| 00:00:13 |
And the opportunity |
| 00:00:15 |
...as big as bugs can get and |
| 00:00:18 |
...was an opportunity |
| 00:00:21 |
Aah, he got me! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! |
| 00:00:23 |
I'll do whatever it takes |
| 00:00:26 |
...so I can understand |
| 00:00:29 |
...and others turn so bad... |
| 00:00:32 |
...on world's Biggest and Baddest Bugs. |
| 00:00:42 |
I begin with a journey |
| 00:00:45 |
I'm going to need all my experience |
| 00:00:48 |
...if I'm to uncover their secret |
| 00:00:52 |
and discover why some bugs |
| 00:00:56 |
...and the very biggest can be |
| 00:01:00 |
First up, the biggest cockroach |
| 00:01:16 |
Ugh! |
| 00:01:17 |
Oh! |
| 00:01:18 |
This is what we always think of |
| 00:01:21 |
Yuh! |
| 00:01:22 |
You know, there's monsters |
| 00:01:24 |
and in your kitchen cupboards. |
| 00:01:26 |
Ugh. |
| 00:01:28 |
These ain't no giants. |
| 00:01:33 |
These are giants. |
| 00:01:35 |
But don't worry. |
| 00:01:36 |
You're not going to find these |
| 00:01:38 |
anywhere near your kitchen cupboard. |
| 00:01:41 |
This is where they occur. |
| 00:01:43 |
My search for giants brings me |
| 00:01:47 |
You got to be tough to live out here. |
| 00:01:49 |
Whew! It's hot. |
| 00:01:51 |
Ah. Now. Ah, ah. |
| 00:01:53 |
Come over here. |
| 00:01:55 |
See this? |
| 00:01:57 |
There's some dry soil here |
| 00:01:59 |
sort of, like, recently excavated. |
| 00:02:02 |
What I'm looking for is |
| 00:02:08 |
Most cockroaches are too easy to find. |
| 00:02:11 |
These giants aren't. |
| 00:02:12 |
They live only in Queensland |
| 00:02:16 |
See? Oh ho ho! |
| 00:02:19 |
Oh, come on. Don't be... |
| 00:02:21 |
Oh, don't be a spoilsport! |
| 00:02:23 |
I got him. Got him, got him, got him. |
| 00:02:26 |
Righto. Now, there we are. |
| 00:02:29 |
Ow. Spiky legs, all right. |
| 00:02:31 |
That is what I call a cockroach. |
| 00:02:34 |
Look at it. Might not even be full-grown. |
| 00:02:37 |
And by the looks of it, it's a male. |
| 00:02:38 |
It's a boy. |
| 00:02:40 |
Ohh. |
| 00:02:41 |
How long? About 3 inches. |
| 00:02:44 |
See this little lip here? |
| 00:02:46 |
That means it's a male, and it can dig. |
| 00:02:49 |
It's like having your hat like this |
| 00:02:51 |
and dig out with your thorax - |
| 00:02:54 |
Isn't that gorgeous? |
| 00:02:57 |
These cockroaches don't come |
| 00:03:00 |
They're strictly country cousins, |
| 00:03:02 |
and they burrow. |
| 00:03:03 |
They can burrow through |
| 00:03:06 |
like mini excavators. |
| 00:03:09 |
Now, underneath is the head. |
| 00:03:13 |
And you know what? |
| 00:03:15 |
It feels nice and cool, |
| 00:03:19 |
And that is a dead giveaway |
| 00:03:22 |
why these cockroaches live underground. |
| 00:03:25 |
Compared to the 90-plus-degrees |
| 00:03:29 |
their burrows are as cool as wine cellars. |
| 00:03:32 |
And like a good wine, |
| 00:03:35 |
They live for up to 10 years. |
| 00:03:38 |
The roach in your kitchen lives |
| 00:03:43 |
Even more remarkable |
| 00:03:44 |
is that mother giant roaches |
| 00:03:48 |
Now, this is very unusual for cockroaches. |
| 00:03:51 |
Others lay eggs. |
| 00:03:52 |
And she looks after her young |
| 00:03:57 |
But why do these junior roaches |
| 00:04:02 |
Well, it's a mystery, but scientists think |
| 00:04:05 |
it could have something to do with moisture. |
| 00:04:07 |
[Thunder crashes] |
| 00:04:13 |
The biggest cockroaches are found |
| 00:04:17 |
When it rains, they all |
| 00:04:20 |
to meet, to mate, and to move on. |
| 00:04:25 |
This is the only time |
| 00:04:27 |
in the fierce Australian heat. |
| 00:04:31 |
So the moment it rains, they come out, |
| 00:04:32 |
they gather up all these leaves |
| 00:04:34 |
eucalyptus leaves and |
| 00:04:37 |
and take them down in the burrow. |
| 00:04:38 |
And these leaves are dead, |
| 00:04:42 |
Mmh. Mmh. |
| 00:04:44 |
Dry? |
| 00:04:46 |
They taste like dead, old, dried leaves. |
| 00:04:51 |
Not something that I could live on, |
| 00:04:53 |
but these roaches can. |
| 00:04:55 |
This guy has had a heck of a day today. |
| 00:04:58 |
Exciting, mind you, but in the process, |
| 00:05:00 |
we've destroyed its burrow totally. |
| 00:05:02 |
Now, luckily, I've found |
| 00:05:05 |
You can always tell a deserted burrow |
| 00:05:08 |
It's never closed off. |
| 00:05:10 |
So I'm gonna let him go here. |
| 00:05:13 |
Ah, put a leaf in for good measure, |
| 00:05:15 |
Away you go. |
| 00:05:16 |
Giant cockroaches are big, |
| 00:05:20 |
And the next bug helps answer the question, |
| 00:05:23 |
"Why aren't bugs as big as buses?" |
| 00:05:43 |
Dragonflies. |
| 00:05:44 |
I love them because they're so ancient. |
| 00:05:48 |
They were flying around |
| 00:05:51 |
That's the time when coal was deposited. |
| 00:05:53 |
Can you imagine? |
| 00:05:55 |
Another thing I like about dragonflies |
| 00:05:57 |
is that they used to be |
| 00:05:59 |
Oh, yeah, once they were |
| 00:06:01 |
the largest flying insect in the world. |
| 00:06:03 |
Now, of course, this is a much smaller |
| 00:06:07 |
It's the hawker dragonfly. |
| 00:06:11 |
But I'd like you to meet |
| 00:06:12 |
a long and slender cousin of this one |
| 00:06:18 |
The very first flying insects appeared |
| 00:06:23 |
There were giant dragonflies |
| 00:06:27 |
and damselflies the size of hawks. |
| 00:06:29 |
So, what happened? Why did they shrink? |
| 00:06:32 |
My journey to find out begins in Panama. |
| 00:06:38 |
Near water should be the perfect place |
| 00:06:48 |
They gather around fallen logs |
| 00:06:50 |
because logs have holes |
| 00:06:54 |
and females come to |
| 00:06:58 |
And where there are females, |
| 00:07:07 |
Males are superb fliers. |
| 00:07:10 |
They hover over their ponds |
| 00:07:15 |
And if they receive unwelcome visitors, |
| 00:07:17 |
they become attack helicopters. |
| 00:07:28 |
Got him! [Cackles] |
| 00:07:33 |
Why do they get so big? Well, very simple. |
| 00:07:35 |
Areas like this and habitats |
| 00:07:38 |
don't come around very often, |
| 00:07:42 |
So if you're a big male, |
| 00:07:43 |
you got a better chance of securing a female |
| 00:07:45 |
with such a piece of real estate. |
| 00:07:48 |
Believe it or not, |
| 00:07:49 |
these helicopters are |
| 00:07:52 |
Body length - around 4 inches. |
| 00:07:54 |
Wingspan - 31/2. |
| 00:07:56 |
In the past - and we know |
| 00:07:59 |
damselflies got a lot, lot bigger. |
| 00:08:03 |
About a size like that. |
| 00:08:05 |
And why was that? |
| 00:08:06 |
Well, one simple reason - oxygen. |
| 00:08:11 |
We humans have evolved in |
| 00:08:15 |
We're used to it. |
| 00:08:17 |
That's enough for me |
| 00:08:21 |
no problems. |
| 00:08:24 |
I feel okay. |
| 00:08:25 |
Enough oxygen here, you know. |
| 00:08:28 |
[Breathing heavily] |
| 00:08:29 |
But damselflies - |
| 00:08:31 |
and their close relations, the dragonflies - |
| 00:08:33 |
evolved long ago, |
| 00:08:34 |
when there was twice |
| 00:08:38 |
Now, with more oxygen, |
| 00:08:42 |
Imagine dragonflies with a 2-foot wingspan. |
| 00:08:49 |
Then imagine what happened |
| 00:08:52 |
Scientists think that decomposing |
| 00:08:56 |
began using a lot more of it. |
| 00:09:00 |
With less oxygen in the air, |
| 00:09:05 |
Now, if lowering oxygen can shrink a bug, |
| 00:09:08 |
I'd like to know, what could it do to me? |
| 00:09:12 |
I've asked my TV crew to find me |
| 00:09:16 |
These help scuba divers recover |
| 00:09:21 |
Now, for me, they will reduce it by half. |
| 00:09:26 |
When I take off my mask, |
| 00:09:28 |
it will be like trying to breathe |
| 00:09:32 |
Here we go. |
| 00:09:36 |
Ugh! |
| 00:09:39 |
Oh, it's tough. |
| 00:09:41 |
As soon as I start pedaling, I want to stop. |
| 00:09:44 |
I have no energy. |
| 00:09:46 |
After a minute, my heart is thumping, |
| 00:09:49 |
and by two minutes, I can't get enough air. |
| 00:09:51 |
My muscles are screaming in pain. |
| 00:09:56 |
21/2 minutes gone. |
| 00:09:58 |
Ohh. 57% oxygen in my blood. |
| 00:10:03 |
So it's really getting tough. |
| 00:10:06 |
How are you feeling? |
| 00:10:08 |
Really tired. And a bit headachey. |
| 00:10:11 |
I'm worried how less oxygen |
| 00:10:16 |
You see, our brains only weigh |
| 00:10:19 |
but use nearly 20% of all the oxygen |
| 00:10:23 |
Without enough oxygen, |
| 00:10:24 |
we'd suffer memory loss, |
| 00:10:34 |
Can I go back now? |
| 00:10:37 |
I want to go back. |
| 00:10:38 |
I'm gonna go back. Hang on. |
| 00:10:41 |
[Breathing heavily] |
| 00:10:45 |
I - I tell you what - |
| 00:10:47 |
Out here it feels like I'm in a... |
| 00:10:50 |
in an enormous carbon dioxide |
| 00:10:53 |
and I can't get enough air. |
| 00:10:56 |
I - I - I do need air. |
| 00:11:00 |
You need air to perform. |
| 00:11:03 |
You need air - you need air to... |
| 00:11:06 |
Trying to work without enough oxygen |
| 00:11:10 |
I want to cry. I want to sleep. |
| 00:11:12 |
I feel terrible. |
| 00:11:16 |
But my problems are really small |
| 00:11:20 |
Their respiration is inefficient. |
| 00:11:23 |
They carry little oxygen in their blood, |
| 00:11:25 |
and they rely on air coming in |
| 00:11:27 |
through tiny portholes, or spiracles, |
| 00:11:33 |
So a bug's size is limited |
| 00:11:35 |
by the amount of oxygen it can absorb. |
| 00:11:43 |
My search for the biggest bug |
| 00:11:45 |
takes me back to Queensland, Australia. |
| 00:11:48 |
If I were to describe to you |
| 00:11:49 |
an insect that can grow |
| 00:11:52 |
has perfect 360-degree vision, |
| 00:11:56 |
lightning-fast reflexes both |
| 00:12:01 |
what do you think |
| 00:12:04 |
You guessed it. A praying mantis. |
| 00:12:06 |
A predator that can blend into the foliage, |
| 00:12:09 |
stay still as a statue, |
| 00:12:11 |
but then strike fast enough |
| 00:12:18 |
Praying mantis's weapons of choice |
| 00:12:20 |
are their pairs of extraordinary front legs |
| 00:12:23 |
that are like spring-loaded jackknives. |
| 00:12:25 |
They use them to lunge |
| 00:12:29 |
It's amazing. |
| 00:12:30 |
This praying mantis has given |
| 00:12:34 |
...and modified them |
| 00:12:36 |
that they're only killing machines. |
| 00:12:39 |
But as skilled and as lethal as |
| 00:12:42 |
they must be very careful... |
| 00:12:45 |
...not to end up as the prey |
| 00:12:48 |
So how do praying mantises avoid ending up |
| 00:12:51 |
on other predators' breakfast tables? |
| 00:12:54 |
Their first line of defense is camouflage. |
| 00:12:59 |
All mantises blend into their environment, |
| 00:13:01 |
but few go as far as the orchid mantis. |
| 00:13:06 |
It even sways like an orchid in the breeze. |
| 00:13:09 |
It can also hide in papaya |
| 00:13:13 |
Even its legs are shaped like petals. |
| 00:13:17 |
Just beautiful. |
| 00:13:23 |
But praying mantises have |
| 00:13:26 |
When cornered by predators |
| 00:13:30 |
they will stand and fight. |
| 00:13:41 |
So size is not a big deal |
| 00:13:44 |
It's attitude. |
| 00:13:46 |
And no matter how big |
| 00:13:49 |
inside they all think they are giants. |
| 00:13:52 |
So how can a small mantis beat a big enemy? |
| 00:13:56 |
Well, my TV crew has sent me |
| 00:13:59 |
to discover their secret. |
| 00:14:00 |
I'm to receive my instructions |
| 00:14:05 |
"Prepare 4 combat! |
| 00:14:07 |
Tiffany, your host, is the mantis... " |
| 00:14:10 |
Ha ha ha. |
| 00:14:12 |
[Chuckling] Oh, I get it. |
| 00:14:15 |
Tiffany is an exponent of mantis kung fu, |
| 00:14:18 |
and I've got to fight her. |
| 00:14:24 |
Are you sure I'm gonna need all this? |
| 00:14:25 |
Yes. You'll need it. |
| 00:14:29 |
"Your challenge is to pin her arms |
| 00:14:31 |
for just one second. " |
| 00:14:36 |
AII I know about mantis kung fu |
| 00:14:38 |
is that it was developed hundreds of |
| 00:14:42 |
who closely watched the moves |
| 00:14:45 |
There's something like 12 arm |
| 00:14:50 |
Hmm. Her technique looks really good. |
| 00:14:53 |
But my arms are longer. |
| 00:15:28 |
Ah. Ha ha. |
| 00:15:31 |
Ding! |
| 00:15:46 |
Ugh! |
| 00:15:47 |
Oh, I give up. Give up. |
| 00:15:51 |
Shows you, though, |
| 00:15:52 |
when you're small and you got technique, |
| 00:15:56 |
you can battle just about anything. |
| 00:15:58 |
I mean, I'm no slouch. Pbht! |
| 00:16:01 |
But this was too quick. This was technique. |
| 00:16:03 |
This was small, fast, and furious. |
| 00:16:09 |
Inside every praying mantis |
| 00:16:12 |
Next, bugs that are not only big |
| 00:16:14 |
but tough when the going gets cold. |
| 00:16:23 |
A bug with tusks? Yeah, that's right. |
| 00:16:26 |
They're on the face of a tusked weta. |
| 00:16:29 |
Wetas are related to crickets |
| 00:16:31 |
and tusked weta males |
| 00:16:35 |
just like male elephants or walrus. |
| 00:16:41 |
They fight for territory and for females. |
| 00:16:44 |
And battles like this have been going on |
| 00:16:46 |
for nearly 300 million years. |
| 00:16:49 |
They are truly, truly ancient. |
| 00:16:53 |
Wetas might be ancient, |
| 00:16:54 |
but they're still being |
| 00:16:57 |
as we speak. |
| 00:16:58 |
This creature is the tusked weta. |
| 00:16:59 |
It was only found a few years ago. |
| 00:17:02 |
It's rare. It is very, very rare - |
| 00:17:04 |
...so rare that they're breeding |
| 00:17:06 |
so that, in a few years' time, |
| 00:17:08 |
this fellow might have |
| 00:17:11 |
Now, wouldn't that be |
| 00:17:17 |
Tusked wetas are one of |
| 00:17:22 |
They include giants like this. |
| 00:17:27 |
Giant wetas are super heavy |
| 00:17:30 |
And because they weigh more than 3 ounces, |
| 00:17:32 |
they're right up there amongst |
| 00:17:39 |
But by far the coolest weta of them all |
| 00:17:41 |
lives to the south of here |
| 00:17:44 |
And when I say "cool," I mean cool. |
| 00:17:49 |
The mountain weta survives |
| 00:17:53 |
And when spring comes |
| 00:17:56 |
it emerges from its frozen tomb, |
| 00:18:00 |
But it is not magic. |
| 00:18:01 |
You see, the weta has special chemicals |
| 00:18:03 |
that prevent harmful ice crystals |
| 00:18:08 |
Now, that was a clever trick. |
| 00:18:13 |
So I can appreciate the alpine |
| 00:18:17 |
I've come to a human-performance center, |
| 00:18:18 |
where Dr. John Marsden will let me |
| 00:18:22 |
to be in the mountains |
| 00:18:24 |
And like wetas, I'll have no clothes, |
| 00:18:27 |
except for a pair of shorts for modesty. |
| 00:18:30 |
The freezer has been set to |
| 00:18:33 |
or minus-8 Celsius. |
| 00:18:35 |
And the cold hits me like a brick. |
| 00:18:38 |
We are not built for the cold. |
| 00:18:41 |
If our temperatures drop |
| 00:18:42 |
more than just a few degrees for too long, |
| 00:18:45 |
we get hypothermia, which can kill us. |
| 00:18:47 |
But all it would do to the mountain weta |
| 00:18:50 |
would be to slow it down a bit. |
| 00:18:53 |
To the old mountain weta, |
| 00:18:54 |
this must be like the first day of winter, |
| 00:18:56 |
and they're just getting into their game. |
| 00:18:59 |
[Chuckles] I'm starting to conk out. |
| 00:19:01 |
They thrive at these sort of temperatures. |
| 00:19:03 |
It's unbelievable. |
| 00:19:05 |
But I have to keep warm, |
| 00:19:07 |
and I can do that by running and jumping |
| 00:19:09 |
because when my muscles are working, |
| 00:19:17 |
By 15 minutes, running can't keep me |
| 00:19:21 |
This is where the weta and I differ. |
| 00:19:23 |
You see, the weta will continue cooling |
| 00:19:25 |
until it is as cold as ice - |
| 00:19:28 |
not moving, not eating, as if it was dead. |
| 00:19:32 |
I can't do that. |
| 00:19:34 |
I must stay warm if I'm to survive. |
| 00:19:36 |
I'm literally freezing from the outside in. |
| 00:19:39 |
As I get colder, my body |
| 00:19:42 |
to keep my center part warm, |
| 00:19:49 |
But my brain's already cooling. |
| 00:19:51 |
John's math tests are becoming impossible. |
| 00:19:55 |
44 plus 18. |
| 00:19:57 |
[Softly] 44 and 18. 44 and 18... |
| 00:20:04 |
60-something - 2. |
| 00:20:07 |
59 plus 21. |
| 00:20:09 |
[Sighs] |
| 00:20:11 |
Oh, 59... |
| 00:20:13 |
80- 80. |
| 00:20:16 |
Okay, that took over a minute |
| 00:20:19 |
so we're getting pretty near the edge here. |
| 00:20:21 |
If the temperature goes much lower, |
| 00:20:23 |
then we'll pull you out of there. |
| 00:20:25 |
Okay. |
| 00:20:29 |
Ruud, do you want to tell us |
| 00:20:30 |
how you're feeling at the moment? |
| 00:20:32 |
I don't think I've ever been this cold. |
| 00:20:35 |
It really hurts my ears |
| 00:20:41 |
It's actually quite awful. |
| 00:20:44 |
I think it's about time to pull out now. |
| 00:20:46 |
Okay. Come and get me. |
| 00:20:49 |
My core temperature is now lowering, |
| 00:20:53 |
It's reached a point where to go any lower |
| 00:20:55 |
would be very dangerous. |
| 00:20:57 |
Ahh. [Sighs] |
| 00:21:01 |
Ah, the sun. |
| 00:21:03 |
Warm. Ooh. |
| 00:21:05 |
I had to get out of there. |
| 00:21:07 |
I had to get out. |
| 00:21:09 |
That mountain weta has got |
| 00:21:12 |
I suppose that's one up for the bugs, eh? |
| 00:21:18 |
My search for the world's biggest bug |
| 00:21:20 |
now takes me to the Venezuelan |
| 00:21:28 |
This is what rainforest is all about, |
| 00:21:30 |
and these are conditions |
| 00:21:35 |
Have a look at this. |
| 00:21:37 |
We're going large now, man. Look at this. |
| 00:21:39 |
61/2, maybe 7 inch of the giant millipede. |
| 00:21:43 |
Beautiful creature. Very thin-skinned. |
| 00:21:46 |
This is why it cannot afford |
| 00:21:49 |
This is why it likes to be hidden |
| 00:21:50 |
and comes out when it rains. |
| 00:21:52 |
Look at it move, will you? |
| 00:21:56 |
So graceful the way |
| 00:22:11 |
Now, as I said, they are totally |
| 00:22:14 |
But there is a similar sort of species |
| 00:22:16 |
that, uh, hmm, needs a little bit more care |
| 00:22:19 |
when you encounter it. |
| 00:22:24 |
[Indistinct shouting] |
| 00:22:26 |
Something down the road. |
| 00:22:30 |
Whoa. |
| 00:22:33 |
[Speaking Spanish] |
| 00:22:34 |
What's that? |
| 00:22:36 |
Con cuidado. |
| 00:22:37 |
Let's have a look. |
| 00:22:39 |
Be careful, be careful. |
| 00:22:42 |
Oh, no. There it is - giant centipede. |
| 00:22:45 |
Hang on, hang on. |
| 00:22:46 |
Don't - Hang on. Here we go. |
| 00:22:50 |
You don't want that to go away. |
| 00:22:53 |
That is one of those ones |
| 00:22:55 |
that you don't put your hands in front. |
| 00:22:56 |
You treat him with respect. |
| 00:22:58 |
And once it's disturbed, |
| 00:23:02 |
because it's in the defense mode. |
| 00:23:03 |
And, boy, it's got fangs. Mwah! |
| 00:23:06 |
Like this. Like knives and forks. |
| 00:23:07 |
You don't want to be... |
| 00:23:16 |
I'll show you what you don't do. |
| 00:23:19 |
But you can, if you're careful, |
| 00:23:21 |
Oopsy-daisy. |
| 00:23:23 |
Huffy-puffy. Bit of a temper here. |
| 00:23:25 |
Oops. [Chuckles] Thank you. |
| 00:23:28 |
Look. See that? And then these rear legs. |
| 00:23:30 |
Now, if I would do this |
| 00:23:33 |
turn around, make a figure of eight, |
| 00:23:36 |
There's no doubt about it. |
| 00:23:38 |
Those fangs at the front |
| 00:23:41 |
which have been - in evolution, |
| 00:23:45 |
and, with a poison gland from its head, |
| 00:23:47 |
made into poisonous fangs. |
| 00:23:49 |
But they are really modified first legs. |
| 00:23:52 |
God, look at it. |
| 00:23:54 |
It's sick of me. It's sick of me. |
| 00:23:58 |
Look out, look out, look out. |
| 00:24:09 |
When a giant centipede gets hold of you, |
| 00:24:14 |
And when it goes hunting, |
| 00:24:16 |
everything from bugs to birds |
| 00:24:22 |
It's a great climber. |
| 00:24:23 |
It's built for searching in holes. |
| 00:24:26 |
Nothing is safe. |
| 00:24:29 |
For its size, it's the ultimate predator. |
| 00:24:32 |
And its big advantage |
| 00:24:36 |
Long, thin, and very fast. |
| 00:24:39 |
How do you beat a bug like that? |
| 00:24:43 |
This little demonstration |
| 00:24:46 |
It's a race between the beetles |
| 00:24:50 |
Now, I am the big, round, bumbling beetle. |
| 00:24:53 |
And over there is, um, centipede man. |
| 00:24:57 |
Go, beetles! |
| 00:25:08 |
Go! |
| 00:25:15 |
Ha ha! |
| 00:25:31 |
Oh, you! |
| 00:25:34 |
[Laughing] |
| 00:25:44 |
When you have to get a lot of body |
| 00:25:47 |
through a very small space in a hurry, |
| 00:25:50 |
it pays to be long, flat, and thin - |
| 00:25:53 |
built like a centipede. |
| 00:25:54 |
You won, mate. [Laughs] |
| 00:25:58 |
We were so lucky to find this. |
| 00:26:00 |
I mean, they lead such a sheltered |
| 00:26:02 |
I'm gonna put it back, though |
| 00:26:04 |
because it really doesn't want to dry out. |
| 00:26:06 |
Oh, now, man. Here we go. |
| 00:26:08 |
The king of the predators of the jungle. |
| 00:26:10 |
Isn't it gorgeous? Ooh! |
| 00:26:13 |
Lucky us, lucky us. |
| 00:26:14 |
Come on, mate. This is where you live. |
| 00:26:16 |
Here we go. Put it right down here. |
| 00:26:18 |
Come on. Bye-bye. |
| 00:26:20 |
Have a good time. |
| 00:26:21 |
I'm getting out of your way. |
| 00:26:24 |
Down here. Come on. |
| 00:26:26 |
Tut! Whoa! |
| 00:26:28 |
There you go. Bye-bye. |
| 00:26:30 |
Making your body long and thin is one way |
| 00:26:32 |
of getting among the world's biggest bugs, |
| 00:26:34 |
but the next bug has done that to the max. |
| 00:26:42 |
I've been sitting here now for half an hour, |
| 00:26:44 |
not 10 foot from a tree, |
| 00:26:47 |
looking for one of the |
| 00:26:50 |
and I can't see it. |
| 00:26:52 |
I'm gonna give it a bit longer. |
| 00:27:02 |
This creature's been eluding me |
| 00:27:05 |
I'm going to get in there and get it. |
| 00:27:12 |
Whoops. |
| 00:27:13 |
This is the place where you find them. |
| 00:27:15 |
On the leaves. |
| 00:27:16 |
They sit on the outside of the tree, |
| 00:27:18 |
and they gobble up leaves. |
| 00:27:19 |
But despite their size, |
| 00:27:21 |
they're surprisingly |
| 00:27:24 |
Here it is. This is it. |
| 00:27:26 |
This is a leaf insect. |
| 00:27:29 |
Some people call them stick insects, |
| 00:27:31 |
and they belong to the same group. |
| 00:27:33 |
Look. I'll come down, and I'll show you. |
| 00:27:35 |
Yah! Whoa. |
| 00:27:37 |
There we are with the leaf insect. |
| 00:27:39 |
Now, leaf insects and |
| 00:27:42 |
and they all got one thing in common. |
| 00:27:44 |
They can grow to huge sizes. |
| 00:27:47 |
Now, you wonder why they get so big, eh? |
| 00:27:49 |
The trick apparently is that - |
| 00:27:51 |
You think about little warblers |
| 00:27:55 |
They come across something like that, |
| 00:27:56 |
and they say, "Whoa! Whoa! Back the bus up! |
| 00:28:00 |
That's too much of a mouthful. |
| 00:28:03 |
So size is a protection from being eaten. |
| 00:28:06 |
But there's something else. |
| 00:28:07 |
There's this wonderful camouflage. |
| 00:28:09 |
Because if they can help it, |
| 00:28:11 |
they don't even want to become discovered. |
| 00:28:13 |
They just look like their environment. |
| 00:28:15 |
But does camouflage really work? |
| 00:28:18 |
Can a stick insect really fool a predator? |
| 00:28:21 |
I've told my TV crew |
| 00:28:23 |
to see if they can fool me with camouflage. |
| 00:28:25 |
So, here's the challenge. |
| 00:28:26 |
I've been told there's food upstairs, |
| 00:28:28 |
and I've got two minutes |
| 00:28:30 |
[Bell dings] |
| 00:28:31 |
Hey, this is the sort of job I like. |
| 00:28:41 |
Mmm. |
| 00:28:57 |
[Bell dings] |
| 00:28:58 |
Nothing to it. Very easy. Yummy. |
| 00:29:00 |
Mmm, great. |
| 00:29:01 |
And now I get to do that all over again. |
| 00:29:04 |
But this time, the rules have changed. |
| 00:29:07 |
This time, there's still lots of food, |
| 00:29:09 |
but it's all disguised - camouflage. |
| 00:29:11 |
It doesn't look like food, |
| 00:29:13 |
just like a stick insect |
| 00:29:17 |
[Bell dings] |
| 00:29:20 |
[Chuckles] |
| 00:29:25 |
Mmh. |
| 00:29:27 |
There's nothing here. |
| 00:29:31 |
It's empty. |
| 00:29:32 |
This is ridiculous. |
| 00:29:38 |
[Bell dings] |
| 00:29:40 |
Time's up. |
| 00:29:42 |
I'm hungry. I can't see anything, honestly. |
| 00:29:44 |
This is a list of all the things |
| 00:29:46 |
I've apparently missed in this room. |
| 00:29:48 |
Didn't know. Gonna have a look. |
| 00:29:54 |
Oh, hello. |
| 00:29:56 |
Wow. |
| 00:30:01 |
Well, you can eat that. |
| 00:30:03 |
Blow me days. Clever. |
| 00:30:08 |
You can eat that. [Laughs] |
| 00:30:11 |
Look at this. |
| 00:30:12 |
Did you see that? |
| 00:30:15 |
No idea. |
| 00:30:16 |
[Laughs] |
| 00:30:18 |
Look! [Laughs] Very good one. |
| 00:30:20 |
This is not cable. |
| 00:30:23 |
[Laughs] |
| 00:30:25 |
Licorice. I love licorice. |
| 00:30:30 |
There's something else. |
| 00:30:32 |
The list. |
| 00:30:35 |
Oh, it was great camouflage. |
| 00:30:37 |
How much would you have got? |
| 00:30:40 |
The plate was marzipan. So was the cup. |
| 00:30:43 |
And the TV cable was licorice. |
| 00:30:45 |
And the list was written on rice paper. |
| 00:30:49 |
And that is what it is all about. |
| 00:30:51 |
Stick insects are absolutely |
| 00:30:53 |
They just look like a twig and think, |
| 00:30:56 |
"See if you can find me. |
| 00:31:02 |
Stick and leaf insects are |
| 00:31:05 |
That's why they must be |
| 00:31:08 |
They have no other way to |
| 00:31:11 |
This one is just like lichen |
| 00:31:16 |
How about this leaf insect? |
| 00:31:18 |
It's so perfect, |
| 00:31:20 |
it has insect bites taken out of it. |
| 00:31:22 |
And a leaf-eating leaf. |
| 00:31:24 |
[Chuckles] How about that? |
| 00:31:28 |
But even their eggs are camouflaged. |
| 00:31:30 |
They look like seeds on the forest floor. |
| 00:31:36 |
And when the young hatch, |
| 00:31:39 |
they're camouflaged to look like ants |
| 00:31:42 |
and instinctively climb straight up |
| 00:31:44 |
into the branches of the nearest tree. |
| 00:31:51 |
Many stick insects have |
| 00:31:54 |
Some females don't even |
| 00:31:57 |
They do it all on their own. |
| 00:31:59 |
Unfertilized eggs hatch into females |
| 00:32:02 |
that grow up to produce more females. |
| 00:32:04 |
Instant family! Ha! Very clever. |
| 00:32:09 |
The spiny leaf insect might be big, |
| 00:32:12 |
but it certainly isn't the fastest |
| 00:32:15 |
Oh, no, no, no. But she knows |
| 00:32:17 |
She's going up there to blend |
| 00:32:20 |
and to eat a little bit more |
| 00:32:22 |
Now, while she's racing up into the tree, |
| 00:32:25 |
I might go away to see |
| 00:32:28 |
even bigger than this. |
| 00:32:33 |
Go left! Slightly left! |
| 00:32:35 |
Up the trunk, up the trunk, up the trunk! |
| 00:32:38 |
Yeah. Oh! Oh, just don't never mind. |
| 00:32:40 |
I'll come down. Here we go. |
| 00:32:42 |
Aah! Oh, no! |
| 00:32:44 |
Ugh. |
| 00:32:45 |
Boy, oh, boy. Oh. |
| 00:32:47 |
Are you all right? |
| 00:32:50 |
Oh! I think she's in better shape than I am. |
| 00:32:54 |
Isn't it a beauty? |
| 00:32:56 |
Now, this is the giant |
| 00:33:00 |
and it's one of those creatures |
| 00:33:03 |
because it pretends to be a stick, |
| 00:33:05 |
not a big, fat trunk like that. |
| 00:33:08 |
The Malaysian giant stick insect |
| 00:33:10 |
is the longest insect in the world. |
| 00:33:12 |
Well, not this particular one. |
| 00:33:13 |
But somewhere out there- |
| 00:33:20 |
The longest stick insect in the world |
| 00:33:22 |
was a Malaysian forest walking stick. |
| 00:33:25 |
It was found some years ago |
| 00:33:43 |
I'm Ruud Kleinpaste, |
| 00:33:47 |
takes me back to the |
| 00:33:57 |
Oh. |
| 00:34:01 |
Look at that. |
| 00:34:03 |
That is the largest arachnid in the world - |
| 00:34:06 |
the largest bug. |
| 00:34:08 |
It takes the cake. It is the champion. |
| 00:34:11 |
Whoo. |
| 00:34:12 |
These spiders can grow up to |
| 00:34:17 |
They can be a quarter pound |
| 00:34:21 |
Can you imagine that? |
| 00:34:22 |
These are the things Hollywood |
| 00:34:37 |
[People screaming] |
| 00:34:48 |
Magnificent. |
| 00:34:49 |
What a monster. What a hunter. |
| 00:34:51 |
No wonder they've made movie |
| 00:34:53 |
Oh, man, they can kill people at 12 paces. |
| 00:34:56 |
That's all rubbish. |
| 00:34:59 |
Look at this docile creature, will you? |
| 00:35:01 |
Sure, it's a hunter. Sure, it's big. |
| 00:35:05 |
But it's slow, too. |
| 00:35:07 |
These creatures have no ears. |
| 00:35:09 |
They've got eight eyes. |
| 00:35:11 |
But they have thousands of hairs |
| 00:35:15 |
And those hairs all help to monitor airflow. |
| 00:35:19 |
That means |
| 00:35:22 |
They can feel predators coming closer. |
| 00:35:24 |
They can feel prey coming closer, as well. |
| 00:35:26 |
If I make a quick move like this... |
| 00:35:28 |
You see immediately how she reacts. |
| 00:35:30 |
She can feel this easily, |
| 00:35:33 |
just with all those hairs |
| 00:35:36 |
Come on. Turn it down. |
| 00:35:37 |
It's all right, girl. |
| 00:35:39 |
See, if I were a predator, |
| 00:35:43 |
knowing that the fangs are at the front. |
| 00:35:45 |
And when I come from the back... |
| 00:35:47 |
Oops! Pbht! |
| 00:35:48 |
What it does is it dislodges all these hairs |
| 00:35:52 |
straight into my face. |
| 00:35:54 |
The hairs are venomous |
| 00:35:56 |
and cause irritation to skin, |
| 00:36:00 |
But the hairs also tell us |
| 00:36:01 |
that goliath spiders are, |
| 00:36:04 |
And like all tarantulas, they are predators. |
| 00:36:09 |
They ambush prey and kill with |
| 00:36:14 |
But they must take care |
| 00:36:22 |
When a male and female |
| 00:36:25 |
the male protects himself from her bite |
| 00:36:27 |
by holding her fangs |
| 00:36:31 |
while they copulate. |
| 00:36:39 |
There are no records of |
| 00:36:43 |
but their bite is very, |
| 00:36:48 |
Like most spiders, |
| 00:36:54 |
This is as large as spiders |
| 00:36:57 |
or, for that matter, any bugs can get. |
| 00:37:00 |
Any larger and they wouldn't be able |
| 00:37:03 |
to get oxygen right to their bodies. |
| 00:37:06 |
Oh, where you going? Where you going? |
| 00:37:08 |
That's not where you should be going. |
| 00:37:10 |
Hey. Oh, oh, oh. |
| 00:37:12 |
[Chuckles] |
| 00:37:14 |
Isn't that gorgeous? Look at this. |
| 00:37:19 |
Come on. |
| 00:37:20 |
Off you go. |
| 00:37:27 |
Where's she gone? Right. |
| 00:37:29 |
That's what I call a good spider. |
| 00:37:31 |
Straight back. |
| 00:37:32 |
You see, the only time these |
| 00:37:37 |
is when they molt. |
| 00:37:40 |
When a spider is about to molt, |
| 00:37:46 |
It also loses hair on its abdomen, |
| 00:37:48 |
and its skin has a slightly blue color. |
| 00:37:52 |
Under its old skin, |
| 00:37:54 |
there's a new, soft skin already forming. |
| 00:37:56 |
And between the two, |
| 00:38:00 |
When the pressure of the fluid builds up, |
| 00:38:03 |
the old skin splits along its back, |
| 00:38:05 |
and the spider steps out of its old suit. |
| 00:38:10 |
Goliath spiders keep on |
| 00:38:15 |
As youngsters, |
| 00:38:17 |
As adults, they molt once a year. |
| 00:38:20 |
Each skin they shed brings them |
| 00:38:25 |
and one of the world's biggest bugs. |
| 00:38:29 |
The next bug might not beat |
| 00:38:34 |
but it is a true champion |
| 00:39:05 |
There's something weird |
| 00:39:09 |
And it's all to do with growing. |
| 00:39:12 |
Getting to become |
| 00:39:15 |
means eating your rotten wood |
| 00:39:19 |
Rotten logs build champions. |
| 00:39:22 |
Now, have a look at this. |
| 00:39:25 |
Hoo hoo hoo! Hoo hoo! |
| 00:39:26 |
This is merely a baby. |
| 00:39:29 |
It is the immature or larva |
| 00:39:34 |
If you want to see something really nice, |
| 00:39:36 |
have a look at this creature's father. |
| 00:39:40 |
The very best-fed larvae |
| 00:39:45 |
After spending over a year hidden |
| 00:39:50 |
...the adult Hercules beetle |
| 00:39:54 |
as big as a truck. |
| 00:40:00 |
Papa Hercules. |
| 00:40:02 |
Isn't it a wonderful specimen? Look at it. |
| 00:40:05 |
This is as large as they're going to |
| 00:40:08 |
It's a contender for |
| 00:40:11 |
And they're built - listen - like a nut. |
| 00:40:15 |
Strong and hard. |
| 00:40:17 |
They can lift 80 times |
| 00:40:21 |
Look, they're really, really, |
| 00:40:25 |
Now, the horn - Yes. |
| 00:40:27 |
Well, that horn is not for aggression. |
| 00:40:29 |
Oh, no. |
| 00:40:30 |
It's not even for defense against predators. |
| 00:40:33 |
That beautiful horn is for jousting. |
| 00:40:40 |
And jousting is where size of |
| 00:40:45 |
When a stranger comes along, |
| 00:40:47 |
it becomes a battle |
| 00:40:49 |
and defend your food. |
| 00:41:03 |
The upper and lower horns move like a claw |
| 00:41:06 |
to grasp an opponent |
| 00:41:13 |
Among Hercules beetle males, |
| 00:41:17 |
And if a male can keep |
| 00:41:20 |
it just might become a breeding ground. |
| 00:41:23 |
If he wins, |
| 00:41:24 |
there's a good chance |
| 00:41:29 |
To prove that size makes |
| 00:41:32 |
my TV crew has set up another challenge. |
| 00:41:38 |
Oh, no! |
| 00:41:41 |
Aw, a sumo wrestler! |
| 00:41:43 |
Ugh. |
| 00:41:45 |
He's the big beetle. |
| 00:41:48 |
Oh, and there's the girl. [Chuckles] |
| 00:41:51 |
And I guess I'm supposed to |
| 00:41:55 |
Yeah, right. |
| 00:42:31 |
Hee hee hee! |
| 00:42:33 |
Oh ho ho ho ho! |
| 00:42:35 |
Hey! |
| 00:42:42 |
[Groaning] |
| 00:42:48 |
When two beetles fight, |
| 00:42:52 |
and the winner gets the territory. |
| 00:42:56 |
And as a bonus, he gets the female, as well. |
| 00:42:59 |
Now, how cool is that? |
| 00:43:00 |
So you go claim your prize. |
| 00:43:04 |
[Cheers and applause] |
| 00:43:17 |
Oh, I feel for male Hercules beetles, |
| 00:43:19 |
especially the losers. |
| 00:43:21 |
You know, it's not easy, |
| 00:43:24 |
Oh ho! No! |
| 00:43:28 |
My journey now continues |
| 00:43:29 |
in search of the world's baddest bugs. |
| 00:43:32 |
I'm Ruud Kleinpaste, |
| 00:43:33 |
and I'm going to need |
| 00:43:36 |
if I am to avoid danger |
| 00:43:38 |
and discover why some bugs |
| 00:43:42 |
...and how others can cause |
| 00:43:45 |
But first up, the stinkiest bugs |
| 00:43:49 |
Ugh! [Laughing] |
| 00:43:51 |
It's just not a good idea. |
| 00:43:54 |
This cute bug is called the man-faced bug, |
| 00:43:56 |
and I'm sure you can see why. |
| 00:43:58 |
Well, if I turned it around, you would see. |
| 00:44:02 |
That's better. Ooh, great hair. |
| 00:44:05 |
But wait. Is that Ronald Reagan? |
| 00:44:08 |
But what's the man-faced doing |
| 00:44:10 |
amongst the baddest bugs in the world? |
| 00:44:13 |
Well, it belongs to the stinkbug family. |
| 00:44:16 |
And where do they hang out? |
| 00:44:17 |
To find the worst-smelling bug in the world, |
| 00:44:21 |
all you really need to do is |
| 00:44:25 |
anywhere on this planet. |
| 00:44:26 |
Now, I found some of these coreids |
| 00:44:29 |
right here on this sunflower. |
| 00:44:31 |
I'm going to pick one up |
| 00:44:34 |
Oopsy. Here's one. I got one. Aha. |
| 00:44:36 |
It's a beautiful, |
| 00:44:38 |
because it's got these lovely legs |
| 00:44:40 |
with these leaflike flaps on the side. |
| 00:44:43 |
It's called a leaf-footed bug sometimes. |
| 00:44:46 |
Now, this is the point. |
| 00:44:48 |
If I were a bird - a young, |
| 00:44:52 |
and I think, "Hmm. A leaf-footed bug. |
| 00:44:54 |
Let's have a go. " |
| 00:44:56 |
I would pick it in my mouth like this. |
| 00:44:58 |
They have this awful taste! |
| 00:45:01 |
And as a bird, I would - Oh! |
| 00:45:03 |
Oh, this is - Oh. |
| 00:45:05 |
As a bird, I'd learn my lesson. |
| 00:45:08 |
I would never, ever do that again. |
| 00:45:10 |
Stinkbugs get stinky and horribly tasting |
| 00:45:14 |
by feeding on plant juices |
| 00:45:17 |
to manufacture bad smells and tastes. |
| 00:45:20 |
They do it to keep predators away. |
| 00:45:24 |
Oh, this is a big one! |
| 00:45:26 |
I'm gonna try that one, too. |
| 00:45:28 |
Oh, a pretty good pong. |
| 00:45:30 |
I wonder what it tastes like. |
| 00:45:31 |
Look at it. Beautiful, though. |
| 00:45:33 |
Ugh! [Chuckles] |
| 00:45:36 |
It's just not a good idea. |
| 00:45:38 |
Stupid. [Chuckles] Bah! |
| 00:45:43 |
Go away. Get back. |
| 00:45:46 |
If you don't believe me |
| 00:45:48 |
when I say that stinkbugs really smell, |
| 00:45:51 |
that these cute little bugs |
| 00:45:54 |
well, here's an independent |
| 00:45:57 |
that you might believe. |
| 00:46:05 |
Oh, my God! |
| 00:46:06 |
[Laughs] |
| 00:46:10 |
Smell it. |
| 00:46:12 |
Ew. |
| 00:46:13 |
No, no, no, no. |
| 00:46:16 |
Ugh! |
| 00:46:18 |
Oh! |
| 00:46:21 |
It's just a stinkbug. |
| 00:46:22 |
Pbht! Blimey. It is a stinkbug. |
| 00:46:27 |
Aah! Oh! |
| 00:46:28 |
Ohhhh! |
| 00:46:30 |
Aah! |
| 00:46:32 |
[Laughter] |
| 00:46:34 |
Yeah! |
| 00:46:35 |
[Girls screaming] |
| 00:46:38 |
Eww! |
| 00:46:39 |
Uh! |
| 00:46:41 |
Eww! |
| 00:46:45 |
That's the bug. He ate it. |
| 00:46:48 |
Aah! |
| 00:46:52 |
Smells are bad, but they're not dangerous. |
| 00:46:55 |
Now, the next bug has a hot solution |
| 00:46:57 |
to help escape predators. |
| 00:47:08 |
In nature, predators usually win. |
| 00:47:11 |
So how can a defenseless creature |
| 00:47:16 |
Answer - With a nasty surprise. |
| 00:47:19 |
Aaaah! |
| 00:47:25 |
Sometimes the best form of defense is attack |
| 00:47:29 |
or, rather, confusion. |
| 00:47:30 |
And when you're a small bug |
| 00:47:34 |
the more time you can buy yourself |
| 00:47:38 |
the more time you have to get away. |
| 00:47:40 |
Meet the bombardier beetle. |
| 00:47:42 |
Bombardier beetles are |
| 00:47:46 |
They create explosive reactions |
| 00:47:48 |
by combining chemicals inside their bodies. |
| 00:47:50 |
And if you're on the wrong end |
| 00:47:53 |
then these guys are bad. |
| 00:47:55 |
But how bad? |
| 00:47:56 |
World bombardier expert |
| 00:47:59 |
No, I haven't, actually. |
| 00:48:00 |
- Never seen one blast? |
| 00:48:03 |
Let's do it. |
| 00:48:04 |
What I'm going to make believe |
| 00:48:06 |
Oh, you are? |
| 00:48:07 |
I'm gonna just bite him gently on the leg. |
| 00:48:10 |
Oh, where? Which side? |
| 00:48:12 |
The left front leg. |
| 00:48:14 |
Okay. Here we go. |
| 00:48:15 |
Oh! |
| 00:48:17 |
Oh, look at that. |
| 00:48:18 |
And it squirted in your direction. |
| 00:48:20 |
He's the best marksman in the world. |
| 00:48:23 |
Wow. Look. |
| 00:48:25 |
It didn't miss a degree. |
| 00:48:27 |
- Okay. Watch the other leg. |
| 00:48:30 |
We're gonna take the middle leg |
| 00:48:33 |
Here we go. |
| 00:48:34 |
Oh, yeah! Oh! |
| 00:48:36 |
Put on your goggles. Here are the forceps. |
| 00:48:38 |
Just pinch him very gently. |
| 00:48:41 |
Try the left hind leg. |
| 00:48:43 |
Yes, I'll try the left hind leg. Here we go. |
| 00:48:46 |
Okay. |
| 00:48:48 |
Look out. [Sniffs] |
| 00:48:49 |
[Laughs] |
| 00:48:51 |
- It works. |
| 00:48:54 |
And imagine, he can do |
| 00:48:57 |
Ooh, that's a pretty good national average. |
| 00:48:59 |
It's a good national average, |
| 00:49:00 |
and he's not forced to expend his supply, |
| 00:49:03 |
because after he fires, |
| 00:49:06 |
The bombardier beetle is a walking zap gun. |
| 00:49:09 |
It's quick on the draw, |
| 00:49:12 |
and it's guaranteed |
| 00:49:15 |
[Laughs] |
| 00:49:18 |
Thanks, Tom. |
| 00:49:20 |
It was a random one. |
| 00:49:22 |
It got you straight in the nostrils. |
| 00:49:24 |
I'm sorry. |
| 00:49:25 |
No, that's... [Laughing] |
| 00:49:27 |
This is what it's all about. |
| 00:49:29 |
This is the master blaster. |
| 00:49:31 |
Oh, beetle. These are visitors. |
| 00:49:33 |
Behave yourself. |
| 00:49:34 |
It's quite remarkable. |
| 00:49:37 |
The mechanism is not unlike the one |
| 00:49:39 |
that the Germans put in |
| 00:49:43 |
It's also a system where chemicals |
| 00:49:47 |
So to avoid getting zapped themselves, |
| 00:49:50 |
bombardier beetles keep |
| 00:49:53 |
and only mix them to blast an enemy |
| 00:49:55 |
with their boiling-hot, smelly gunk. |
| 00:49:58 |
This is concentrated hydrogen peroxide. |
| 00:50:01 |
It is exactly the same material |
| 00:50:04 |
that is fabricated inside |
| 00:50:07 |
Can you imagine? It's rocket fuel. |
| 00:50:10 |
That's what they send these |
| 00:50:13 |
And I'm going to mimic exactly |
| 00:50:17 |
This is it. Look at it. |
| 00:50:21 |
First, a bit of peroxide. Here we go. |
| 00:50:25 |
To this we're going to add |
| 00:50:29 |
It's a catalyst to set off the explosion. |
| 00:50:32 |
Now, I'd like you to meet my self here, |
| 00:50:35 |
standing just like that. |
| 00:50:37 |
And if this is the bombardier beetle, |
| 00:50:40 |
we're scaling everything up to my size. |
| 00:50:42 |
That's what we're trying to do here. |
| 00:50:44 |
Watch what happens. |
| 00:50:46 |
Holy moly! [Laughs] |
| 00:50:53 |
Ooh hoo! We got him, we got him! Yay! |
| 00:51:08 |
The search for the baddest bugs in the world |
| 00:51:11 |
brings me back to Latin America |
| 00:51:12 |
and the busy shipping highway, |
| 00:51:17 |
I'm Ruud Kleinpaste, |
| 00:51:20 |
that is the terror of the rainforest - |
| 00:51:22 |
a fierce predator that devours |
| 00:51:26 |
and other small creatures every day. |
| 00:51:47 |
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. |
| 00:51:49 |
Oh, oh, oh. |
| 00:51:53 |
Here we are. |
| 00:51:55 |
Missed. Hang on, |
| 00:51:58 |
Got one. |
| 00:52:00 |
This is what I'm looking for. |
| 00:52:03 |
This is what we call an army ant. |
| 00:52:06 |
Small, insignificant? Yes. |
| 00:52:08 |
Aah! It bites. No, it stings. |
| 00:52:09 |
It does both Small |
| 00:52:13 |
but it's part of a much larger community. |
| 00:52:17 |
We're talking about hundreds |
| 00:52:20 |
This is only a tiny-weeny column here. |
| 00:52:23 |
But if I'm going on, |
| 00:52:24 |
I'm sure I'll find a bigger trail than that. |
| 00:52:26 |
Isn't that amazing? Aah! |
| 00:52:28 |
God, they found me, all right! Look. |
| 00:52:30 |
Straight through my pants there. |
| 00:52:31 |
[Laughs] |
| 00:52:32 |
Stinging. And it hurts. |
| 00:52:34 |
They all sting. |
| 00:52:35 |
The interesting thing is they're all blind, |
| 00:52:37 |
but somehow they find me all right. |
| 00:52:40 |
Here we go. Bye-bye. |
| 00:52:41 |
Army ant colonies are so perfectly organized |
| 00:52:44 |
that they are sometimes |
| 00:52:47 |
And I'm heading towards this one's heart. |
| 00:52:50 |
Ohh. |
| 00:52:52 |
[Sighs] |
| 00:52:54 |
The trail is over there. |
| 00:52:57 |
I have the feeling I'm close to the nest, |
| 00:52:58 |
because they're getting |
| 00:53:01 |
and it's like a highway. |
| 00:53:03 |
So they're split up a bit further up. |
| 00:53:05 |
The food is going that way, |
| 00:53:06 |
so I must be close to the bivouac. |
| 00:53:09 |
Really exciting stuff. Come on. |
| 00:53:18 |
Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. |
| 00:53:21 |
That's where they are. Ooh. |
| 00:53:24 |
Look at it. |
| 00:53:25 |
This is the bivouac. |
| 00:53:27 |
It's not a |
| 00:53:29 |
it's not a nest. |
| 00:53:31 |
It's basically, |
| 00:53:34 |
...all holding hands |
| 00:53:35 |
...forming their |
| 00:53:39 |
It's a bit like having |
| 00:53:41 |
all handing hands and forming a house |
| 00:53:42 |
where the other human beings walk inside - |
| 00:53:44 |
on the staircase, going upstairs, |
| 00:53:46 |
going to the fridge. |
| 00:53:47 |
You know, find mum, find the kids. |
| 00:53:50 |
And there they are. |
| 00:53:52 |
This is, I would say, |
| 00:53:55 |
700,000 individuals. Something like that. |
| 00:53:58 |
This bivouac is part of a nomadic phase. |
| 00:54:04 |
What I'm trying to say is that |
| 00:54:07 |
The workers move their camp, |
| 00:54:11 |
As they take the queen |
| 00:54:12 |
and thousands of helpless larvae and pupae |
| 00:54:16 |
to a new feeding location, |
| 00:54:18 |
big, well-armed soldiers guard them. |
| 00:54:21 |
During the nomadic phase, |
| 00:54:22 |
the colony is a bit like a ravenous beast. |
| 00:54:25 |
Its appetite is insatiable. |
| 00:54:28 |
Lizards, birds, even snakes fall prey |
| 00:54:34 |
You know what I reckon is going to be fun? |
| 00:54:37 |
Going to the front of the column. |
| 00:54:39 |
That is the swarm. |
| 00:54:42 |
That's the battlefield. |
| 00:54:46 |
The swarm will move out |
| 00:54:50 |
There are no scouts. |
| 00:54:51 |
And because they're all blind, |
| 00:54:53 |
they follow a pheromone or scent trail |
| 00:54:55 |
laid down by the workers. |
| 00:55:01 |
Army ants sometimes enter our world. |
| 00:55:04 |
And when they do, |
| 00:55:05 |
you can clearly see how |
| 00:55:08 |
It's like traffic |
| 00:55:10 |
Except there is no accidents |
| 00:55:22 |
Now, this is something |
| 00:55:24 |
army ants invading homes |
| 00:55:28 |
Now, the locals don't mind that too much |
| 00:55:31 |
because the army ants perform |
| 00:55:34 |
They're taking away all the vermin, |
| 00:55:36 |
all the insects that |
| 00:55:38 |
in their kitchens, in their bedrooms. |
| 00:55:42 |
Workers are voracious. |
| 00:55:44 |
When they detect prey, |
| 00:55:46 |
they become like a pack of tiny wolves. |
| 00:55:53 |
But the colony concentrates |
| 00:55:56 |
at the front of the swarm. |
| 00:55:58 |
This is like the mouth of a fierce predator. |
| 00:56:03 |
I'm literally at the front of the column. |
| 00:56:06 |
This is where the swarm is. |
| 00:56:08 |
There are big columns over there. |
| 00:56:11 |
Huge numbers. |
| 00:56:13 |
And the funny thing is |
| 00:56:14 |
they really don't make tracks, as such. |
| 00:56:16 |
They literally swarm all over the place. |
| 00:56:20 |
At the leading edge, |
| 00:56:23 |
They lay pheromone |
| 00:56:26 |
Any prey is heavily marked with pheromone |
| 00:56:29 |
and swarmed by those that follow. |
| 00:56:32 |
If the kill is too big to move, |
| 00:56:35 |
and hundreds of ants each carry a piece back |
| 00:56:38 |
along the feeder column to the bivouac. |
| 00:56:43 |
Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, |
| 00:56:46 |
Now, if the front of the swarm |
| 00:56:48 |
is like the mouth of a fierce predator, |
| 00:56:51 |
I could easily become its next meal. |
| 00:56:53 |
Ow, ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow! Don't do that. |
| 00:56:56 |
Oil! Stop. |
| 00:56:58 |
I'm in the wrong place. |
| 00:57:01 |
I'm in the wrong place. |
| 00:57:02 |
Oh, no! |
| 00:57:04 |
Army ants hurt. |
| 00:57:05 |
But next, an ant that can really hurt. |
| 00:57:08 |
It has the most painful sting |
| 00:57:15 |
The good news is this bug lives |
| 00:57:17 |
in Central American forest treetops, |
| 00:57:19 |
so I get a ride in a crane. |
| 00:57:21 |
The bad news is that |
| 00:57:24 |
and I've agreed to experience it. |
| 00:57:28 |
Far out. |
| 00:57:29 |
To forget that I'm about to get a bad sting, |
| 00:57:32 |
I'm really trying hard |
| 00:57:36 |
You can imagine that |
| 00:57:38 |
have not been studied much in the past |
| 00:57:40 |
because there's no way of getting there. |
| 00:57:42 |
But once you get there, |
| 00:57:45 |
Entomologist's dream. |
| 00:57:50 |
Every tree you see here is different. |
| 00:57:52 |
I mean, there's a home |
| 00:57:55 |
And there's ants. |
| 00:57:57 |
There's ants even at this elevation. |
| 00:57:59 |
Where's my bullet ant? |
| 00:58:02 |
I'm going to be stung by a bullet ant. |
| 00:58:05 |
They live in colonies at the base of trees |
| 00:58:08 |
but mainly feed on flowers and |
| 00:58:15 |
Bullet ants are blind. |
| 00:58:17 |
They use their antennae as walking sticks |
| 00:58:19 |
as they move about up here. |
| 00:58:22 |
And that's why they have a sting |
| 00:58:23 |
that causes such incredible pain. |
| 00:58:27 |
The only disadvantage of living up here is |
| 00:58:30 |
you're in the public eye. |
| 00:58:31 |
The stakes are really high here. |
| 00:58:34 |
All insects want to feed here, |
| 00:58:37 |
because they go and hunt |
| 00:58:40 |
And if you are a big insect |
| 00:58:43 |
you'll really want to arm yourself |
| 00:58:45 |
so that those predators |
| 00:58:47 |
Hmm. |
| 00:58:49 |
Worker ants travel alone. |
| 00:58:51 |
Nothing will mess with you |
| 00:58:54 |
when you've got a major sting |
| 00:58:58 |
They say that being stung by a bullet ant |
| 00:59:01 |
feels like being shot. |
| 00:59:03 |
And I'm about to find out. |
| 00:59:06 |
Un poco. |
| 00:59:08 |
Gracias, gracias, gracias. |
| 00:59:12 |
There's heaps of ants here, |
| 00:59:14 |
Look at them. Whoa! |
| 00:59:16 |
They describe this ant |
| 00:59:19 |
as if your hand is being |
| 00:59:22 |
for a couple of hours. |
| 00:59:23 |
Yeah. [Chuckles] |
| 00:59:25 |
So why am I doing it? |
| 00:59:27 |
Well, the world's stinging insects - |
| 00:59:29 |
bees, wasps, and ants - are all bluffers. |
| 00:59:32 |
It's a painful bluff, mind you, |
| 00:59:33 |
but the sting is simply their trick |
| 00:59:35 |
to make us think that |
| 00:59:38 |
They really just want us to go away. |
| 00:59:40 |
Even a bullet ant's sting |
| 00:59:41 |
is nothing more than a painful sting. |
| 00:59:44 |
Got it, got it. Nearly. Nearly got it. |
| 00:59:46 |
Come on, come on, come on, come on! |
| 00:59:49 |
Yeah! |
| 00:59:50 |
[Laughs] |
| 00:59:54 |
I think I got one. |
| 00:59:57 |
Now I'm going to take that ant |
| 00:59:58 |
and see what it's really made of. |
| 01:00:01 |
Here we go. |
| 01:00:03 |
This is the bullet ant |
| 01:00:06 |
And I'm going to bite the bullet. |
| 01:00:08 |
I'm gonna see if it's really |
| 01:00:12 |
Come on, mate. Down you go. |
| 01:00:14 |
I'll put it on my arm here. |
| 01:00:16 |
Aah, he got me! Got me, got me, got me. |
| 01:00:17 |
Get out. Get the sting out. |
| 01:00:19 |
Come on, come on. Off you go. |
| 01:00:20 |
Please get off me. |
| 01:00:21 |
He keeps going, keeps going. Hang on. |
| 01:00:23 |
Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! |
| 01:00:24 |
Aah! Come here. |
| 01:00:26 |
I'll get you anyway. Oh! |
| 01:00:29 |
You can see how my watch is getting really - |
| 01:00:32 |
See how it's swelling up |
| 01:00:34 |
I'm gonna take it off because |
| 01:00:37 |
Can you see that? |
| 01:00:38 |
They call it the 24-hour ant. |
| 01:00:40 |
And that means that |
| 01:00:43 |
the pain will subside. |
| 01:00:45 |
It's like slowly creeping |
| 01:00:47 |
It's starting to move. |
| 01:00:50 |
The pain is moving further up my arm. |
| 01:00:52 |
And it took, what, 20 minutes. |
| 01:00:54 |
Boy, this is something |
| 01:00:58 |
Never, ever. |
| 01:00:59 |
We're an hour after the sting occurred. |
| 01:01:03 |
The pain has absolutely not subsided. |
| 01:01:05 |
It's like a hot needle in |
| 01:01:08 |
It's started to really rain heavily. |
| 01:01:10 |
It's got really dark. |
| 01:01:13 |
And I think it's time to retire |
| 01:01:17 |
where there might be some ice, |
| 01:01:20 |
Boy, this is sore. Still. |
| 01:01:22 |
It doesn't go away. It keeps going. |
| 01:01:29 |
It's about six hours after the sting, |
| 01:01:31 |
and it just doesn't let up. |
| 01:01:34 |
It's really painful. |
| 01:01:35 |
It's not getting much better, really. |
| 01:01:37 |
It's just, like, swollen. |
| 01:01:39 |
Sore from here to there. |
| 01:01:41 |
My arm, when I don't move it, |
| 01:01:45 |
It's thick, and you cannot move much. |
| 01:01:47 |
It's very thick and fat inside. |
| 01:01:50 |
It doesn't really hurt much |
| 01:01:53 |
Then it starts to hurt again. |
| 01:01:58 |
[Sighs] |
| 01:01:59 |
Morning. |
| 01:02:00 |
Just had a few hours' sleep, |
| 01:02:03 |
And we're 16 hours on, after the sting. |
| 01:02:06 |
And good news is, I can wear my watch. |
| 01:02:09 |
The swelling has gone down. |
| 01:02:10 |
The pain is basically back |
| 01:02:17 |
And that means that |
| 01:02:20 |
I think I shall live. |
| 01:02:22 |
I learned a lesson. |
| 01:02:25 |
Don't mess with bullet ants. |
| 01:02:37 |
My search for the baddest bugs |
| 01:02:39 |
takes me deep into the Arizona desert. |
| 01:02:42 |
This is scorpion HQ. |
| 01:02:45 |
Here are two toughies - two scorpions - |
| 01:02:48 |
and both are from the desert. |
| 01:02:50 |
Now, one of these is a killer. |
| 01:02:53 |
It can floor and kill human beings. |
| 01:02:56 |
And the other one is almost harmless. |
| 01:02:59 |
Can you guess which one? |
| 01:03:01 |
No? I'll show you. |
| 01:03:08 |
This one... |
| 01:03:09 |
Aah! [Bleep] [Bleep] |
| 01:03:11 |
This one is the harmless one. |
| 01:03:14 |
Oh, yes, it just got me. |
| 01:03:16 |
Absolutely got me. And it draws blood. |
| 01:03:18 |
But the venom is not |
| 01:03:22 |
She's so strong |
| 01:03:23 |
that she would rarely use |
| 01:03:27 |
She would use it only really |
| 01:03:30 |
if somebody is hassling her |
| 01:03:31 |
or if she feels really threatened. |
| 01:03:33 |
A little bit like this. Look. |
| 01:03:34 |
See, there it goes. |
| 01:03:36 |
Aah, yeah. Hey, hey, hey, hey. |
| 01:03:37 |
She's pushing. She's nudging. |
| 01:03:39 |
Look at that. |
| 01:03:41 |
And the funny thing is it doesn't even hurt. |
| 01:03:43 |
Now, the other one, that's the nasty one. |
| 01:03:47 |
And there's a very good reason for it. |
| 01:03:50 |
The bark scorpion hunts out on tree trunks |
| 01:03:55 |
and is vulnerable to attack, |
| 01:03:58 |
So it uses venom, |
| 01:03:59 |
not only to catch prey but also |
| 01:04:05 |
My TV crew has rigged |
| 01:04:08 |
I'm not sure what a walk |
| 01:04:11 |
about bark scorpion stings, |
| 01:04:15 |
For this simple demonstration |
| 01:04:19 |
I was asked to walk past that girl |
| 01:04:23 |
How easy can that be? |
| 01:04:34 |
Aah! Oh! |
| 01:04:36 |
That's nasty. |
| 01:04:37 |
Aah! Oh! |
| 01:04:40 |
Aah! Oh! Aah. |
| 01:04:42 |
What is that? It's so small. |
| 01:04:44 |
Oh, that's a cattle prod. |
| 01:04:46 |
Look, that's 10,000 volts or something. |
| 01:04:48 |
Shall I'll get you? Go. |
| 01:04:50 |
Good grief! |
| 01:04:51 |
Oh, not fair. |
| 01:04:54 |
Shows you, though, |
| 01:04:56 |
and you've got something |
| 01:04:59 |
you can floor anybody. |
| 01:05:04 |
The little black scorpion's powerful |
| 01:05:08 |
...that's killed hundreds of people |
| 01:05:13 |
Some scorpions can decide |
| 01:05:16 |
Some of two kinds of venomed |
| 01:05:19 |
But, if the treat continues, |
| 01:05:25 |
As our towns move |
| 01:05:27 |
we meet more scorpions... |
| 01:05:28 |
...and another bug that likes to |
| 01:05:35 |
As American settlers |
| 01:05:37 |
built homes |
| 01:05:40 |
the deadly black widow |
| 01:05:44 |
It had a fatal attraction to the |
| 01:05:49 |
The outhouse. |
| 01:05:55 |
The relationship between |
| 01:05:58 |
shall we say, a comfortable one. |
| 01:06:00 |
And especially the black widow spider's |
| 01:06:02 |
left a trail of victims and destruction. |
| 01:06:08 |
Ewwww! [Chuckles] |
| 01:06:10 |
What a top spot for a spider |
| 01:06:13 |
It's got everything |
| 01:06:17 |
Now, for these spiders, |
| 01:06:18 |
outdoor toilets were merely the beginning |
| 01:06:20 |
of their long association with humans. |
| 01:06:22 |
I reckon they went a couple of steps further |
| 01:06:24 |
and are now saying, |
| 01:06:28 |
Bring it on!" |
| 01:06:31 |
Many towns and cities have now spread across |
| 01:06:34 |
a lot of black widow territory. |
| 01:06:36 |
And that spells danger for us. |
| 01:06:38 |
In the last 25 years |
| 01:06:40 |
black widow spider bites reported |
| 01:06:42 |
but, thankfully, only four confirmed deaths. |
| 01:06:46 |
It's the female of the species |
| 01:06:49 |
and I'm keen to meet the lady up close. |
| 01:06:53 |
This is what I call |
| 01:06:56 |
There she is in an old clay pot. |
| 01:06:58 |
Nice and sheltered. Big web. |
| 01:07:00 |
And, of course, in an area |
| 01:07:02 |
A lot of other insects. A lot of flies. |
| 01:07:04 |
A lot of food. |
| 01:07:05 |
She sits in the back of the pot, waiting. |
| 01:07:08 |
The web is right out here. |
| 01:07:10 |
In the web there's some |
| 01:07:12 |
There's some food hanging |
| 01:07:15 |
Little fly covered with silk. |
| 01:07:18 |
Now, we all know that they're venomous. |
| 01:07:21 |
But the reason they use |
| 01:07:25 |
You see, spiders haven't invented |
| 01:07:28 |
So when they catch prey, |
| 01:07:29 |
they want to keep it as fresh as possible |
| 01:07:32 |
if they don't want to feed on it yet. |
| 01:07:34 |
So what you do is you wrap it up into silk, |
| 01:07:36 |
you give it a little bite of venom, |
| 01:07:38 |
a little bit of poison so that |
| 01:07:41 |
and it stays okay in the web |
| 01:07:48 |
Perhaps black widows are supervenomous |
| 01:07:50 |
because they are small and vulnerable, |
| 01:07:53 |
just like bullet ants and bark scorpions. |
| 01:07:56 |
But the good news is that, like all spiders, |
| 01:07:58 |
they really don't want to bite us. |
| 01:08:04 |
Now, black widows are normally |
| 01:08:07 |
But you've got to be very careful. |
| 01:08:09 |
They are venomous. |
| 01:08:12 |
But when you get a spider |
| 01:08:15 |
or bungees onto your hand, |
| 01:08:18 |
Put it back just like that, |
| 01:08:20 |
and put it back |
| 01:08:21 |
And she believe |
| 01:08:24 |
Mother black widow lays |
| 01:08:28 |
But newly hetched black widow spiderlings |
| 01:08:33 |
...where had meeting |
| 01:08:36 |
They climb up to |
| 01:08:39 |
make a long piece of sac... |
| 01:08:41 |
...use it like a parachute |
| 01:08:45 |
I can't believe. |
| 01:08:49 |
They can blow from miles and miles |
| 01:08:53 |
...it could be a forest, |
| 01:08:54 |
an office building, |
| 01:08:55 |
or your backyard, |
| 01:08:57 |
that will be the widows |
| 01:09:05 |
A black widow spider |
| 01:09:08 |
but next, the most deadly |
| 01:09:24 |
Look at this - a bustling metropolis |
| 01:09:28 |
and heaps of people. |
| 01:09:30 |
4 million, in fact. |
| 01:09:31 |
Because this is Sydney, Australia. |
| 01:09:33 |
Now, let's take a step back |
| 01:09:38 |
Ah, that's better. |
| 01:09:40 |
Clean, pristine, undisturbed bush. |
| 01:09:43 |
Now, it was in this particular area, |
| 01:09:44 |
perhaps only a couple of |
| 01:09:47 |
that there once lived |
| 01:09:51 |
a funnel-web spider. |
| 01:09:54 |
On warm summer evenings, |
| 01:09:56 |
male funnel-webs would |
| 01:09:59 |
and go wandering through |
| 01:10:08 |
Their journeys could take them |
| 01:10:11 |
And that's the way life was |
| 01:10:17 |
And then... |
| 01:10:19 |
200 years ago, the city of Sydney was built |
| 01:10:23 |
right on top of funnel-web |
| 01:10:26 |
So, what did these spiders do? |
| 01:10:29 |
Well, nothing. |
| 01:10:31 |
The males keep on wandering, |
| 01:10:34 |
Now known as the Sydney funnel-web, |
| 01:10:36 |
the suburbs are their new bush. |
| 01:10:38 |
And if their romantic journey |
| 01:10:41 |
they are likely to come in. |
| 01:10:44 |
Trouble is, |
| 01:10:46 |
they're probably the most |
| 01:10:50 |
When cornered, |
| 01:10:53 |
and 13 people have been |
| 01:10:56 |
but none since antivenin |
| 01:10:59 |
even though 30 to 40 people |
| 01:11:04 |
They normally eat beetles and cockroaches, |
| 01:11:07 |
so it's actually quite a mystery |
| 01:11:08 |
why the venom of male |
| 01:11:12 |
...to humans and other primates. |
| 01:11:15 |
I've caught one in the act here |
| 01:11:18 |
walking around. |
| 01:11:20 |
Can't stay here, mate. |
| 01:11:24 |
Some of them are more |
| 01:11:27 |
If they rear up, you know |
| 01:11:31 |
You have to be very careful |
| 01:11:41 |
This is rearing behavior. |
| 01:11:43 |
Universal language for |
| 01:11:48 |
I'm gonna try something here. |
| 01:11:51 |
I've got a theory that... |
| 01:11:53 |
...a spider just doesn't bite |
| 01:11:57 |
It's got to have a good reason |
| 01:12:01 |
if it's under attack itself. |
| 01:12:04 |
I'm gonna try and let it walk over my hand. |
| 01:12:09 |
I think. |
| 01:12:13 |
This, believe it or not, |
| 01:12:18 |
Ah, look at it. |
| 01:12:19 |
I've handled bugs, good |
| 01:12:22 |
I know when it is safe. |
| 01:12:24 |
And I know that venom |
| 01:12:28 |
They don't want to waste a drop. |
| 01:12:30 |
And they will only attack when threatened. |
| 01:12:33 |
Ooh, that was close. |
| 01:12:36 |
Ugh. |
| 01:12:37 |
God, I don't believe I did that. |
| 01:12:39 |
[Gasping] |
| 01:12:43 |
But please, if you live in Sydney |
| 01:12:45 |
or anywhere there are venomous |
| 01:13:00 |
My journey to find |
| 01:13:04 |
This could be anywhere in the tropics. |
| 01:13:07 |
I'm Ruud Kleinpaste, and I'm on the trail |
| 01:13:08 |
of a bug that's so unbelievably bad, |
| 01:13:11 |
it can be linked to the deaths of millions |
| 01:13:16 |
I think I can hear something. |
| 01:13:19 |
Yeah. |
| 01:13:23 |
It hasn't found me yet. |
| 01:13:29 |
These bad bugs love to feed on us, |
| 01:13:32 |
and they can find us |
| 01:13:37 |
Of course, I'm talking about mosquitoes, |
| 01:13:40 |
and these ones are in the laboratory, |
| 01:13:41 |
where researchers use |
| 01:13:44 |
what kind of smells mosquitoes |
| 01:13:48 |
This is how it works. |
| 01:13:49 |
Lots of mosquitoes in these containers, |
| 01:13:51 |
and some pipes and tubes |
| 01:13:54 |
and then you can measure the response. |
| 01:13:56 |
Number one, I know breath |
| 01:14:01 |
I've got a sachet of |
| 01:14:04 |
which I'm going to put in this chamber. |
| 01:14:06 |
Upsy-daisy you are. |
| 01:14:08 |
See what happens. |
| 01:14:11 |
And there they go, |
| 01:14:14 |
It really turns them on. |
| 01:14:16 |
If I would go "hoo!" |
| 01:14:20 |
...they would even like that better. |
| 01:14:22 |
So breath. |
| 01:14:23 |
This is another one. |
| 01:14:25 |
I put my hand in here, open that one up. |
| 01:14:29 |
This shows you that |
| 01:14:31 |
the sweat and the body odors - |
| 01:14:35 |
for those female mosquitoes |
| 01:14:39 |
But I've got something else. |
| 01:14:44 |
I've got the odor of all odors. |
| 01:14:47 |
I haven't washed those for a couple of days, |
| 01:14:49 |
so I hope it's not going to kill them. |
| 01:14:51 |
[Chuckles] |
| 01:14:53 |
No, it doesn't. |
| 01:14:55 |
They're actually - [laughs] |
| 01:14:57 |
They really like this stuff. |
| 01:14:59 |
It's like Swiss cheese to a mosquito - |
| 01:15:02 |
big foot odor, big sweat. |
| 01:15:04 |
Mmm! |
| 01:15:06 |
Only female mosquitoes come after us. |
| 01:15:09 |
They want the protein in our blood |
| 01:15:11 |
to help develop their eggs. |
| 01:15:14 |
[Mosquito buzzing] |
| 01:15:16 |
They find us first |
| 01:15:17 |
by locking on the carbon dioxide |
| 01:15:20 |
They can detect us from over 100 feet away. |
| 01:15:24 |
When they get closer, they smell our skin. |
| 01:15:27 |
Mosquitoes react to over |
| 01:15:31 |
And, look, there they are, |
| 01:15:33 |
These mosquitoes can take four times |
| 01:15:38 |
That means that they become |
| 01:15:41 |
...than they are when they started. |
| 01:15:43 |
And that means that their abdomens |
| 01:15:46 |
and let in more and more blood. |
| 01:15:49 |
And if you look really carefully, |
| 01:15:51 |
you can see that they eject water |
| 01:15:53 |
with little droplets from their abdomen, |
| 01:15:56 |
just to make room for a bit more blood. |
| 01:15:58 |
They really want as much |
| 01:16:02 |
Different mosquitoes |
| 01:16:05 |
These striped Aedes aegyptii |
| 01:16:09 |
They live in the tropics |
| 01:16:12 |
Problem is, |
| 01:16:13 |
each one is a potentially |
| 01:16:18 |
So am I in danger? |
| 01:16:20 |
Thankfully, not from these little ladies. |
| 01:16:23 |
They are laboratory-bred and disease-free. |
| 01:16:26 |
But you can imagine that, |
| 01:16:29 |
...things like yellow fever |
| 01:16:32 |
I would be a sitting duck. |
| 01:16:33 |
[Buzzing] |
| 01:16:34 |
Aedes mosquitoes spread |
| 01:16:38 |
by sucking up disease |
| 01:16:40 |
and passing it on to others. |
| 01:16:43 |
The disease multiplies in a new host, |
| 01:16:45 |
rupturing red blood cells |
| 01:16:49 |
fever that affects millions and |
| 01:16:56 |
Next, a bug that wants |
| 01:17:05 |
The baddest bugs in this show |
| 01:17:07 |
were bred in Brazil in the 1950s. |
| 01:17:09 |
They escaped and reached the U.S. in 1990, |
| 01:17:13 |
and they're spreading fast. |
| 01:17:16 |
They're Africanized honeybees, |
| 01:17:19 |
They look just like normal honeybees, |
| 01:17:21 |
but they are superaggressive |
| 01:17:25 |
If an intruder comes near, |
| 01:17:26 |
thousands of bees will attack |
| 01:17:30 |
Hundreds of people have been |
| 01:17:37 |
You generally don't mess around |
| 01:17:40 |
[Laughs] |
| 01:17:42 |
And that means full suit and great care. |
| 01:17:46 |
Ooh. |
| 01:17:49 |
I'm in Arizona, and |
| 01:17:52 |
is taking me to a killer-bee nest. |
| 01:17:54 |
We must be careful. |
| 01:17:56 |
Even a noise or vibration |
| 01:17:59 |
And when killer bees attack, |
| 01:18:02 |
and I don't want that, |
| 01:18:05 |
There it is, up there |
| 01:18:07 |
The less people, the better, |
| 01:18:09 |
so I'm going to wish you |
| 01:18:12 |
[Chuckling] Oh, thank you. |
| 01:18:13 |
I'll need it. I'll be very careful. |
| 01:18:15 |
See ya. |
| 01:18:18 |
Must be careful. |
| 01:18:24 |
There's a huge nest of killer bees there. |
| 01:18:28 |
And you - you can hear them |
| 01:18:33 |
Now, I don't want to disturb them, |
| 01:18:35 |
because when they're disturbed, they attack. |
| 01:18:38 |
When they attack, they sting. |
| 01:18:40 |
And when they sting, they die, |
| 01:18:43 |
But I've got to be very, |
| 01:18:46 |
But what will be nice is |
| 01:18:50 |
and to see how they react. |
| 01:18:52 |
Don't forget, I'm downwind from them. |
| 01:18:55 |
And I'm going to put |
| 01:19:00 |
...and see what I can find. |
| 01:19:09 |
Oh, boy, guard bees. |
| 01:19:11 |
Oh, amazing, they haven't seen me yet. |
| 01:19:17 |
Oh, sensational. This has |
| 01:19:20 |
Oh, look, they're investigating |
| 01:19:22 |
[Chuckles] Wonderful! |
| 01:19:26 |
Oh, God, the noise - |
| 01:19:28 |
Whoa, whoa, here they come. |
| 01:19:31 |
I've got to get out. No, this is not safe. |
| 01:19:33 |
I've got to get out. |
| 01:19:36 |
I'm on. I'm moving. |
| 01:19:42 |
Better get out. |
| 01:19:45 |
It's a bit safer here, but |
| 01:19:49 |
I reckon it's a lot safer in the dark. |
| 01:19:58 |
When I approach the nest at night, |
| 01:20:00 |
I expect the bees to be at rest, |
| 01:20:03 |
They are still aggressive |
| 01:20:07 |
As I approach, they approach me... on foot. |
| 01:20:11 |
They climb my boots |
| 01:20:15 |
Even though this is night, |
| 01:20:16 |
they are still alert, still superaggressive. |
| 01:20:21 |
They start stinging. |
| 01:20:24 |
But there will be no escape |
| 01:20:27 |
tomorrow morning. |
| 01:20:32 |
My journey to find the world's baddest bugs |
| 01:20:35 |
ends here today in the Arizona desert. |
| 01:20:42 |
I didn't sleep last night. |
| 01:20:44 |
I kept thinking about |
| 01:20:53 |
Not too sure about this. |
| 01:20:57 |
[Sighs] |
| 01:20:58 |
And it's hot already. I hope |
| 01:21:01 |
Um, in there, I think. |
| 01:21:03 |
I really am nervous. Hmm. |
| 01:21:06 |
You'd be, too, if you were about to |
| 01:21:09 |
put on you without any protective clothing. |
| 01:21:12 |
Going to have an exciting day. |
| 01:21:14 |
Hmm, this must be my torturer, |
| 01:21:17 |
- Are you well? |
| 01:21:20 |
Yeah, we're going to have |
| 01:21:23 |
I have no idea |
| 01:21:25 |
So tell me, what do I do? |
| 01:21:26 |
The first thing you do is not panic. |
| 01:21:28 |
No matter what happens, |
| 01:21:31 |
Okay, so, I reel- I - I - relax. |
| 01:21:33 |
- You relax totally. |
| 01:21:36 |
How can anyone relax with |
| 01:21:40 |
Uh, how many? |
| 01:21:41 |
Well, at least 50,000 bees are here today. |
| 01:21:44 |
Okay. |
| 01:21:45 |
We hope they're all in a good mood. |
| 01:21:47 |
[Buzzing] |
| 01:21:48 |
Going to sting a lot, so... |
| 01:21:50 |
He puts repellent around my eyes. |
| 01:21:52 |
My sleeves and cuffs are taped |
| 01:21:54 |
to prevent bees getting into |
| 01:21:59 |
Norm Gary is a bee expert |
| 01:22:00 |
and has worked a lot with killer bees, |
| 01:22:03 |
but what we are planning is very risky. |
| 01:22:05 |
[Buzzing] |
| 01:22:06 |
- This is a- |
| 01:22:09 |
Is this it? |
| 01:22:11 |
That's it, Ruud. |
| 01:22:12 |
It's not beautiful, but it's functional. |
| 01:22:15 |
This is a small vial of liquid. |
| 01:22:17 |
It's a pheromone complex, |
| 01:22:20 |
bee pheromones |
| 01:22:22 |
So, you can already see, |
| 01:22:25 |
even before I open the vial. |
| 01:22:26 |
Yes. |
| 01:22:27 |
So in order to attract the bees to you |
| 01:22:30 |
and get them to cluster on you, |
| 01:22:31 |
we're going to place |
| 01:22:33 |
wherever we want the bees to come. |
| 01:22:35 |
Wow, they're really responding. |
| 01:22:38 |
Just little droplets here and there. |
| 01:22:39 |
The pheromone is the key |
| 01:22:41 |
It's the same chemical that a queen produces |
| 01:22:44 |
when she flies from an overcrowded hive |
| 01:22:49 |
That's why they will come to me, |
| 01:22:52 |
to prove the power of the pheromone. |
| 01:22:55 |
I trust that it will communicate |
| 01:22:58 |
that they should not attack me. |
| 01:23:00 |
Just to be on the safe side, |
| 01:23:02 |
I have a fistful of medications here, |
| 01:23:04 |
most anything for any purpose. |
| 01:23:06 |
And we'll take good care of you |
| 01:23:09 |
Okay, so that's if I go absolutely out. |
| 01:23:11 |
All right, are we ready? |
| 01:23:12 |
- I'm ready, mate. |
| 01:23:14 |
[Bees buzzing] |
| 01:23:16 |
Ready? |
| 01:23:17 |
Ready? Ready? |
| 01:23:19 |
What am I doing here? |
| 01:23:27 |
Once a few bees are in position, |
| 01:23:30 |
then they are quite attracted |
| 01:23:33 |
So this is gonna build up now, |
| 01:23:39 |
There's no question about it. |
| 01:23:40 |
What's even more alarming |
| 01:23:44 |
This is the first time I've ever used |
| 01:23:48 |
Africanized, so-called killer bees, |
| 01:23:51 |
As the bees go on, I start to panic. |
| 01:23:54 |
500 stings will kill me, |
| 01:23:57 |
and there must be close to |
| 01:24:00 |
But I must have confidence |
| 01:24:04 |
I have to believe they only attack |
| 01:24:06 |
if they have a queen or a hive to defend, |
| 01:24:09 |
and today, I'm their queen. |
| 01:24:12 |
If you get stung, |
| 01:24:14 |
I want you to let me know right away. |
| 01:24:16 |
I will. |
| 01:24:17 |
If you can't say anything with your mouth |
| 01:24:18 |
because you're covered, |
| 01:24:21 |
When I first did this, I was terrified. |
| 01:24:23 |
A sting is what I'm most afraid of. |
| 01:24:25 |
If one killer bee stings, |
| 01:24:30 |
That's the signal for a mass attack. |
| 01:24:33 |
It is bizarre. It is a weird sensation. |
| 01:24:36 |
It is frightening as hell. |
| 01:24:39 |
It is really frightening, because you feel |
| 01:24:42 |
that they're all going for you, |
| 01:24:46 |
Which is what they do, |
| 01:24:48 |
They're going for you because |
| 01:24:52 |
- Hmm. [Ryuud chuckles] |
| 01:24:54 |
The biggest queen in town. |
| 01:24:56 |
Oh, gosh! |
| 01:24:58 |
It's hard to scoop the residual bees. |
| 01:25:01 |
I'm going to fling them |
| 01:25:04 |
and they will smell their way up |
| 01:25:06 |
and come and join the other bees. |
| 01:25:07 |
So, on the count of 3- 1... 2... 3. |
| 01:25:23 |
How many more do you have? |
| 01:25:25 |
Well, I would say, |
| 01:25:28 |
Oh! |
| 01:25:29 |
I can go ahead and |
| 01:25:31 |
Can I put my arms down? |
| 01:25:33 |
- Oh, yes, just keep them down. |
| 01:25:35 |
As long as they're - |
| 01:25:38 |
Just relax. |
| 01:25:40 |
As Norm releases the bees, |
| 01:25:41 |
they come flying onto me at great speed. |
| 01:25:44 |
It's like riding a motorbike |
| 01:25:48 |
I'm getting really tired. |
| 01:25:50 |
At this point, you should |
| 01:25:53 |
Yes, I can feel weight. |
| 01:25:54 |
The bees are heavy. About |
| 01:25:59 |
And you have at least |
| 01:26:02 |
Yeah. |
| 01:26:03 |
I can hear them so close-up... |
| 01:26:05 |
that they feel as if |
| 01:26:10 |
and it's, like, deafening. |
| 01:26:12 |
I can - Honestly, I cannot |
| 01:26:15 |
You have to shout. |
| 01:26:16 |
I have to learn to relax |
| 01:26:21 |
I can't see a thing. |
| 01:26:23 |
The bees are shading my eyes. |
| 01:26:26 |
Can you see that? |
| 01:26:29 |
It's awful. |
| 01:26:31 |
Under the weight of 50,000 bees, |
| 01:26:37 |
I'm starting to panic again. |
| 01:26:39 |
I want this to end now. |
| 01:26:41 |
Please. |
| 01:26:42 |
Ruud, I thought you might like to see |
| 01:26:44 |
how you appear in the mirror, so... |
| 01:26:46 |
- Oh, no... |
| 01:26:48 |
Oh, you're joking. |
| 01:26:50 |
Oh, no, look at this! |
| 01:26:51 |
Ah, this is amazing. |
| 01:26:59 |
Hmm. |
| 01:27:03 |
This is what you call |
| 01:27:08 |
They're not out to kill us. |
| 01:27:09 |
That's not what they're about. |
| 01:27:12 |
They're about to defend their honey, |
| 01:27:14 |
because we always steal it, |
| 01:27:16 |
and I reckon this is the most |
| 01:27:22 |
[Buzzing continues] |
| 01:27:24 |
Okay, Ruud, it's time to get these bees off. |
| 01:27:27 |
[Puffing] |
| 01:27:32 |
A little bit on your cheek here, |
| 01:27:34 |
- Whoops. |
| 01:27:35 |
I'm sorry. My fault. |
| 01:27:36 |
I'm stung! I'm stung! |
| 01:27:39 |
Will they attack? |
| 01:27:47 |
Thank God, they stay calm. |
| 01:27:49 |
I can't believe it. |
| 01:27:51 |
I've done it. |
| 01:27:53 |
But don't you do any of the things |
| 01:27:55 |
you've seen me do on this show. |
| 01:27:56 |
You have to be an expert |
| 01:28:01 |
an expert and a little bit crazy. |
| 01:28:04 |
Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, |
| 01:28:08 |
You are essentially |
| 01:28:10 |
Wow. |
| 01:28:11 |
And you got two stings. Yeah. |
| 01:28:13 |
Well, I'm sorry about that, but you know |
| 01:28:15 |
it could have been 50,000... |
| 01:28:16 |
- Yeah, I know... |
| 01:28:19 |
I've never done anything |
| 01:28:21 |
and, um, I feel that |
| 01:28:26 |
and what I know about them |
| 01:28:29 |
And I'll tell you |
| 01:28:32 |
if you make one such thing |
| 01:28:37 |
Oops. That's it. You got to play their game. |
| 01:28:41 |
What a stunt to finish on. |
| 01:28:44 |
But we've done it. Yeah, we've done it! |
| 01:28:46 |
[Laughing] |
| 01:28:48 |
Whoo-hoo! |
| 01:28:50 |
[Screaming] |
| 01:28:54 |
Does it taste bad? |
| 01:28:55 |
Hoo! |
| 01:28:59 |
[Screaming] |
| 01:29:03 |
Ah, you did it! |
| 01:29:04 |
Aye! |
| 01:29:05 |
I call. |
| 01:29:07 |
That's right, I did. |
| 01:29:08 |
Whoa! Okay. |
| 01:29:09 |
I'd like another one. |
| 01:29:11 |
Ah! Ah, ah. |
| 01:29:15 |
Yeah-ha! |
| 01:29:16 |
Yeah! |
