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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
to go looking for bugs...
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...as big as bugs can get and
as bad as bugs can get...
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...was an opportunity
too good to miss.
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Aah, he got me! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!
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I'll do whatever it takes
to get down to bugs' level...
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...so I can understand
why some bugs become so big...
13
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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
in search of the world's biggest bugs.
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I'm going to need all my experience
as an entomologist...
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...if I'm to uncover their secret
hiding places, avoid danger,
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and discover why some bugs
can get to be as long as your arm...
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...and the very biggest can be
the size of a small cat.
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First up, the biggest cockroach
in the world.
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Ugh!
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Oh!
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This is what we always think of
as giant bugs.
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Yuh!
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You know, there's monsters
that lurk under the floorboards...
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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
to the Australian outback.
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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
the giant burrowing cockroach.
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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
and only in burrows.
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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 -
your prothorax.
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Isn't that gorgeous?
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These cockroaches don't come
to town, thank goodness.
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They're strictly country cousins,
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and they burrow.
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They can burrow through
tightly compacted soil
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like mini excavators.
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Now, underneath is the head.
It's always protected.
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00:03:13,359 --> 00:03:14,993
And you know what?
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It feels nice and cool,
and it feels nice and moist.
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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
heat outside,
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their burrows are as cool as wine cellars.
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And like a good wine,
giant cockroaches age well.
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They live for up to 10 years.
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The roach in your kitchen lives
only for two.
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00:03:43,122 --> 00:03:44,623
Even more remarkable
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is that mother giant roaches
give birth to live young.
80
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Now, this is very unusual for cockroaches.
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Others lay eggs.
82
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And she looks after her young
for up to nine months.
83
00:03:57,770 --> 00:04:01,940
But why do these junior roaches
grow up to be giants?
84
00:04:02,108 --> 00:04:05,477
Well, it's a mystery, but scientists think
85
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it could have something to do with moisture.
86
00:04:07,980 --> 00:04:09,548
[Thunder crashes]
87
00:04:13,786 --> 00:04:17,822
The biggest cockroaches are found
where more rain falls.
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When it rains, they all
come out of their burrows
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to meet, to mate, and to move on.
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This is the only time
when they won't dry out
91
00:04:27,700 --> 00:04:30,936
in the fierce Australian heat.
92
00:04:31,103 --> 00:04:32,571
So the moment it rains, they come out,
93
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they gather up all these leaves
from around here -
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eucalyptus leaves and
anything they can find -
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and take them down in the burrow.
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And these leaves are dead,
old, dried leaves.
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Mmh. Mmh.
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Dry?
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They taste like dead, old, dried leaves.
100
00:04:51,691 --> 00:04:53,091
Not something that I could live on,
101
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but these roaches can.
102
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This guy has had a heck of a day today.
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00:04:58,164 --> 00:05:00,565
Exciting, mind you, but in the process,
104
00:05:00,733 --> 00:05:02,801
we've destroyed its burrow totally.
105
00:05:02,969 --> 00:05:05,770
Now, luckily, I've found
a burrow here that's deserted.
106
00:05:05,938 --> 00:05:08,273
You can always tell a deserted burrow
because it's open.
107
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It's never closed off.
108
00:05:10,042 --> 00:05:12,911
So I'm gonna let him go here.
Successful relocation.
109
00:05:13,079 --> 00:05:15,013
Ah, put a leaf in for good measure,
for some food.
110
00:05:15,181 --> 00:05:16,014
Away you go.
111
00:05:16,182 --> 00:05:20,285
Giant cockroaches are big,
but I've only just begun my search.
112
00:05:20,453 --> 00:05:22,921
And the next bug helps answer the question,
113
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"Why aren't bugs as big as buses?"
114
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Dragonflies.
115
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I love them because they're so ancient.
116
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They were flying around
300 million years ago.
117
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That's the time when coal was deposited.
118
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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
much larger than this.
121
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Oh, yeah, once they were
122
00:06:01,193 --> 00:06:03,561
the largest flying insect in the world.
123
00:06:03,729 --> 00:06:07,565
Now, of course, this is a much smaller
21 st-century model.
124
00:06:07,733 --> 00:06:11,336
It's the hawker dragonfly.
A robust little fellow.
125
00:06:11,504 --> 00:06:12,771
But I'd like you to meet
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00:06:12,938 --> 00:06:18,243
a long and slender cousin of this one
the helicopter damselfly.
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The very first flying insects appeared
about 350 million years ago.
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There were giant dragonflies
the size of eagles
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and damselflies the size of hawks.
130
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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
to find the giant helicopter damselfly.
133
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They gather around fallen logs
134
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because logs have holes
that will fill up with water,
135
00:06:54,113 --> 00:06:58,516
and females come to
these tiny pools to lay eggs.
136
00:06:58,684 --> 00:07:03,455
And where there are females,
there are big males.
137
00:07:07,460 --> 00:07:09,994
Males are superb fliers.
138
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They hover over their ponds
like mini helicopters.
139
00:07:15,201 --> 00:07:17,602
And if they receive unwelcome visitors,
140
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they become attack helicopters.
141
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Got him! [Cackles]
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Why do they get so big? Well, very simple.
143
00:07:35,821 --> 00:07:38,456
Areas like this and habitats
like these tree trunks
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don't come around very often,
and they are worth fighting for.
145
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So if you're a big male,
146
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you got a better chance of securing a female
147
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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
the biggest in the world.
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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
this from fossil records -
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damselflies got a lot, lot bigger.
154
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About a size like that.
155
00:08:05,017 --> 00:08:06,284
And why was that?
156
00:08:06,452 --> 00:08:09,120
Well, one simple reason - oxygen.
157
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We humans have evolved in
an atmosphere with only 20% oxygen.
158
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We're used to it.
159
00:08:17,429 --> 00:08:20,865
That's enough for me
to cycle hard for five minutes,
160
00:08:21,033 --> 00:08:22,667
no problems.
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I feel okay.
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Enough oxygen here, you know.
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[Breathing heavily]
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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
as much oxygen as there is today.
168
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Now, with more oxygen,
flying insects became giants.
169
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Imagine dragonflies with a 2-foot wingspan.
170
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Then imagine what happened
when the world's oxygen levels halved.
171
00:08:52,865 --> 00:08:56,167
Scientists think that decomposing
bacteria and fungi
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began using a lot more of it.
173
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With less oxygen in the air,
the insect shrunk.
174
00:09:05,144 --> 00:09:08,146
Now, if lowering oxygen can shrink a bug,
175
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I'd like to know, what could it do to me?
176
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I've asked my TV crew to find me
a hyperbaric chamber.
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These help scuba divers recover
from the bends by increasing oxygen.
178
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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
on top of Mount Everest.
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Here we go.
182
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Ugh!
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Oh, it's tough.
184
00:09:41,814 --> 00:09:44,249
As soon as I start pedaling, I want to stop.
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I have no energy.
186
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After a minute, my heart is thumping,
187
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and by two minutes, I can't get enough air.
188
00:09:51,924 --> 00:09:55,093
My muscles are screaming in pain.
189
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21/2 minutes gone.
190
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Ohh. 57% oxygen in my blood.
It's a lot less.
191
00:10:03,302 --> 00:10:06,604
So it's really getting tough.
192
00:10:06,772 --> 00:10:08,506
How are you feeling?
193
00:10:08,674 --> 00:10:11,776
Really tired. And a bit headachey.
194
00:10:11,944 --> 00:10:16,447
I'm worried how less oxygen
will affect my brain.
195
00:10:16,615 --> 00:10:19,117
You see, our brains only weigh
2% of our body weight
196
00:10:19,285 --> 00:10:23,021
but use nearly 20% of all the oxygen
we breathe.
197
00:10:23,188 --> 00:10:24,188
Without enough oxygen,
198
00:10:24,356 --> 00:10:29,494
we'd suffer memory loss,
blindness, and blackout.
199
00:10:34,066 --> 00:10:36,000
Can I go back now?
200
00:10:37,403 --> 00:10:38,436
I want to go back.
201
00:10:38,604 --> 00:10:40,738
I'm gonna go back. Hang on.
202
00:10:41,740 --> 00:10:43,474
[Breathing heavily]
203
00:10:45,077 --> 00:10:47,512
I - I tell you what -
204
00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:50,214
Out here it feels like I'm in a...
205
00:10:50,382 --> 00:10:53,818
in an enormous carbon dioxide
or nitrogen bubble,
206
00:10:53,986 --> 00:10:55,954
and I can't get enough air.
207
00:10:56,121 --> 00:10:59,991
I - I - I do need air.
208
00:11:00,159 --> 00:11:03,127
You need air to perform.
209
00:11:03,295 --> 00:11:06,364
You need air - you need air to...
210
00:11:06,532 --> 00:11:09,968
Trying to work without enough oxygen
is the worst feeling.
211
00:11:10,135 --> 00:11:12,737
I want to cry. I want to sleep.
212
00:11:12,905 --> 00:11:15,006
I feel terrible.
213
00:11:16,875 --> 00:11:20,278
But my problems are really small
compared to bugs.
214
00:11:20,446 --> 00:11:23,081
Their respiration is inefficient.
215
00:11:23,248 --> 00:11:25,550
They carry little oxygen in their blood,
216
00:11:25,718 --> 00:11:27,352
and they rely on air coming in
217
00:11:27,519 --> 00:11:32,957
through tiny portholes, or spiracles,
along the sides of their bodies.
218
00:11:33,125 --> 00:11:35,193
So a bug's size is limited
219
00:11:35,361 --> 00:11:38,596
by the amount of oxygen it can absorb.
220
00:11:43,569 --> 00:11:45,470
My search for the biggest bug
221
00:11:45,637 --> 00:11:47,972
takes me back to Queensland, Australia.
222
00:11:48,140 --> 00:11:49,774
If I were to describe to you
223
00:11:49,942 --> 00:11:52,610
an insect that can grow
up to 8 inches in length,
224
00:11:52,778 --> 00:11:56,681
has perfect 360-degree vision,
225
00:11:56,849 --> 00:12:01,352
lightning-fast reflexes both
in attack and in defense,
226
00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:03,988
what do you think
such an insect would look like?
227
00:12:04,156 --> 00:12:06,724
You guessed it. A praying mantis.
228
00:12:06,892 --> 00:12:09,527
A predator that can blend into the foliage,
229
00:12:09,695 --> 00:12:11,496
stay still as a statue,
230
00:12:11,663 --> 00:12:16,901
but then strike fast enough
to catch flies and wasps in midair.
231
00:12:18,303 --> 00:12:20,204
Praying mantis's weapons of choice
232
00:12:20,372 --> 00:12:22,874
are their pairs of extraordinary front legs
233
00:12:23,042 --> 00:12:25,309
that are like spring-loaded jackknives.
234
00:12:25,477 --> 00:12:29,147
They use them to lunge
and then hold their victims.
235
00:12:29,314 --> 00:12:30,314
It's amazing.
236
00:12:30,482 --> 00:12:33,918
This praying mantis has given
two of her six legs...
237
00:12:34,086 --> 00:12:36,087
...and modified them
to such an extent
238
00:12:36,255 --> 00:12:38,189
that they're only killing machines.
239
00:12:39,558 --> 00:12:42,727
But as skilled and as lethal as
these predators are,
240
00:12:42,895 --> 00:12:44,929
they must be very careful...
241
00:12:45,097 --> 00:12:48,533
...not to end up as the prey
of much bigger killers.
242
00:12:48,700 --> 00:12:51,502
So how do praying mantises avoid ending up
243
00:12:51,670 --> 00:12:54,705
on other predators' breakfast tables?
244
00:12:54,873 --> 00:12:57,875
Their first line of defense is camouflage.
245
00:12:59,211 --> 00:13:01,746
All mantises blend into their environment,
246
00:13:01,914 --> 00:13:05,850
but few go as far as the orchid mantis.
247
00:13:06,018 --> 00:13:09,320
It even sways like an orchid in the breeze.
248
00:13:09,488 --> 00:13:13,424
It can also hide in papaya
and frangipani flowers.
249
00:13:13,592 --> 00:13:17,128
Even its legs are shaped like petals.
250
00:13:17,296 --> 00:13:20,031
Just beautiful.
251
00:13:23,335 --> 00:13:26,604
But praying mantises have
another trick up their sleeves.
252
00:13:26,772 --> 00:13:30,608
When cornered by predators
- even much bigger ones -
253
00:13:30,776 --> 00:13:34,312
they will stand and fight.
254
00:13:41,687 --> 00:13:44,589
So size is not a big deal
to a praying mantis.
255
00:13:44,756 --> 00:13:45,990
It's attitude.
256
00:13:46,158 --> 00:13:49,060
And no matter how big
or how small the mantis,
257
00:13:49,228 --> 00:13:52,230
inside they all think they are giants.
258
00:13:52,397 --> 00:13:56,434
So how can a small mantis beat a big enemy?
259
00:13:56,602 --> 00:13:59,303
Well, my TV crew has sent me
on a mystery mission
260
00:13:59,471 --> 00:14:00,671
to discover their secret.
261
00:14:00,839 --> 00:14:04,542
I'm to receive my instructions
via text message.
262
00:14:05,377 --> 00:14:06,878
"Prepare 4 combat!
263
00:14:07,045 --> 00:14:10,548
Tiffany, your host, is the mantis... "
264
00:14:10,716 --> 00:14:12,617
Ha ha ha.
265
00:14:12,784 --> 00:14:15,453
[Chuckling] Oh, I get it.
266
00:14:15,621 --> 00:14:18,623
Tiffany is an exponent of mantis kung fu,
267
00:14:18,790 --> 00:14:20,725
and I've got to fight her.
268
00:14:24,229 --> 00:14:25,796
Are you sure I'm gonna need all this?
269
00:14:25,964 --> 00:14:28,432
Yes. You'll need it.
270
00:14:29,301 --> 00:14:31,769
"Your challenge is to pin her arms
271
00:14:31,937 --> 00:14:34,071
for just one second. "
272
00:14:36,642 --> 00:14:38,442
AII I know about mantis kung fu
273
00:14:38,610 --> 00:14:42,180
is that it was developed hundreds of
years ago by a Chinese student
274
00:14:42,347 --> 00:14:45,349
who closely watched the moves
of the praying mantis.
275
00:14:45,517 --> 00:14:50,254
There's something like 12 arm
moves copied from the praying mantis.
276
00:14:50,422 --> 00:14:52,890
Hmm. Her technique looks really good.
277
00:14:53,058 --> 00:14:54,859
But my arms are longer.
278
00:15:28,927 --> 00:15:30,161
Ah. Ha ha.
279
00:15:31,396 --> 00:15:32,396
Ding!
280
00:15:46,144 --> 00:15:47,144
Ugh!
281
00:15:47,312 --> 00:15:49,680
Oh, I give up. Give up.
282
00:15:51,083 --> 00:15:52,750
Shows you, though,
283
00:15:52,918 --> 00:15:55,953
when you're small and you got technique,
284
00:15:56,121 --> 00:15:57,922
you can battle just about anything.
285
00:15:58,090 --> 00:16:01,158
I mean, I'm no slouch. Pbht!
286
00:16:01,326 --> 00:16:03,127
But this was too quick. This was technique.
287
00:16:03,295 --> 00:16:07,565
This was small, fast, and furious.
288
00:16:09,134 --> 00:16:12,403
Inside every praying mantis
beats the heart of a giant.
289
00:16:12,571 --> 00:16:14,672
Next, bugs that are not only big
290
00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:16,807
but tough when the going gets cold.
291
00:16:23,315 --> 00:16:26,651
A bug with tusks? Yeah, that's right.
292
00:16:26,818 --> 00:16:29,253
They're on the face of a tusked weta.
293
00:16:29,421 --> 00:16:31,689
Wetas are related to crickets
and grasshoppers,
294
00:16:31,857 --> 00:16:35,059
and tusked weta males
use their tusks for fighting,
295
00:16:35,227 --> 00:16:38,462
just like male elephants or walrus.
296
00:16:41,767 --> 00:16:44,302
They fight for territory and for females.
297
00:16:44,469 --> 00:16:46,304
And battles like this have been going on
298
00:16:46,471 --> 00:16:49,407
for nearly 300 million years.
299
00:16:49,574 --> 00:16:53,110
They are truly, truly ancient.
300
00:16:53,278 --> 00:16:54,412
Wetas might be ancient,
301
00:16:54,579 --> 00:16:56,847
but they're still being
discovered in New Zealand
302
00:16:57,015 --> 00:16:58,049
as we speak.
303
00:16:58,216 --> 00:16:59,650
This creature is the tusked weta.
304
00:16:59,818 --> 00:17:02,353
It was only found a few years ago.
305
00:17:02,521 --> 00:17:04,755
It's rare. It is very, very rare -
306
00:17:04,923 --> 00:17:06,691
...so rare that they're breeding
it in captivity
307
00:17:06,858 --> 00:17:08,492
so that, in a few years' time,
308
00:17:08,660 --> 00:17:11,128
this fellow might have
a few more females to fight over.
309
00:17:11,296 --> 00:17:13,998
Now, wouldn't that be
a good idea, my friend?
310
00:17:17,035 --> 00:17:21,238
Tusked wetas are one of
several different wetas in New Zealand.
311
00:17:22,474 --> 00:17:25,609
They include giants like this.
312
00:17:27,212 --> 00:17:30,548
Giant wetas are super heavy
weights of the bug world.
313
00:17:30,716 --> 00:17:32,783
And because they weigh more than 3 ounces,
314
00:17:32,951 --> 00:17:36,821
they're right up there amongst
the world's heaviest bugs.
315
00:17:39,191 --> 00:17:41,792
But by far the coolest weta of them all
316
00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,729
lives to the south of here
in the mountains of New Zealand.
317
00:17:44,896 --> 00:17:48,132
And when I say "cool," I mean cool.
318
00:17:49,401 --> 00:17:53,270
The mountain weta survives
under the ice all winter long.
319
00:17:53,438 --> 00:17:56,240
And when spring comes
and the sun thaws the ice,
320
00:17:56,408 --> 00:18:00,010
it emerges from its frozen tomb,
just like magic.
321
00:18:00,178 --> 00:18:01,779
But it is not magic.
322
00:18:01,947 --> 00:18:03,814
You see, the weta has special chemicals
323
00:18:03,982 --> 00:18:08,452
that prevent harmful ice crystals
forming within its cells.
324
00:18:08,620 --> 00:18:12,990
Now, that was a clever trick.
Could I do that?
325
00:18:13,658 --> 00:18:17,461
So I can appreciate the alpine
conditions wetas cope with,
326
00:18:17,629 --> 00:18:19,329
I've come to a human-performance center,
327
00:18:19,497 --> 00:18:23,100
where Dr. John Marsden will let me
experience what it is like
328
00:18:23,268 --> 00:18:25,168
to be in the mountains
in the middle of winter.
329
00:18:25,336 --> 00:18:27,871
And like wetas, I'll have no clothes,
330
00:18:28,039 --> 00:18:30,607
except for a pair of shorts for modesty.
331
00:18:30,775 --> 00:18:34,011
The freezer has been set to
16 degrees Fahrenheit,
332
00:18:34,178 --> 00:18:36,179
or minus-8 Celsius.
333
00:18:36,347 --> 00:18:39,249
And the cold hits me like a brick.
334
00:18:39,417 --> 00:18:41,952
We are not built for the cold.
335
00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:43,287
If our temperatures drop
336
00:18:43,454 --> 00:18:45,689
more than just a few degrees for too long,
337
00:18:45,857 --> 00:18:48,292
we get hypothermia, which can kill us.
338
00:18:48,459 --> 00:18:50,494
But all it would do to the mountain weta
339
00:18:50,662 --> 00:18:53,363
would be to slow it down a bit.
340
00:18:53,531 --> 00:18:54,831
To the old mountain weta,
341
00:18:54,999 --> 00:18:56,733
this must be like the first day of winter,
342
00:18:56,901 --> 00:18:59,536
and they're just getting into their game.
343
00:18:59,704 --> 00:19:02,239
[Chuckles] I'm starting to conk out.
344
00:19:02,407 --> 00:19:04,207
They thrive at these sort of temperatures.
345
00:19:04,375 --> 00:19:05,842
It's unbelievable.
346
00:19:06,010 --> 00:19:07,711
But I have to keep warm,
347
00:19:07,879 --> 00:19:10,013
and I can do that by running and jumping
348
00:19:10,181 --> 00:19:13,817
because when my muscles are working,
they generate heat.
349
00:19:18,423 --> 00:19:21,725
By 15 minutes, running can't keep me
warm anymore.
350
00:19:21,893 --> 00:19:23,827
This is where the weta and I differ.
351
00:19:23,995 --> 00:19:26,029
You see, the weta will continue cooling
352
00:19:26,197 --> 00:19:28,832
until it is as cold as ice -
353
00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:33,036
not moving, not eating, as if it was dead.
354
00:19:33,204 --> 00:19:34,438
I can't do that.
355
00:19:34,605 --> 00:19:37,107
I must stay warm if I'm to survive.
356
00:19:37,275 --> 00:19:40,277
I'm literally freezing from the outside in.
357
00:19:40,445 --> 00:19:43,180
As I get colder, my body
sacrifices my outer layer
358
00:19:43,348 --> 00:19:48,151
to keep my center part warm,
particularly my heart and brain.
359
00:19:50,088 --> 00:19:52,222
But my brain's already cooling.
360
00:19:52,390 --> 00:19:55,759
John's math tests are becoming impossible.
361
00:19:55,927 --> 00:19:57,828
44 plus 18.
362
00:19:57,996 --> 00:20:00,597
[Softly] 44 and 18. 44 and 18...
363
00:20:04,736 --> 00:20:08,005
60-something - 2.
364
00:20:08,172 --> 00:20:09,406
59 plus 21.
365
00:20:09,574 --> 00:20:11,575
[Sighs]
366
00:20:11,743 --> 00:20:13,810
Oh, 59...
367
00:20:13,978 --> 00:20:16,646
80- 80.
368
00:20:16,814 --> 00:20:19,750
Okay, that took over a minute
there to get those done,
369
00:20:19,917 --> 00:20:21,918
so we're getting pretty near the edge here.
370
00:20:22,086 --> 00:20:23,520
If the temperature goes much lower,
371
00:20:23,688 --> 00:20:25,522
then we'll pull you out of there.
372
00:20:25,690 --> 00:20:27,024
Okay.
373
00:20:29,526 --> 00:20:30,759
Ruud, do you want to tell us
374
00:20:30,927 --> 00:20:33,295
how you're feeling at the moment?
375
00:20:33,463 --> 00:20:36,198
I don't think I've ever been this cold.
376
00:20:36,366 --> 00:20:40,302
It really hurts my ears
and my hands and my fingers.
377
00:20:42,305 --> 00:20:44,607
It's actually quite awful.
378
00:20:44,774 --> 00:20:46,542
I think it's about time to pull out now.
379
00:20:46,710 --> 00:20:49,645
Okay. Come and get me.
380
00:20:49,813 --> 00:20:53,349
My core temperature is now lowering,
and that's critical.
381
00:20:53,516 --> 00:20:56,318
It's reached a point where to go any lower
382
00:20:56,486 --> 00:20:58,053
would be very dangerous.
383
00:20:58,221 --> 00:21:01,590
Ahh. [Sighs]
384
00:21:01,758 --> 00:21:03,525
Ah, the sun.
385
00:21:03,693 --> 00:21:06,061
Warm. Ooh.
386
00:21:06,229 --> 00:21:08,330
I had to get out of there.
387
00:21:08,498 --> 00:21:09,965
I had to get out.
388
00:21:10,133 --> 00:21:12,935
That mountain weta has got
an ability that I cannot match.
389
00:21:13,103 --> 00:21:16,639
I suppose that's one up for the bugs, eh?
390
00:21:22,113 --> 00:21:24,314
My search for the world's biggest bug
391
00:21:24,482 --> 00:21:28,519
now takes me to the Venezuelan
rainforest in the rain.
392
00:21:31,656 --> 00:21:33,991
This is what rainforest is all about,
393
00:21:34,159 --> 00:21:38,962
and these are conditions
that the next creature really likes.
394
00:21:39,130 --> 00:21:40,397
Have a look at this.
395
00:21:40,565 --> 00:21:42,966
We're going large now, man. Look at this.
396
00:21:43,134 --> 00:21:46,670
61/2, maybe 7 inch of the giant millipede.
397
00:21:46,838 --> 00:21:49,373
Beautiful creature. Very thin-skinned.
398
00:21:49,541 --> 00:21:52,543
This is why it cannot afford
to lose much moisture.
399
00:21:52,710 --> 00:21:54,178
This is why it likes to be hidden
400
00:21:54,345 --> 00:21:56,180
and comes out when it rains.
401
00:21:56,347 --> 00:21:59,416
Look at it move, will you?
Isn't it just spectacular?
402
00:21:59,584 --> 00:22:03,921
So graceful the way
all these legs are coordinated.
403
00:22:14,899 --> 00:22:18,068
Now, as I said, they are totally
harmless to human beings.
404
00:22:18,236 --> 00:22:19,937
But there is a similar sort of species
405
00:22:20,104 --> 00:22:22,906
that, uh, hmm, needs a little bit more care
406
00:22:23,074 --> 00:22:24,808
when you encounter it.
407
00:22:28,213 --> 00:22:29,813
[Indistinct shouting]
408
00:22:29,981 --> 00:22:32,015
Something down the road.
They found something.
409
00:22:34,419 --> 00:22:36,486
Whoa.
410
00:22:36,654 --> 00:22:37,754
[Speaking Spanish]
411
00:22:37,922 --> 00:22:39,356
What's that?
412
00:22:39,524 --> 00:22:40,924
Con cuidado.
413
00:22:41,092 --> 00:22:42,492
Let's have a look.
414
00:22:42,660 --> 00:22:44,328
Be careful, be careful.
415
00:22:45,930 --> 00:22:48,765
Oh, no. There it is - giant centipede.
416
00:22:48,933 --> 00:22:49,833
Hang on, hang on.
417
00:22:50,001 --> 00:22:53,337
Don't - Hang on. Here we go.
418
00:22:53,504 --> 00:22:56,940
You don't want that to go away.
That is a mean predator.
419
00:22:57,108 --> 00:22:58,876
That is one of those ones
420
00:22:59,043 --> 00:23:00,177
that you don't put your hands in front.
421
00:23:00,345 --> 00:23:02,279
You treat him with respect.
422
00:23:02,447 --> 00:23:05,549
And once it's disturbed,
it raises its hind legs
423
00:23:05,717 --> 00:23:07,150
because it's in the defense mode.
424
00:23:07,318 --> 00:23:09,353
And, boy, it's got fangs. Mwah!
425
00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:10,954
Like this. Like knives and forks.
426
00:23:11,122 --> 00:23:12,890
You don't want to be...
427
00:23:20,231 --> 00:23:23,000
I'll show you what you don't do.
You don't touch centipedes.
428
00:23:23,167 --> 00:23:25,102
But you can, if you're careful,
stroke the back.
429
00:23:25,270 --> 00:23:26,904
Oopsy-daisy.
430
00:23:27,071 --> 00:23:29,072
Huffy-puffy. Bit of a temper here.
431
00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:31,575
Oops. [Chuckles] Thank you.
432
00:23:31,743 --> 00:23:33,744
Look. See that? And then these rear legs.
433
00:23:33,912 --> 00:23:36,546
Now, if I would do this
with the rear legs, it would grab me,
434
00:23:36,714 --> 00:23:39,917
turn around, make a figure of eight,
and bite me.
435
00:23:40,084 --> 00:23:41,385
There's no doubt about it.
436
00:23:41,552 --> 00:23:45,155
Those fangs at the front
are the first front legs,
437
00:23:45,323 --> 00:23:48,358
which have been - in evolution,
if you like - made hollow
438
00:23:48,526 --> 00:23:50,994
and, with a poison gland from its head,
439
00:23:51,162 --> 00:23:52,596
made into poisonous fangs.
440
00:23:52,764 --> 00:23:56,199
But they are really modified first legs.
441
00:23:56,367 --> 00:23:57,734
God, look at it.
442
00:23:57,902 --> 00:24:01,338
It's sick of me. It's sick of me.
443
00:24:01,506 --> 00:24:04,875
Look out, look out, look out.
Camera, camera, camera, camera!
444
00:24:12,650 --> 00:24:17,721
When a giant centipede gets hold of you,
it doesn't let go.
445
00:24:17,889 --> 00:24:19,823
And when it goes hunting,
446
00:24:19,991 --> 00:24:24,194
everything from bugs to birds
to lizards should watch out.
447
00:24:25,897 --> 00:24:27,297
It's a great climber.
448
00:24:27,465 --> 00:24:29,433
It's built for searching in holes.
449
00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:31,301
Nothing is safe.
450
00:24:33,037 --> 00:24:35,939
For its size, it's the ultimate predator.
451
00:24:36,107 --> 00:24:40,010
And its big advantage
is its shape and speed.
452
00:24:40,178 --> 00:24:43,146
Long, thin, and very fast.
453
00:24:43,314 --> 00:24:46,116
How do you beat a bug like that?
454
00:24:46,985 --> 00:24:49,853
This little demonstration
is all about body shape.
455
00:24:50,021 --> 00:24:53,557
It's a race between the beetles
versus the centipede.
456
00:24:53,725 --> 00:24:57,227
Now, I am the big, round, bumbling beetle.
457
00:24:57,395 --> 00:25:00,564
And over there is, um, centipede man.
458
00:25:00,732 --> 00:25:02,399
Go, beetles!
459
00:25:11,743 --> 00:25:13,176
Go!
460
00:25:19,350 --> 00:25:21,118
Ha ha!
461
00:25:34,766 --> 00:25:36,566
Oh, you!
462
00:25:37,902 --> 00:25:39,336
[Laughing]
463
00:25:48,446 --> 00:25:51,081
When you have to get a lot of body
464
00:25:51,249 --> 00:25:53,450
through a very small space in a hurry,
465
00:25:53,618 --> 00:25:56,520
it pays to be long, flat, and thin -
466
00:25:56,687 --> 00:25:58,288
built like a centipede.
467
00:25:58,456 --> 00:26:01,224
You won, mate. [Laughs]
468
00:26:01,893 --> 00:26:03,627
We were so lucky to find this.
469
00:26:03,795 --> 00:26:06,163
I mean, they lead such a sheltered
and hidden life.
470
00:26:06,330 --> 00:26:07,564
I'm gonna put it back, though
471
00:26:07,732 --> 00:26:10,167
because it really doesn't want to dry out.
472
00:26:10,334 --> 00:26:12,002
Oh, now, man. Here we go.
473
00:26:12,170 --> 00:26:14,171
The king of the predators of the jungle.
474
00:26:14,338 --> 00:26:16,506
Isn't it gorgeous? Ooh!
475
00:26:16,674 --> 00:26:17,741
Lucky us, lucky us.
476
00:26:17,909 --> 00:26:19,409
Come on, mate. This is where you live.
477
00:26:19,577 --> 00:26:21,611
Here we go. Put it right down here.
478
00:26:21,779 --> 00:26:23,747
Come on. Bye-bye.
479
00:26:23,915 --> 00:26:25,282
Have a good time.
480
00:26:25,450 --> 00:26:27,317
I'm getting out of your way.
481
00:26:28,386 --> 00:26:30,287
Down here. Come on.
482
00:26:30,455 --> 00:26:31,788
Tut! Whoa!
483
00:26:31,956 --> 00:26:33,657
There you go. Bye-bye.
484
00:26:33,825 --> 00:26:36,159
Making your body long and thin is one way
485
00:26:36,327 --> 00:26:38,128
of getting among the world's biggest bugs,
486
00:26:38,296 --> 00:26:40,997
but the next bug has done that to the max.
487
00:26:46,337 --> 00:26:48,138
I've been sitting here now for half an hour,
488
00:26:48,306 --> 00:26:50,373
not 10 foot from a tree,
489
00:26:50,541 --> 00:26:53,577
looking for one of the
largest insects in the world,
490
00:26:53,744 --> 00:26:55,912
and I can't see it.
491
00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:58,148
I'm gonna give it a bit longer.
492
00:27:05,590 --> 00:27:08,391
This creature's been eluding me
for so long, I've had enough.
493
00:27:08,559 --> 00:27:11,294
I'm going to get in there and get it.
494
00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:16,500
Whoops.
495
00:27:16,667 --> 00:27:18,602
This is the place where you find them.
496
00:27:18,769 --> 00:27:20,203
On the leaves.
497
00:27:20,371 --> 00:27:21,738
They sit on the outside of the tree,
498
00:27:21,906 --> 00:27:22,906
and they gobble up leaves.
499
00:27:23,074 --> 00:27:24,407
But despite their size,
500
00:27:24,575 --> 00:27:27,577
they're surprisingly
difficult to find, actually.
501
00:27:27,745 --> 00:27:29,613
Here it is. This is it.
502
00:27:29,780 --> 00:27:32,983
This is a leaf insect.
503
00:27:33,151 --> 00:27:35,285
Some people call them stick insects,
504
00:27:35,453 --> 00:27:36,786
and they belong to the same group.
505
00:27:36,954 --> 00:27:38,622
Look. I'll come down, and I'll show you.
506
00:27:38,789 --> 00:27:40,624
Yah! Whoa.
507
00:27:40,791 --> 00:27:42,692
There we are with the leaf insect.
508
00:27:42,860 --> 00:27:45,729
Now, leaf insects and
stick insects are closely related,
509
00:27:45,897 --> 00:27:48,165
and they all got one thing in common.
510
00:27:48,332 --> 00:27:50,500
They can grow to huge sizes.
511
00:27:50,668 --> 00:27:53,270
Now, you wonder why they get so big, eh?
512
00:27:53,437 --> 00:27:55,272
The trick apparently is that -
513
00:27:55,439 --> 00:27:58,575
You think about little warblers
and little insect-eating birds.
514
00:27:58,743 --> 00:28:00,110
They come across something like that,
515
00:28:00,278 --> 00:28:03,547
and they say, "Whoa! Whoa! Back the bus up!
516
00:28:03,714 --> 00:28:06,550
That's too much of a mouthful.
I can't handle that. "
517
00:28:06,717 --> 00:28:10,120
So size is a protection from being eaten.
518
00:28:10,288 --> 00:28:11,321
But there's something else.
519
00:28:11,489 --> 00:28:13,190
There's this wonderful camouflage.
520
00:28:13,357 --> 00:28:14,958
Because if they can help it,
521
00:28:15,126 --> 00:28:16,960
they don't even want to become discovered.
522
00:28:17,128 --> 00:28:19,162
They just look like their environment.
523
00:28:19,330 --> 00:28:21,431
But does camouflage really work?
524
00:28:21,599 --> 00:28:24,734
Can a stick insect really fool a predator?
525
00:28:24,902 --> 00:28:26,403
I've told my TV crew
526
00:28:26,571 --> 00:28:28,638
to see if they can fool me with camouflage.
527
00:28:28,806 --> 00:28:30,040
So, here's the challenge.
528
00:28:30,208 --> 00:28:31,675
I've been told there's food upstairs,
529
00:28:31,842 --> 00:28:33,843
and I've got two minutes
to eat as much as I can.
530
00:28:34,011 --> 00:28:34,878
[Bell dings]
531
00:28:35,046 --> 00:28:38,181
Hey, this is the sort of job I like.
532
00:28:44,622 --> 00:28:46,022
Mmm.
533
00:29:00,705 --> 00:29:01,805
[Bell dings]
534
00:29:01,973 --> 00:29:03,773
Nothing to it. Very easy. Yummy.
535
00:29:03,941 --> 00:29:04,908
Mmm, great.
536
00:29:05,076 --> 00:29:08,245
And now I get to do that all over again.
537
00:29:08,412 --> 00:29:10,380
But this time, the rules have changed.
538
00:29:10,548 --> 00:29:12,515
This time, there's still lots of food,
539
00:29:12,683 --> 00:29:14,985
but it's all disguised - camouflage.
540
00:29:15,152 --> 00:29:16,853
It doesn't look like food,
541
00:29:17,021 --> 00:29:20,457
just like a stick insect
doesn't look like food.
542
00:29:20,625 --> 00:29:22,058
[Bell dings]
543
00:29:23,995 --> 00:29:24,995
[Chuckles]
544
00:29:28,966 --> 00:29:31,101
Mmh.
545
00:29:31,269 --> 00:29:32,969
There's nothing here.
546
00:29:34,505 --> 00:29:35,939
It's empty.
547
00:29:36,107 --> 00:29:38,408
This is ridiculous.
548
00:29:42,380 --> 00:29:43,747
[Bell dings]
549
00:29:43,914 --> 00:29:45,448
Time's up.
550
00:29:45,616 --> 00:29:48,084
I'm hungry. I can't see anything, honestly.
551
00:29:48,252 --> 00:29:50,120
This is a list of all the things
552
00:29:50,288 --> 00:29:52,122
I've apparently missed in this room.
553
00:29:52,290 --> 00:29:54,324
Didn't know. Gonna have a look.
554
00:29:57,995 --> 00:30:00,063
Oh, hello.
555
00:30:00,231 --> 00:30:01,931
Wow.
556
00:30:05,002 --> 00:30:06,369
Well, you can eat that.
557
00:30:06,537 --> 00:30:10,140
Blow me days. Clever.
558
00:30:12,076 --> 00:30:14,544
You can eat that. [Laughs]
559
00:30:14,712 --> 00:30:16,313
Look at this.
560
00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:18,348
Did you see that?
561
00:30:18,516 --> 00:30:19,349
No idea.
562
00:30:19,517 --> 00:30:21,418
[Laughs]
563
00:30:21,585 --> 00:30:23,887
Look! [Laughs] Very good one.
564
00:30:24,055 --> 00:30:26,356
This is not cable.
565
00:30:26,524 --> 00:30:28,858
[Laughs]
566
00:30:29,026 --> 00:30:30,927
Licorice. I love licorice.
567
00:30:33,731 --> 00:30:35,999
There's something else.
568
00:30:36,167 --> 00:30:38,335
The list.
569
00:30:38,502 --> 00:30:40,437
Oh, it was great camouflage.
570
00:30:40,604 --> 00:30:44,140
How much would you have got?
Okay, the rose was icing.
571
00:30:44,308 --> 00:30:46,976
The plate was marzipan. So was the cup.
572
00:30:47,144 --> 00:30:48,845
And the TV cable was licorice.
573
00:30:49,013 --> 00:30:52,615
And the list was written on rice paper.
574
00:30:52,783 --> 00:30:54,751
And that is what it is all about.
575
00:30:54,919 --> 00:30:57,320
Stick insects are absolutely
wonderful at this!
576
00:30:57,488 --> 00:30:59,422
They just look like a twig and think,
577
00:30:59,590 --> 00:31:02,459
"See if you can find me.
See if you want to eat me. "
578
00:31:06,097 --> 00:31:09,165
Stick and leaf insects are
peaceful vegetarians.
579
00:31:09,333 --> 00:31:12,268
That's why they must be
perfect at camouflage.
580
00:31:12,436 --> 00:31:14,971
They have no other way to
protect themselves.
581
00:31:15,139 --> 00:31:19,743
This one is just like lichen
growing on a tree trunk.
582
00:31:19,910 --> 00:31:22,278
How about this leaf insect?
583
00:31:22,446 --> 00:31:23,580
It's so perfect,
584
00:31:23,748 --> 00:31:26,015
it has insect bites taken out of it.
585
00:31:26,183 --> 00:31:28,218
And a leaf-eating leaf.
586
00:31:28,386 --> 00:31:30,587
[Chuckles] How about that?
587
00:31:32,022 --> 00:31:34,224
But even their eggs are camouflaged.
588
00:31:34,392 --> 00:31:37,594
They look like seeds on the forest floor.
589
00:31:40,398 --> 00:31:42,832
And when the young hatch,
590
00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:45,468
they're camouflaged to look like ants
591
00:31:45,636 --> 00:31:47,570
and instinctively climb straight up
592
00:31:47,738 --> 00:31:50,273
into the branches of the nearest tree.
593
00:31:54,812 --> 00:31:57,647
Many stick insects have
one more amazing trick.
594
00:31:57,815 --> 00:32:00,583
Some females don't even
mate to produce babies.
595
00:32:00,751 --> 00:32:02,852
They do it all on their own.
596
00:32:03,020 --> 00:32:05,355
Unfertilized eggs hatch into females
597
00:32:05,523 --> 00:32:07,824
that grow up to produce more females.
598
00:32:07,992 --> 00:32:11,795
Instant family! Ha! Very clever.
599
00:32:12,797 --> 00:32:15,432
The spiny leaf insect might be big,
600
00:32:15,599 --> 00:32:18,468
but it certainly isn't the fastest
creature on this planet.
601
00:32:18,636 --> 00:32:20,770
Oh, no, no, no. But she knows
where she's going.
602
00:32:20,938 --> 00:32:23,406
She's going up there to blend
in with the foliage
603
00:32:23,574 --> 00:32:26,209
and to eat a little bit more
and grow a little bit bigger.
604
00:32:26,377 --> 00:32:28,678
Now, while she's racing up into the tree,
605
00:32:28,846 --> 00:32:31,347
I might go away to see
if I can find something
606
00:32:31,515 --> 00:32:33,383
even bigger than this.
607
00:32:36,821 --> 00:32:38,755
Go left! Slightly left!
That's it! That's it!
608
00:32:38,923 --> 00:32:41,424
Up the trunk, up the trunk, up the trunk!
609
00:32:41,592 --> 00:32:44,194
Yeah. Oh! Oh, just don't never mind.
610
00:32:44,361 --> 00:32:45,929
I'll come down. Here we go.
611
00:32:46,096 --> 00:32:47,464
Aah! Oh, no!
612
00:32:47,631 --> 00:32:49,232
Ugh.
613
00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:50,667
Boy, oh, boy. Oh.
614
00:32:50,835 --> 00:32:53,470
Are you all right?
Are you okay, dear sticky?
615
00:32:53,637 --> 00:32:57,574
Oh! I think she's in better shape than I am.
616
00:32:58,442 --> 00:32:59,742
Isn't it a beauty?
617
00:32:59,910 --> 00:33:03,480
Now, this is the giant
Malaysian stick insect,
618
00:33:03,647 --> 00:33:07,083
and it's one of those creatures
that lives way up in the canopy
619
00:33:07,251 --> 00:33:09,219
because it pretends to be a stick,
620
00:33:09,386 --> 00:33:11,921
not a big, fat trunk like that.
621
00:33:12,089 --> 00:33:13,456
The Malaysian giant stick insect
622
00:33:13,624 --> 00:33:15,492
is the longest insect in the world.
623
00:33:15,659 --> 00:33:16,860
Well, not this particular one.
624
00:33:17,027 --> 00:33:21,931
But somewhere out there-
somewhere is its biggest cousin.
625
00:33:23,634 --> 00:33:25,768
The longest stick insect in the world
626
00:33:25,936 --> 00:33:28,638
was a Malaysian forest walking stick.
627
00:33:28,806 --> 00:33:33,009
It was found some years ago
and was just under 2 foot long.
628
00:33:47,258 --> 00:33:51,027
I'm Ruud Kleinpaste,
and my search for the biggest bug
629
00:33:51,195 --> 00:33:55,398
takes me back to the
rainforests of Latin America.
630
00:34:01,238 --> 00:34:04,474
Oh.
631
00:34:04,642 --> 00:34:06,543
Look at that.
632
00:34:06,710 --> 00:34:10,246
That is the largest arachnid in the world -
633
00:34:10,414 --> 00:34:11,447
the largest bug.
634
00:34:11,615 --> 00:34:14,450
It takes the cake. It is the champion.
635
00:34:14,618 --> 00:34:15,985
Whoo.
636
00:34:16,153 --> 00:34:21,324
These spiders can grow up to
12 inches across in every way you look
637
00:34:21,492 --> 00:34:24,494
They can be a quarter pound
in terms of weight.
638
00:34:24,662 --> 00:34:26,229
Can you imagine that?
639
00:34:26,397 --> 00:34:30,633
These are the things Hollywood
horror movies are made of.
640
00:34:41,345 --> 00:34:43,746
[People screaming]
641
00:34:51,622 --> 00:34:53,022
Magnificent.
642
00:34:53,190 --> 00:34:54,891
What a monster. What a hunter.
643
00:34:55,059 --> 00:34:57,293
No wonder they've made movie
about these things.
644
00:34:57,461 --> 00:35:00,029
Oh, man, they can kill people at 12 paces.
645
00:35:00,197 --> 00:35:02,665
That's all rubbish.
646
00:35:02,833 --> 00:35:05,268
Look at this docile creature, will you?
647
00:35:05,436 --> 00:35:08,605
Sure, it's a hunter. Sure, it's big.
648
00:35:08,772 --> 00:35:10,540
But it's slow, too.
649
00:35:10,708 --> 00:35:12,642
These creatures have no ears.
650
00:35:12,810 --> 00:35:14,944
They've got eight eyes.
They can't see very well.
651
00:35:15,112 --> 00:35:19,115
But they have thousands of hairs
on their legs, on their bodies.
652
00:35:19,283 --> 00:35:23,052
And those hairs all help to monitor airflow.
653
00:35:23,220 --> 00:35:26,289
That means
they can feel people coming closer.
654
00:35:26,457 --> 00:35:27,857
They can feel predators coming closer.
655
00:35:28,025 --> 00:35:29,993
They can feel prey coming closer, as well.
656
00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:31,794
If I make a quick move like this...
657
00:35:31,962 --> 00:35:34,130
You see immediately how she reacts.
658
00:35:34,298 --> 00:35:36,332
She can feel this easily,
659
00:35:36,500 --> 00:35:39,502
just with all those hairs
on these wonderful legs.
660
00:35:39,670 --> 00:35:40,570
Come on. Turn it down.
661
00:35:40,738 --> 00:35:42,772
It's all right, girl.
I wasn't gonna hurt you.
662
00:35:42,940 --> 00:35:47,043
See, if I were a predator,
I would always go from the back,
663
00:35:47,211 --> 00:35:49,012
knowing that the fangs are at the front.
664
00:35:49,179 --> 00:35:50,613
And when I come from the back...
665
00:35:50,781 --> 00:35:52,048
Oops! Pbht!
666
00:35:52,216 --> 00:35:55,585
What it does is it dislodges all these hairs
667
00:35:55,753 --> 00:35:57,153
straight into my face.
668
00:35:58,489 --> 00:35:59,722
The hairs are venomous
669
00:35:59,890 --> 00:36:03,459
and cause irritation to skin,
eyes, and nose.
670
00:36:03,627 --> 00:36:05,294
But the hairs also tell us
671
00:36:05,462 --> 00:36:08,197
that goliath spiders are,
in fact, giant tarantulas.
672
00:36:08,365 --> 00:36:12,735
And like all tarantulas, they are predators.
673
00:36:12,903 --> 00:36:16,372
They ambush prey and kill with
venom from their fangs.
674
00:36:18,442 --> 00:36:22,545
But they must take care
when they meet other goliath spiders.
675
00:36:26,216 --> 00:36:29,118
When a male and female
come together to mate,
676
00:36:29,286 --> 00:36:31,020
the male protects himself from her bite
677
00:36:31,188 --> 00:36:35,258
by holding her fangs
from special hooks on his legs
678
00:36:35,426 --> 00:36:37,060
while they copulate.
679
00:36:43,233 --> 00:36:46,869
There are no records of
goliath spiders actually killing humans
680
00:36:47,037 --> 00:36:51,407
but their bite is very,
very painful and can cause paralysis.
681
00:36:51,575 --> 00:36:55,845
Like most spiders,
they don't bite unless threatened.
682
00:36:58,449 --> 00:37:00,750
This is as large as spiders
683
00:37:00,918 --> 00:37:03,853
or, for that matter, any bugs can get.
684
00:37:04,021 --> 00:37:06,823
Any larger and they wouldn't be able
685
00:37:06,990 --> 00:37:09,759
to get oxygen right to their bodies.
686
00:37:09,927 --> 00:37:11,694
Oh, where you going? Where you going?
687
00:37:11,862 --> 00:37:13,463
That's not where you should be going.
688
00:37:13,630 --> 00:37:15,631
Hey. Oh, oh, oh.
689
00:37:15,799 --> 00:37:18,000
[Chuckles]
690
00:37:18,168 --> 00:37:22,505
Isn't that gorgeous? Look at this.
691
00:37:22,673 --> 00:37:24,140
Come on.
692
00:37:24,308 --> 00:37:26,275
Off you go.
693
00:37:30,814 --> 00:37:33,082
Where's she gone? Right.
694
00:37:33,250 --> 00:37:34,717
That's what I call a good spider.
695
00:37:34,885 --> 00:37:35,918
Straight back.
696
00:37:36,086 --> 00:37:40,389
You see, the only time these
fierce predators are really vulnerable
697
00:37:40,557 --> 00:37:42,725
is when they molt.
698
00:37:44,428 --> 00:37:49,365
When a spider is about to molt,
it stops feeding and hides away.
699
00:37:49,533 --> 00:37:51,934
It also loses hair on its abdomen,
700
00:37:52,102 --> 00:37:55,838
and its skin has a slightly blue color.
701
00:37:56,006 --> 00:37:57,406
Under its old skin,
702
00:37:57,574 --> 00:38:00,076
there's a new, soft skin already forming.
703
00:38:00,244 --> 00:38:04,046
And between the two,
the spider injects a fluid.
704
00:38:04,214 --> 00:38:06,616
When the pressure of the fluid builds up,
705
00:38:06,784 --> 00:38:09,118
the old skin splits along its back,
706
00:38:09,286 --> 00:38:12,622
and the spider steps out of its old suit.
707
00:38:14,491 --> 00:38:18,895
Goliath spiders keep on
molting throughout their lives.
708
00:38:19,062 --> 00:38:21,264
As youngsters,
they change skin once a month.
709
00:38:21,431 --> 00:38:24,033
As adults, they molt once a year.
710
00:38:24,201 --> 00:38:28,671
Each skin they shed brings them
closer and closer to becoming giants
711
00:38:28,839 --> 00:38:31,674
and one of the world's biggest bugs.
712
00:38:33,210 --> 00:38:37,513
The next bug might not beat
the giant spider for outright size,
713
00:38:37,681 --> 00:38:41,717
but it is a true champion
for weight and strength.
714
00:39:08,946 --> 00:39:12,782
There's something weird
and wonderful happening here.
715
00:39:12,950 --> 00:39:15,718
And it's all to do with growing.
716
00:39:15,886 --> 00:39:19,222
Getting to become
a true giant of the bug world
717
00:39:19,389 --> 00:39:22,725
means eating your rotten wood
and plenty of it.
718
00:39:22,893 --> 00:39:26,095
Rotten logs build champions.
719
00:39:26,263 --> 00:39:28,598
Now, have a look at this.
Look what I've found.
720
00:39:28,765 --> 00:39:29,899
Hoo hoo hoo! Hoo hoo!
721
00:39:30,067 --> 00:39:33,135
This is merely a baby.
722
00:39:33,303 --> 00:39:37,473
It is the immature or larva
of the Hercules beetle.
723
00:39:37,641 --> 00:39:39,842
If you want to see something really nice,
724
00:39:40,010 --> 00:39:42,845
have a look at this creature's father.
725
00:39:43,947 --> 00:39:48,751
The very best-fed larvae
get to become the biggest beetles.
726
00:39:48,919 --> 00:39:54,156
After spending over a year hidden
in the ground, munching away as a grub...
727
00:39:54,324 --> 00:39:57,793
...the adult Hercules beetle
finally emerges,
728
00:39:57,961 --> 00:40:00,596
as big as a truck.
729
00:40:03,800 --> 00:40:05,601
Papa Hercules.
730
00:40:05,769 --> 00:40:08,504
Isn't it a wonderful specimen? Look at it.
731
00:40:08,672 --> 00:40:11,540
This is as large as they're going to
get, those beetles.
732
00:40:11,708 --> 00:40:15,011
It's a contender for
the heaviest insect in the world.
733
00:40:15,178 --> 00:40:18,881
And they're built - listen - like a nut.
734
00:40:19,049 --> 00:40:20,917
Strong and hard.
735
00:40:21,084 --> 00:40:24,520
They can lift 80 times
their own weight on top.
736
00:40:24,688 --> 00:40:28,557
Look, they're really, really,
really, really tough.
737
00:40:28,725 --> 00:40:30,760
Now, the horn - Yes.
738
00:40:30,928 --> 00:40:32,662
Well, that horn is not for aggression.
739
00:40:32,829 --> 00:40:33,796
Oh, no.
740
00:40:33,964 --> 00:40:36,632
It's not even for defense against predators.
741
00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:40,369
That beautiful horn is for jousting.
742
00:40:44,007 --> 00:40:48,878
And jousting is where size of
body and horns really counts.
743
00:40:49,046 --> 00:40:50,446
When a stranger comes along,
744
00:40:50,614 --> 00:40:52,915
it becomes a battle
to defend your home patch
745
00:40:53,083 --> 00:40:54,850
and defend your food.
746
00:41:06,964 --> 00:41:09,932
The upper and lower horns move like a claw
747
00:41:10,100 --> 00:41:14,337
to grasp an opponent
and throw him out of the ring.
748
00:41:16,807 --> 00:41:21,143
Among Hercules beetle males,
big is definitely best.
749
00:41:21,311 --> 00:41:23,879
And if a male can keep
his good feeding ground,
750
00:41:24,047 --> 00:41:26,983
it just might become a breeding ground.
751
00:41:27,150 --> 00:41:28,284
If he wins,
752
00:41:28,452 --> 00:41:31,754
there's a good chance
he will also get the girl.
753
00:41:33,223 --> 00:41:36,158
To prove that size makes
a big beetle unbeatable,
754
00:41:36,326 --> 00:41:39,528
my TV crew has set up another challenge.
755
00:41:42,332 --> 00:41:44,734
Oh, no!
756
00:41:44,901 --> 00:41:47,003
Aw, a sumo wrestler!
757
00:41:47,170 --> 00:41:48,337
Ugh.
758
00:41:48,505 --> 00:41:51,073
He's the big beetle.
759
00:41:52,275 --> 00:41:54,777
Oh, and there's the girl. [Chuckles]
760
00:41:54,945 --> 00:41:58,547
And I guess I'm supposed to
push him out of the ring.
761
00:41:58,715 --> 00:42:00,216
Yeah, right.
762
00:42:25,993 --> 00:42:29,729
When two beetles fight,
it's all about territory,
763
00:42:29,897 --> 00:42:33,132
and the winner gets the territory.
764
00:42:33,300 --> 00:42:36,135
And as a bonus, he gets the female, as well.
765
00:42:36,303 --> 00:42:37,770
Now, how cool is that?
766
00:42:37,938 --> 00:42:41,207
So you go claim your prize.
767
00:42:41,375 --> 00:42:44,043
[Cheers and applause]
768
00:42:54,016 --> 00:42:56,518
Oh, I feel for male Hercules beetles,
769
00:42:56,685 --> 00:42:58,219
especially the losers.
770
00:42:58,387 --> 00:43:01,623
You know, it's not easy,
it's not fun, and it hurts.
771
00:43:01,791 --> 00:43:04,292
Oh ho! No!
772
00:43:05,014 --> 00:43:06,415
My journey now continues
773
00:43:06,582 --> 00:43:09,084
in search of the world's baddest bugs.
774
00:43:09,252 --> 00:43:10,352
I'm Ruud Kleinpaste,
775
00:43:10,520 --> 00:43:13,588
and I'm going to need
all my experience as an entomologist
776
00:43:13,756 --> 00:43:15,457
if I am to avoid danger
777
00:43:15,625 --> 00:43:19,227
and discover why some bugs
can seriously hurt us...
778
00:43:19,395 --> 00:43:22,698
...and how others can cause
the deaths of millions of people.
779
00:43:22,865 --> 00:43:26,468
But first up, the stinkiest bugs
in the world.
780
00:43:26,636 --> 00:43:28,704
Ugh! [Laughing]
781
00:43:28,871 --> 00:43:31,006
It's just not a good idea.
782
00:43:31,174 --> 00:43:33,809
This cute bug is called the man-faced bug,
783
00:43:33,976 --> 00:43:35,811
and I'm sure you can see why.
784
00:43:35,978 --> 00:43:38,947
Well, if I turned it around, you would see.
785
00:43:39,115 --> 00:43:42,084
That's better. Ooh, great hair.
786
00:43:42,251 --> 00:43:45,554
But wait. Is that Ronald Reagan?
787
00:43:45,722 --> 00:43:47,622
But what's the man-faced doing
788
00:43:47,790 --> 00:43:49,991
amongst the baddest bugs in the world?
789
00:43:50,159 --> 00:43:52,961
Well, it belongs to the stinkbug family.
790
00:43:53,129 --> 00:43:54,796
And where do they hang out?
791
00:43:54,964 --> 00:43:58,333
To find the worst-smelling bug in the world,
792
00:43:58,501 --> 00:44:01,903
all you really need to do is
go to a generic vegetable garden
793
00:44:02,071 --> 00:44:03,572
anywhere on this planet.
794
00:44:03,740 --> 00:44:06,108
Now, I found some of these coreids
795
00:44:06,275 --> 00:44:08,210
right here on this sunflower.
796
00:44:08,377 --> 00:44:11,580
I'm going to pick one up
to show you exactly what it is.
797
00:44:11,748 --> 00:44:13,615
Oopsy. Here's one. I got one. Aha.
798
00:44:13,783 --> 00:44:15,684
It's a beautiful,
beautiful creature, actually,
799
00:44:15,852 --> 00:44:17,252
because it's got these lovely legs
800
00:44:17,420 --> 00:44:20,822
with these leaflike flaps on the side.
801
00:44:20,990 --> 00:44:22,924
It's called a leaf-footed bug sometimes.
802
00:44:23,092 --> 00:44:24,893
Now, this is the point.
803
00:44:25,061 --> 00:44:29,364
If I were a bird - a young,
inexperienced bird -
804
00:44:29,532 --> 00:44:31,767
and I think, "Hmm. A leaf-footed bug.
805
00:44:31,934 --> 00:44:33,268
Let's have a go. "
806
00:44:33,436 --> 00:44:35,604
I would pick it in my mouth like this.
807
00:44:35,772 --> 00:44:38,106
They have this awful taste!
808
00:44:38,274 --> 00:44:40,308
And as a bird, I would - Oh!
809
00:44:40,476 --> 00:44:42,210
Oh, this is - Oh.
810
00:44:42,378 --> 00:44:45,347
As a bird, I'd learn my lesson.
811
00:44:45,515 --> 00:44:47,682
I would never, ever do that again.
812
00:44:47,850 --> 00:44:51,052
Stinkbugs get stinky and horribly tasting
813
00:44:51,220 --> 00:44:54,289
by feeding on plant juices
and using the toxins in the juice
814
00:44:54,457 --> 00:44:57,259
to manufacture bad smells and tastes.
815
00:44:57,426 --> 00:44:59,795
They do it to keep predators away.
816
00:45:01,063 --> 00:45:03,198
Oh, this is a big one!
Yeah, this is a good one.
817
00:45:03,366 --> 00:45:05,534
I'm gonna try that one, too.
818
00:45:05,701 --> 00:45:07,202
Oh, a pretty good pong.
819
00:45:07,370 --> 00:45:08,503
I wonder what it tastes like.
820
00:45:08,671 --> 00:45:10,472
Look at it. Beautiful, though.
821
00:45:10,640 --> 00:45:13,074
Ugh! [Chuckles]
822
00:45:13,242 --> 00:45:15,610
It's just not a good idea.
823
00:45:15,778 --> 00:45:19,848
Stupid. [Chuckles] Bah!
824
00:45:20,016 --> 00:45:22,083
Go away. Get back.
825
00:45:23,820 --> 00:45:25,153
If you don't believe me
826
00:45:25,321 --> 00:45:27,923
when I say that stinkbugs really smell,
827
00:45:28,090 --> 00:45:31,226
that these cute little bugs
can make you gag,
828
00:45:31,394 --> 00:45:34,396
well, here's an independent
panel of sniffers
829
00:45:34,564 --> 00:45:36,431
that you might believe.
830
00:45:42,271 --> 00:45:43,605
Oh, my God!
831
00:45:43,773 --> 00:45:45,774
[Laughs]
832
00:45:47,243 --> 00:45:48,910
Smell it.
833
00:45:49,078 --> 00:45:50,445
Ew.
834
00:45:50,613 --> 00:45:52,414
No, no, no, no.
835
00:45:53,916 --> 00:45:55,217
Ugh!
836
00:45:55,384 --> 00:45:56,852
Oh!
837
00:45:58,588 --> 00:45:59,754
It's just a stinkbug.
838
00:45:59,922 --> 00:46:01,890
Pbht! Blimey. It is a stinkbug.
839
00:46:04,026 --> 00:46:05,694
Aah! Oh!
840
00:46:05,862 --> 00:46:07,629
Ohhhh!
841
00:46:07,797 --> 00:46:08,997
Aah!
842
00:46:09,165 --> 00:46:10,599
[Laughter]
843
00:46:11,567 --> 00:46:12,434
Yeah!
844
00:46:12,602 --> 00:46:14,269
[Girls screaming]
845
00:46:15,071 --> 00:46:16,371
Eww!
846
00:46:16,539 --> 00:46:17,839
Uh!
847
00:46:18,574 --> 00:46:20,141
Eww!
848
00:46:22,712 --> 00:46:24,846
That's the bug. He ate it.
849
00:46:25,014 --> 00:46:26,848
Aah!
850
00:46:29,585 --> 00:46:31,920
Smells are bad, but they're not dangerous.
851
00:46:32,088 --> 00:46:33,855
Now, the next bug has a hot solution
852
00:46:34,023 --> 00:46:35,790
to help escape predators.
853
00:46:45,968 --> 00:46:48,536
In nature, predators usually win.
854
00:46:48,704 --> 00:46:52,874
So how can a defenseless creature
beat a hungry predator?
855
00:46:53,042 --> 00:46:56,678
Answer - With a nasty surprise.
856
00:46:56,846 --> 00:46:59,648
Aaaah!
857
00:47:02,118 --> 00:47:05,954
Sometimes the best form of defense is attack
858
00:47:06,122 --> 00:47:07,389
or, rather, confusion.
859
00:47:07,556 --> 00:47:10,926
And when you're a small bug
in a big, big forest,
860
00:47:11,093 --> 00:47:15,263
the more time you can buy yourself
by scaring your opponent
861
00:47:15,431 --> 00:47:17,565
the more time you have to get away.
862
00:47:17,733 --> 00:47:19,768
Meet the bombardier beetle.
863
00:47:19,936 --> 00:47:23,571
Bombardier beetles are
the nutty professors of the bug world.
864
00:47:23,739 --> 00:47:25,206
They create explosive reactions
865
00:47:25,374 --> 00:47:27,342
by combining chemicals inside their bodies.
866
00:47:27,510 --> 00:47:30,178
And if you're on the wrong end
of that chemical explosion,
867
00:47:30,346 --> 00:47:32,280
then these guys are bad.
868
00:47:32,448 --> 00:47:33,648
But how bad?
869
00:47:33,816 --> 00:47:36,451
World bombardier expert
Tom Eisner should know.
870
00:47:36,619 --> 00:47:37,619
No, I haven't, actually.
871
00:47:37,787 --> 00:47:39,921
- Never seen one blast?
- No.
872
00:47:40,089 --> 00:47:40,922
Let's do it.
873
00:47:41,090 --> 00:47:43,325
What I'm going to make believe
is that I'm an ant.
874
00:47:43,492 --> 00:47:44,693
Oh, you are?
875
00:47:44,860 --> 00:47:47,829
I'm gonna just bite him gently on the leg.
876
00:47:47,997 --> 00:47:49,264
Oh, where? Which side?
877
00:47:49,432 --> 00:47:51,099
The left front leg.
878
00:47:51,267 --> 00:47:52,634
Okay. Here we go.
879
00:47:52,802 --> 00:47:54,736
Oh!
880
00:47:54,904 --> 00:47:55,770
Oh, look at that.
881
00:47:55,938 --> 00:47:57,405
And it squirted in your direction.
882
00:47:57,573 --> 00:48:00,008
He's the best marksman in the world.
883
00:48:00,176 --> 00:48:01,876
Wow. Look.
884
00:48:02,044 --> 00:48:04,746
It didn't miss a degree.
885
00:48:04,914 --> 00:48:07,148
- Okay. Watch the other leg.
- Okay. The other leg.
886
00:48:07,316 --> 00:48:10,018
We're gonna take the middle leg
from the other side.
887
00:48:10,186 --> 00:48:11,319
Here we go.
888
00:48:11,487 --> 00:48:13,154
Oh, yeah! Oh!
889
00:48:13,322 --> 00:48:15,223
Put on your goggles. Here are the forceps.
890
00:48:15,391 --> 00:48:18,259
Just pinch him very gently.
It doesn't take very much.
891
00:48:18,427 --> 00:48:20,462
Try the left hind leg.
892
00:48:20,629 --> 00:48:23,198
Yes, I'll try the left hind leg. Here we go.
893
00:48:23,366 --> 00:48:25,000
Okay.
894
00:48:25,167 --> 00:48:26,568
Look out. [Sniffs]
895
00:48:26,736 --> 00:48:28,570
[Laughs]
896
00:48:28,738 --> 00:48:31,506
- It works.
- Sensational.
897
00:48:31,674 --> 00:48:34,175
And imagine, he can do
this for about 30 times.
898
00:48:34,343 --> 00:48:36,444
Ooh, that's a pretty good national average.
899
00:48:36,612 --> 00:48:37,812
It's a good national average,
900
00:48:37,980 --> 00:48:40,015
and he's not forced to expend his supply,
901
00:48:40,182 --> 00:48:42,584
because after he fires,
he's coated with the stuff.
902
00:48:42,952 --> 00:48:45,387
The bombardier beetle is a walking zap gun.
903
00:48:45,555 --> 00:48:49,057
It's quick on the draw,
can fire in any direction,
904
00:48:49,225 --> 00:48:52,194
and it's guaranteed
to put off the biggest predator.
905
00:48:52,362 --> 00:48:54,496
[Laughs]
906
00:48:54,664 --> 00:48:56,431
Thanks, Tom.
907
00:48:56,599 --> 00:48:59,034
It was a random one.
908
00:48:59,202 --> 00:49:00,969
It got you straight in the nostrils.
909
00:49:01,137 --> 00:49:02,037
I'm sorry.
910
00:49:02,205 --> 00:49:04,239
No, that's... [Laughing]
911
00:49:04,407 --> 00:49:06,008
This is what it's all about.
912
00:49:06,175 --> 00:49:07,342
This is the master blaster.
913
00:49:07,510 --> 00:49:09,344
Oh, beetle. These are visitors.
914
00:49:09,512 --> 00:49:11,079
Behave yourself.
915
00:49:11,247 --> 00:49:14,016
It's quite remarkable.
916
00:49:14,183 --> 00:49:16,151
The mechanism is not unlike the one
917
00:49:16,319 --> 00:49:19,555
that the Germans put in
the V-1 rocket in World War II.
918
00:49:19,722 --> 00:49:23,926
It's also a system where chemicals
are mixed from two chambers.
919
00:49:24,093 --> 00:49:26,395
So to avoid getting zapped themselves,
920
00:49:26,563 --> 00:49:29,431
bombardier beetles keep
two chemicals apart in two chambers
921
00:49:29,599 --> 00:49:31,867
and only mix them to blast an enemy
922
00:49:32,035 --> 00:49:34,469
with their boiling-hot, smelly gunk.
923
00:49:34,637 --> 00:49:37,873
This is concentrated hydrogen peroxide.
924
00:49:38,041 --> 00:49:40,509
It is exactly the same material
925
00:49:40,677 --> 00:49:44,079
that is fabricated inside
the abdomen of the bombardier beetle.
926
00:49:44,247 --> 00:49:46,882
Can you imagine? It's rocket fuel.
927
00:49:47,050 --> 00:49:49,818
That's what they send these
rockets up in the sky with.
928
00:49:49,986 --> 00:49:53,622
And I'm going to mimic exactly
what happens inside the bombardier beetle.
929
00:49:53,790 --> 00:49:55,824
This is it. Look at it.
930
00:49:57,627 --> 00:50:00,529
First, a bit of peroxide. Here we go.
931
00:50:02,465 --> 00:50:05,934
To this we're going to add
something that reacts with it.
932
00:50:06,102 --> 00:50:08,637
It's a catalyst to set off the explosion.
933
00:50:08,805 --> 00:50:11,974
Now, I'd like you to meet my self here,
934
00:50:12,141 --> 00:50:14,309
standing just like that.
935
00:50:14,477 --> 00:50:16,345
And if this is the bombardier beetle,
936
00:50:16,512 --> 00:50:18,714
we're scaling everything up to my size.
937
00:50:18,881 --> 00:50:20,415
That's what we're trying to do here.
938
00:50:20,583 --> 00:50:21,984
Watch what happens.
939
00:50:23,119 --> 00:50:25,420
Holy moly! [Laughs]
940
00:50:29,959 --> 00:50:33,228
Ooh hoo! We got him, we got him! Yay!
941
00:50:46,376 --> 00:50:48,710
The search for the baddest bugs in the world
942
00:50:48,878 --> 00:50:50,312
brings me back to Latin America
943
00:50:50,480 --> 00:50:54,483
and the busy shipping highway,
the Panama Canal.
944
00:50:55,251 --> 00:50:57,653
I'm Ruud Kleinpaste,
and I'm searching for a bug
945
00:50:57,820 --> 00:50:59,788
that is the terror of the rainforest -
946
00:50:59,956 --> 00:51:03,725
a fierce predator that devours
over two pounds of bugs
947
00:51:03,893 --> 00:51:06,895
and other small creatures every day.
948
00:51:19,425 --> 00:51:21,260
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
949
00:51:21,427 --> 00:51:23,295
Oh, oh, oh.
950
00:51:25,765 --> 00:51:27,499
Here we are.
951
00:51:27,667 --> 00:51:30,302
Missed. Hang on,
hang on. Get one.
952
00:51:30,470 --> 00:51:31,937
Got one.
953
00:51:32,105 --> 00:51:35,007
This is what I'm looking for.
954
00:51:35,174 --> 00:51:38,243
This is what we call an army ant.
955
00:51:38,411 --> 00:51:40,112
Small, insignificant? Yes.
956
00:51:40,280 --> 00:51:41,580
Aah! It bites. No, it stings.
957
00:51:41,748 --> 00:51:45,417
It does both Small
and insignificant perhaps,
958
00:51:45,585 --> 00:51:48,954
but it's part of a much larger community.
959
00:51:49,122 --> 00:51:52,124
We're talking about hundreds
of thousands of creatures.
960
00:51:52,292 --> 00:51:54,860
This is only a tiny-weeny column here.
961
00:51:55,028 --> 00:51:56,161
But if I'm going on,
962
00:51:56,329 --> 00:51:58,497
I'm sure I'll find a bigger trail than that.
963
00:51:58,665 --> 00:51:59,865
Isn't that amazing? Aah!
964
00:52:00,033 --> 00:52:01,867
God, they found me, all right! Look.
965
00:52:02,035 --> 00:52:03,368
Straight through my pants there.
966
00:52:03,536 --> 00:52:04,803
[Laughs]
967
00:52:04,971 --> 00:52:06,538
Stinging. And it hurts.
968
00:52:06,706 --> 00:52:07,606
They all sting.
969
00:52:07,774 --> 00:52:09,374
The interesting thing is they're all blind,
970
00:52:09,542 --> 00:52:11,877
but somehow they find me all right.
971
00:52:12,045 --> 00:52:13,345
Here we go. Bye-bye.
972
00:52:13,513 --> 00:52:16,181
Army ant colonies are so perfectly organized
973
00:52:16,349 --> 00:52:19,217
that they are sometimes
called vast superbugs.
974
00:52:19,385 --> 00:52:21,954
And I'm heading towards this one's heart.
975
00:52:22,121 --> 00:52:23,288
Ohh.
976
00:52:24,591 --> 00:52:26,024
[Sighs]
977
00:52:26,926 --> 00:52:28,894
The trail is over there.
978
00:52:29,062 --> 00:52:30,629
I have the feeling I'm close to the nest,
979
00:52:30,797 --> 00:52:33,265
because they're getting
really wide - the trails -
980
00:52:33,433 --> 00:52:34,967
and it's like a highway.
981
00:52:35,134 --> 00:52:37,102
So they're split up a bit further up.
982
00:52:37,270 --> 00:52:38,370
The food is going that way,
983
00:52:38,538 --> 00:52:40,839
so I must be close to the bivouac.
984
00:52:41,007 --> 00:52:43,742
Really exciting stuff. Come on.
985
00:52:50,883 --> 00:52:53,118
Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
986
00:52:53,286 --> 00:52:56,188
That's where they are. Ooh.
987
00:52:56,356 --> 00:52:57,823
Look at it.
988
00:52:57,991 --> 00:52:59,691
This is the bivouac.
989
00:52:52,844 --> 00:52:55,645
It's basically,
a hell of all of ants...
990
00:52:55,646 --> 00:52:57,246
...all holding hands
together...
991
00:52:57,247 --> 00:52:59,497
...forming their
own nest.
992
00:53:00,259 --> 00:53:02,293
It's a bit like having
a whole family of human beings
993
00:53:02,461 --> 00:53:04,029
all handing hands and forming a house
994
00:53:04,196 --> 00:53:05,830
where the other human beings walk inside -
995
00:53:05,998 --> 00:53:07,499
on the staircase, going upstairs,
996
00:53:07,666 --> 00:53:08,900
going to the fridge.
997
00:53:09,068 --> 00:53:11,036
You know, find mum, find the kids.
998
00:53:12,171 --> 00:53:13,238
And there they are.
999
00:53:13,406 --> 00:53:16,875
This is, I would say,
a medium-sized nest.
1000
00:53:17,043 --> 00:53:20,045
700,000 individuals. Something like that.
1001
00:53:20,212 --> 00:53:25,283
This bivouac is part of a nomadic phase.
1002
00:53:25,451 --> 00:53:28,386
What I'm trying to say is that
these ants are on the move.
1003
00:53:28,554 --> 00:53:32,690
The workers move their camp,
or bivouac, every day.
1004
00:53:32,858 --> 00:53:34,059
As they take the queen
1005
00:53:34,226 --> 00:53:37,128
and thousands of helpless larvae and pupae
1006
00:53:37,296 --> 00:53:39,230
to a new feeding location,
1007
00:53:39,398 --> 00:53:42,200
big, well-armed soldiers guard them.
1008
00:53:42,368 --> 00:53:43,868
During the nomadic phase,
1009
00:53:44,036 --> 00:53:46,971
the colony is a bit like a ravenous beast.
1010
00:53:47,139 --> 00:53:49,374
Its appetite is insatiable.
1011
00:53:49,542 --> 00:53:55,880
Lizards, birds, even snakes fall prey
to this rampaging superbug.
1012
00:53:56,048 --> 00:53:58,416
You know what I reckon is going to be fun?
1013
00:53:58,584 --> 00:54:00,518
Going to the front of the column.
1014
00:54:00,686 --> 00:54:03,488
That is the swarm.
That's where the action is.
1015
00:54:03,656 --> 00:54:05,723
That's the battlefield.
1016
00:54:07,993 --> 00:54:11,429
The swarm will move out
in a new direction every day.
1017
00:54:11,597 --> 00:54:12,597
There are no scouts.
1018
00:54:12,765 --> 00:54:14,365
And because they're all blind,
1019
00:54:14,533 --> 00:54:17,035
they follow a pheromone or scent trail
1020
00:54:17,203 --> 00:54:19,471
laid down by the workers.
1021
00:54:23,175 --> 00:54:25,610
Army ants sometimes enter our world.
1022
00:54:25,778 --> 00:54:26,945
And when they do,
1023
00:54:27,113 --> 00:54:30,148
you can clearly see how
totally organized they are.
1024
00:54:39,258 --> 00:54:41,493
Now, this is something
you don't see every day-
1025
00:54:41,661 --> 00:54:45,363
army ants invading homes
which are close to the jungle.
1026
00:54:45,531 --> 00:54:47,866
Now, the locals don't mind that too much
1027
00:54:48,034 --> 00:54:51,570
because the army ants perform
a gratis service of pest control.
1028
00:54:51,737 --> 00:54:53,038
They're taking away all the vermin,
1029
00:54:53,206 --> 00:54:55,307
all the insects that
they don't want in their pantries,
1030
00:54:55,474 --> 00:54:58,143
in their kitchens, in their bedrooms.
1031
00:54:59,212 --> 00:55:01,580
Workers are voracious.
1032
00:55:01,747 --> 00:55:03,281
When they detect prey,
1033
00:55:03,449 --> 00:55:07,485
they become like a pack of tiny wolves.
1034
00:55:10,022 --> 00:55:13,191
But the colony concentrates
most of its killing power
1035
00:55:13,359 --> 00:55:15,026
at the front of the swarm.
1036
00:55:15,194 --> 00:55:19,331
This is like the mouth of a fierce predator.
1037
00:55:20,299 --> 00:55:22,701
I'm literally at the front of the column.
1038
00:55:22,869 --> 00:55:25,337
This is where the swarm is.
And they're everywhere.
1039
00:55:25,504 --> 00:55:27,038
There are big columns over there.
1040
00:55:28,107 --> 00:55:29,641
Huge numbers.
1041
00:55:29,809 --> 00:55:31,243
And the funny thing is
1042
00:55:31,410 --> 00:55:33,478
they really don't make tracks, as such.
1043
00:55:33,646 --> 00:55:36,748
They literally swarm all over the place.
1044
00:55:36,916 --> 00:55:39,851
At the leading edge,
ants push forward.
1045
00:55:40,019 --> 00:55:43,054
They lay pheromone
for others and then retreat.
1046
00:55:43,222 --> 00:55:46,291
Any prey is heavily marked with pheromone
1047
00:55:46,459 --> 00:55:48,994
and swarmed by those that follow.
1048
00:55:49,161 --> 00:55:51,696
If the kill is too big to move,
they cut it up
1049
00:55:51,864 --> 00:55:55,100
and hundreds of ants each carry a piece back
1050
00:55:55,268 --> 00:55:58,236
along the feeder column to the bivouac.
1051
00:56:00,006 --> 00:56:02,941
Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow,
ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!
1052
00:56:03,109 --> 00:56:05,176
Now, if the front of the swarm
1053
00:56:05,344 --> 00:56:07,612
is like the mouth of a fierce predator,
1054
00:56:07,780 --> 00:56:10,548
I could easily become its next meal.
1055
00:56:10,716 --> 00:56:13,418
Ow, ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow! Don't do that.
1056
00:56:13,586 --> 00:56:15,453
Oil! Stop.
1057
00:56:15,621 --> 00:56:18,056
I'm in the wrong place.
I'm in the wrong place.
1058
00:56:18,124 --> 00:56:19,557
I'm in the wrong place.
1059
00:56:19,725 --> 00:56:20,725
Oh, no!
1060
00:56:20,893 --> 00:56:22,560
Army ants hurt.
1061
00:56:22,728 --> 00:56:25,196
But next, an ant that can really hurt.
1062
00:56:25,364 --> 00:56:28,133
It has the most painful sting
in the animal kingdom.
1063
00:56:32,305 --> 00:56:34,139
The good news is this bug lives
1064
00:56:34,307 --> 00:56:36,541
in Central American forest treetops,
1065
00:56:36,709 --> 00:56:38,576
so I get a ride in a crane.
1066
00:56:38,744 --> 00:56:41,513
The bad news is that
it has a really painful sting,
1067
00:56:41,681 --> 00:56:43,682
and I've agreed to experience it.
1068
00:56:44,817 --> 00:56:46,318
Far out.
1069
00:56:46,485 --> 00:56:49,421
To forget that I'm about to get a bad sting,
1070
00:56:49,588 --> 00:56:52,991
I'm really trying hard
to enjoy the view up here.
1071
00:56:53,159 --> 00:56:55,427
You can imagine that
the canopy of forests like this
1072
00:56:55,594 --> 00:56:57,028
have not been studied much in the past
1073
00:56:57,196 --> 00:56:58,830
because there's no way of getting there.
1074
00:56:58,998 --> 00:57:02,233
But once you get there,
boy, there's stuff everywhere.
1075
00:57:02,401 --> 00:57:04,970
Entomologist's dream.
1076
00:57:06,939 --> 00:57:09,240
Every tree you see here is different.
1077
00:57:09,408 --> 00:57:12,544
I mean, there's a home
for everybody here, literally.
1078
00:57:12,712 --> 00:57:13,712
And there's ants.
1079
00:57:13,879 --> 00:57:16,014
There's ants even at this elevation.
1080
00:57:16,182 --> 00:57:17,716
Where's my bullet ant?
1081
00:57:19,385 --> 00:57:21,987
I'm going to be stung by a bullet ant.
1082
00:57:22,154 --> 00:57:25,090
They live in colonies at the base of trees
1083
00:57:25,257 --> 00:57:30,228
but mainly feed on flowers and
nectar high up in the treetops.
1084
00:57:32,264 --> 00:57:33,865
Bullet ants are blind.
1085
00:57:34,033 --> 00:57:36,534
They use their antennae as walking sticks
1086
00:57:36,702 --> 00:57:38,636
as they move about up here.
1087
00:57:38,804 --> 00:57:40,305
And that's why they have a sting
1088
00:57:40,473 --> 00:57:43,808
that causes such incredible pain.
1089
00:57:44,744 --> 00:57:46,644
The only disadvantage of living up here is
1090
00:57:46,812 --> 00:57:48,146
you're in the public eye.
1091
00:57:48,314 --> 00:57:50,782
The stakes are really high here.
1092
00:57:50,950 --> 00:57:53,985
All insects want to feed here,
and the predators know that,
1093
00:57:54,153 --> 00:57:57,422
because they go and hunt
for their favorite prey.
1094
00:57:57,590 --> 00:57:59,991
And if you are a big insect
like a bullet ant,
1095
00:58:00,159 --> 00:58:01,926
you'll really want to arm yourself
1096
00:58:02,094 --> 00:58:04,129
so that those predators
don't stand a chance.
1097
00:58:04,296 --> 00:58:05,530
Hmm.
1098
00:58:06,665 --> 00:58:08,500
Worker ants travel alone.
1099
00:58:08,667 --> 00:58:10,735
Nothing will mess with you
1100
00:58:10,773 --> 00:58:13,238
when you've got a major sting
in the tip of your abdomen.
1101
00:58:15,408 --> 00:58:18,143
They say that being stung by a bullet ant
1102
00:58:18,310 --> 00:58:20,011
feels like being shot.
1103
00:58:20,179 --> 00:58:23,214
And I'm about to find out.
1104
00:58:23,382 --> 00:58:25,316
Un poco.
1105
00:58:25,484 --> 00:58:27,519
Gracias, gracias, gracias.
1106
00:58:29,021 --> 00:58:31,556
There's heaps of ants here,
but it's the wrong size.
1107
00:58:31,724 --> 00:58:33,458
Look at them. Whoa!
1108
00:58:33,626 --> 00:58:36,528
They describe this ant
- the pain of this ant -
1109
00:58:36,695 --> 00:58:38,830
as if your hand is being
slammed in a car door
1110
00:58:38,998 --> 00:58:40,365
for a couple of hours.
1111
00:58:40,533 --> 00:58:42,233
Yeah. [Chuckles]
1112
00:58:42,401 --> 00:58:44,335
So why am I doing it?
1113
00:58:44,503 --> 00:58:46,171
Well, the world's stinging insects -
1114
00:58:46,338 --> 00:58:48,706
bees, wasps, and ants - are all bluffers.
1115
00:58:48,874 --> 00:58:50,375
It's a painful bluff, mind you,
1116
00:58:50,543 --> 00:58:52,077
but the sting is simply their trick
1117
00:58:52,244 --> 00:58:54,813
to make us think that
we are suffering major injury.
1118
00:58:54,980 --> 00:58:57,115
They really just want us to go away.
1119
00:58:57,283 --> 00:58:58,383
Even a bullet ant's sting
1120
00:58:58,551 --> 00:59:00,919
is nothing more than a painful sting.
1121
00:59:01,087 --> 00:59:03,221
Got it, got it. Nearly. Nearly got it.
1122
00:59:03,389 --> 00:59:05,490
Come on, come on, come on, come on!
1123
00:59:06,392 --> 00:59:07,225
Yeah!
1124
00:59:07,393 --> 00:59:08,693
[Laughs]
1125
00:59:11,030 --> 00:59:12,630
I think I got one.
1126
00:59:14,066 --> 00:59:15,433
Now I'm going to take that ant
1127
00:59:15,601 --> 00:59:17,702
and see what it's really made of.
1128
00:59:17,870 --> 00:59:19,637
Here we go.
1129
00:59:19,805 --> 00:59:23,074
This is the bullet ant
I got up in the canopy.
1130
00:59:23,242 --> 00:59:24,909
And I'm going to bite the bullet.
1131
00:59:25,077 --> 00:59:29,114
I'm gonna see if it's really
all it's cracked up to be.
1132
00:59:29,281 --> 00:59:31,416
Come on, mate. Down you go.
I don't want you out there yet.
1133
00:59:31,584 --> 00:59:32,784
I'll put it on my arm here.
1134
00:59:32,952 --> 00:59:34,552
Aah, he got me! Got me, got me, got me.
1135
00:59:34,720 --> 00:59:35,887
Get out. Get the sting out.
1136
00:59:36,055 --> 00:59:37,122
Come on, come on. Off you go.
1137
00:59:37,289 --> 00:59:38,323
Please get off me.
1138
00:59:38,491 --> 00:59:39,824
He keeps going, keeps going. Hang on.
1139
00:59:39,992 --> 00:59:41,526
Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!
1140
00:59:41,694 --> 00:59:43,027
Aah! Come here.
1141
00:59:43,195 --> 00:59:46,397
I'll get you anyway. Oh!
1142
00:59:46,565 --> 00:59:49,000
You can see how my watch is getting really -
1143
00:59:49,168 --> 00:59:51,302
See how it's swelling up
on either side of my watch.
1144
00:59:51,470 --> 00:59:53,872
I'm gonna take it off because
it's not doing anything for me.
1145
00:59:54,039 --> 00:59:55,039
Can you see that?
1146
00:59:55,207 --> 00:59:57,208
They call it the 24-hour ant.
1147
00:59:57,376 --> 00:59:59,878
And that means that
they reckon that 24 hours,
1148
01:00:00,045 --> 01:00:01,679
the pain will subside.
1149
01:00:01,847 --> 01:00:04,149
It's like slowly creeping
through my arm now.
1150
01:00:04,316 --> 01:00:07,418
It's starting to move.
It's now moving towards my hand.
1151
01:00:07,586 --> 01:00:09,354
The pain is moving further up my arm.
1152
01:00:09,522 --> 01:00:11,055
And it took, what, 20 minutes.
1153
01:00:11,223 --> 01:00:14,659
Boy, this is something
I will never, ever forget.
1154
01:00:14,827 --> 01:00:16,227
Never, ever.
1155
01:00:16,395 --> 01:00:19,764
We're an hour after the sting occurred.
1156
01:00:19,932 --> 01:00:22,233
The pain has absolutely not subsided.
1157
01:00:22,401 --> 01:00:25,170
It's like a hot needle in
and down on either side.
1158
01:00:25,337 --> 01:00:27,172
It's started to really rain heavily.
1159
01:00:27,339 --> 01:00:29,974
It's got really dark.
It's almost like midnight.
1160
01:00:30,142 --> 01:00:33,878
And I think it's time to retire
to the comfort of my hotel,
1161
01:00:34,046 --> 01:00:37,148
where there might be some ice,
which would be good.
1162
01:00:37,316 --> 01:00:39,150
Boy, this is sore. Still.
1163
01:00:39,318 --> 01:00:42,120
It doesn't go away. It keeps going.
1164
01:00:46,625 --> 01:00:48,560
It's about six hours after the sting,
1165
01:00:48,727 --> 01:00:50,595
and it just doesn't let up.
1166
01:00:50,763 --> 01:00:52,130
It's really painful.
1167
01:00:52,298 --> 01:00:53,831
It's not getting much better, really.
1168
01:00:53,999 --> 01:00:56,434
It's just, like, swollen.
1169
01:00:56,602 --> 01:00:58,503
Sore from here to there.
1170
01:00:58,671 --> 01:01:01,673
My arm, when I don't move it,
is totally numb.
1171
01:01:01,840 --> 01:01:04,242
It's thick, and you cannot move much.
1172
01:01:04,410 --> 01:01:07,045
It's very thick and fat inside.
1173
01:01:07,213 --> 01:01:10,081
It doesn't really hurt much
until you start moving it.
1174
01:01:10,249 --> 01:01:12,283
Then it starts to hurt again.
1175
01:01:14,920 --> 01:01:16,254
[Sighs]
1176
01:01:16,422 --> 01:01:17,488
Morning.
1177
01:01:17,656 --> 01:01:20,325
Just had a few hours' sleep,
which is nice, actually.
1178
01:01:20,492 --> 01:01:23,528
And we're 16 hours on, after the sting.
1179
01:01:23,696 --> 01:01:25,597
And good news is, I can wear my watch.
1180
01:01:25,764 --> 01:01:26,931
The swelling has gone down.
1181
01:01:27,099 --> 01:01:34,038
The pain is basically back
to the aftermath numbness of a big beesting.
1182
01:01:34,206 --> 01:01:37,275
And that means that
I'm on the road to recovery.
1183
01:01:37,443 --> 01:01:38,910
I think I shall live.
1184
01:01:39,078 --> 01:01:42,580
I learned a lesson.
I really - I really did.
1185
01:01:42,748 --> 01:01:47,051
Don't mess with bullet ants.
They pack a punch.
1186
01:01:53,892 --> 01:01:55,927
My search for the baddest bugs
1187
01:01:56,095 --> 01:01:58,630
takes me deep into the Arizona desert.
1188
01:01:58,797 --> 01:02:01,833
This is scorpion HQ.
1189
01:02:02,001 --> 01:02:05,036
Here are two toughies - two scorpions -
1190
01:02:05,204 --> 01:02:07,071
and both are from the desert.
1191
01:02:07,239 --> 01:02:09,741
Now, one of these is a killer.
1192
01:02:09,908 --> 01:02:13,077
It can floor and kill human beings.
1193
01:02:13,245 --> 01:02:15,947
And the other one is almost harmless.
1194
01:02:16,115 --> 01:02:18,249
Can you guess which one?
1195
01:02:18,417 --> 01:02:20,652
No? I'll show you.
1196
01:02:24,757 --> 01:02:25,657
This one...
1197
01:02:25,824 --> 01:02:28,192
Aah! [Bleep] [Bleep]
1198
01:02:28,360 --> 01:02:31,062
This one is the harmless one.
1199
01:02:31,230 --> 01:02:33,031
Oh, yes, it just got me.
1200
01:02:33,198 --> 01:02:35,199
Absolutely got me. And it draws blood.
1201
01:02:35,367 --> 01:02:38,703
But the venom is not
half as bad as that of a bee.
1202
01:02:38,871 --> 01:02:40,471
She's so strong
1203
01:02:40,639 --> 01:02:44,175
that she would rarely use
her sting for catching prey.
1204
01:02:44,343 --> 01:02:47,011
She would use it only really
in the last possible defense
1205
01:02:47,179 --> 01:02:48,313
if somebody is hassling her
1206
01:02:48,480 --> 01:02:49,914
or if she feels really threatened.
1207
01:02:50,082 --> 01:02:51,449
A little bit like this. Look.
1208
01:02:51,617 --> 01:02:52,950
See, there it goes.
1209
01:02:53,118 --> 01:02:54,519
Aah, yeah. Hey, hey, hey, hey.
1210
01:02:54,687 --> 01:02:56,521
She's pushing. She's nudging.
1211
01:02:56,689 --> 01:02:57,655
Look at that.
1212
01:02:57,823 --> 01:03:00,191
And the funny thing is it doesn't even hurt.
1213
01:03:00,359 --> 01:03:03,628
Now, the other one, that's the nasty one.
1214
01:03:03,796 --> 01:03:05,997
And there's a very good reason for it.
1215
01:03:07,166 --> 01:03:12,003
The bark scorpion hunts out on tree trunks
and rocks where it can be seen
1216
01:03:12,171 --> 01:03:14,672
and is vulnerable to attack,
just like the bullet ant.
1217
01:03:14,840 --> 01:03:16,341
So it uses venom,
1218
01:03:16,508 --> 01:03:22,013
not only to catch prey but also
for defense against predators.
1219
01:03:22,181 --> 01:03:24,849
My TV crew has rigged
another surprise for me.
1220
01:03:25,017 --> 01:03:27,752
I'm not sure what a walk
on the beach will teach me
1221
01:03:27,920 --> 01:03:32,323
about bark scorpion stings,
but I'm sure I'll find out.
1222
01:03:32,491 --> 01:03:35,693
For this simple demonstration
about the bark scorpion,
1223
01:03:35,861 --> 01:03:39,464
I was asked to walk past that girl
on the beach there.
1224
01:03:40,531 --> 01:03:42,299
How easy can that be?
1225
01:03:51,109 --> 01:03:52,876
Aah! Oh!
1226
01:03:53,044 --> 01:03:54,344
That's nasty.
1227
01:03:54,512 --> 01:03:56,680
Aah! Oh!
1228
01:03:56,848 --> 01:03:59,049
Aah! Oh! Aah.
1229
01:03:59,217 --> 01:04:01,518
What is that? It's so small.
1230
01:04:01,686 --> 01:04:03,153
Oh, that's a cattle prod.
1231
01:04:03,321 --> 01:04:05,389
Look, that's 10,000 volts or something.
1232
01:04:05,556 --> 01:04:06,957
Shall I'll get you? Go.
1233
01:04:07,125 --> 01:04:08,158
Good grief!
1234
01:04:08,326 --> 01:04:10,727
Oh, not fair.
1235
01:04:10,895 --> 01:04:13,330
Shows you, though,
if you're small in stature,
1236
01:04:13,498 --> 01:04:15,966
and you've got something
that is really worthwhile as a tool,
1237
01:04:16,134 --> 01:04:18,101
you can floor anybody.
1238
01:04:23,792 --> 01:04:26,928
The relationship between
man and bugs has never been,
1239
01:04:27,096 --> 01:04:29,063
shall we say, a comfortable one.
1240
01:04:29,231 --> 01:04:30,998
And especially the black widow spider's
1241
01:04:31,166 --> 01:04:34,635
left a trail of victims and destruction.
1242
01:04:36,672 --> 01:04:38,873
Ewwww! [Chuckles]
1243
01:04:39,041 --> 01:04:42,276
What a top spot for a spider
to hang out.
1244
01:04:42,444 --> 01:04:45,680
It's got everything
a decent black widow would want.
1245
01:04:45,848 --> 01:04:47,181
Now, for these spiders,
1246
01:04:47,349 --> 01:04:48,983
outdoor toilets were merely the beginning
1247
01:04:49,151 --> 01:04:51,152
of their long association with humans.
1248
01:04:51,320 --> 01:04:53,187
I reckon they went a couple of steps further
1249
01:04:53,355 --> 01:04:56,424
and are now saying,
"Modern cities and urban habitats?
1250
01:04:56,592 --> 01:04:58,393
Bring it on!"
1251
01:04:59,928 --> 01:05:02,397
Many towns and cities have now spread across
1252
01:05:02,564 --> 01:05:04,432
a lot of black widow territory.
1253
01:05:04,600 --> 01:05:06,667
And that spells danger for us.
1254
01:05:06,835 --> 01:05:09,303
In the last 25 years
there have been numerous
1255
01:05:09,471 --> 01:05:11,239
black widow spider bites reported
1256
01:05:11,407 --> 01:05:14,842
but, thankfully, only four confirmed deaths.
1257
01:05:15,010 --> 01:05:18,312
It's the female of the species
who's the bad bug,
1258
01:05:18,480 --> 01:05:21,649
and I'm keen to meet the lady up close.
1259
01:05:21,817 --> 01:05:25,052
This is what I call
a prime piece of real estate.
1260
01:05:25,220 --> 01:05:26,654
There she is in an old clay pot.
1261
01:05:26,822 --> 01:05:28,756
Nice and sheltered. Big web.
1262
01:05:28,924 --> 01:05:30,958
And, of course, in an area
with a lot of rubbish.
1263
01:05:31,126 --> 01:05:33,261
A lot of other insects. A lot of flies.
1264
01:05:33,328 --> 01:05:34,262
A lot of food.
1265
01:05:34,430 --> 01:05:36,731
She sits in the back of the pot, waiting.
1266
01:05:36,899 --> 01:05:39,000
The web is right out here.
1267
01:05:39,168 --> 01:05:41,202
In the web there's some
other little bits and pieces.
1268
01:05:41,370 --> 01:05:44,272
There's some food hanging
in suspended animation right here.
1269
01:05:44,440 --> 01:05:46,908
Little fly covered with silk.
1270
01:05:47,075 --> 01:05:49,477
Now, we all know that they're venomous.
1271
01:05:49,645 --> 01:05:53,681
But the reason they use
their venom is very, very simple.
1272
01:05:53,849 --> 01:05:56,717
You see, spiders haven't invented
fridges yet.
1273
01:05:56,885 --> 01:05:58,152
So when they catch prey,
1274
01:05:58,320 --> 01:06:00,521
they want to keep it as fresh as possible
1275
01:06:00,689 --> 01:06:02,457
if they don't want to feed on it yet.
1276
01:06:02,624 --> 01:06:04,992
So what you do is you wrap it up into silk,
1277
01:06:05,160 --> 01:06:06,894
you give it a little bite of venom,
1278
01:06:07,062 --> 01:06:10,164
a little bit of poison so that
you just don't kill your prey,
1279
01:06:10,332 --> 01:06:13,634
and it stays okay in the web
for four or five days.
1280
01:06:16,505 --> 01:06:19,173
Perhaps black widows are supervenomous
1281
01:06:19,341 --> 01:06:21,375
because they are small and vulnerable,
1282
01:06:21,543 --> 01:06:24,545
just like bullet ants and bark scorpions.
1283
01:06:24,713 --> 01:06:27,248
But the good news is that, like all spiders,
1284
01:06:27,416 --> 01:06:30,284
they really don't want to bite us.
1285
01:06:32,621 --> 01:06:36,190
Now, black widows are normally
not very aggressive at all.
1286
01:06:36,358 --> 01:06:37,925
But you've got to be very careful.
1287
01:06:38,093 --> 01:06:40,461
They are venomous.
And don't try this at home.
1288
01:06:40,629 --> 01:06:43,898
But when you get a spider
like this that falls onto your hand
1289
01:06:44,066 --> 01:06:46,734
or bungees onto your hand,
don't pick it up.
1290
01:06:46,902 --> 01:06:48,569
Put it back just like that,
1291
01:06:48,737 --> 01:06:49,844
and put it back
where she belongs.
1292
01:07:02,384 --> 01:07:06,220
Look at this - a bustling metropolis
with lots of activity
1293
01:07:06,388 --> 01:07:07,422
and heaps of people.
1294
01:07:07,589 --> 01:07:08,856
4 million, in fact.
1295
01:07:09,024 --> 01:07:11,326
Because this is Sydney, Australia.
1296
01:07:11,493 --> 01:07:14,829
Now, let's take a step back
in time 300 years.
1297
01:07:15,831 --> 01:07:17,432
Ah, that's better.
1298
01:07:17,599 --> 01:07:20,335
Clean, pristine, undisturbed bush.
1299
01:07:20,502 --> 01:07:22,170
Now, it was in this particular area,
1300
01:07:22,338 --> 01:07:25,173
perhaps only a couple of
dozen square miles in size,
1301
01:07:25,341 --> 01:07:29,143
that there once lived
a very unique species of spider -
1302
01:07:29,311 --> 01:07:31,112
a funnel-web spider.
1303
01:07:31,914 --> 01:07:33,815
On warm summer evenings,
1304
01:07:33,982 --> 01:07:36,951
male funnel-webs would
come out of their silk-lined nests
1305
01:07:37,119 --> 01:07:40,088
and go wandering through
the bush looking for a mate.
1306
01:07:46,028 --> 01:07:49,197
Their journeys could take them
miles from home.
1307
01:07:49,365 --> 01:07:54,769
And that's the way life was
for perhaps millions of years.
1308
01:07:54,937 --> 01:07:57,171
And then...
1309
01:07:57,339 --> 01:08:00,608
200 years ago, the city of Sydney was built
1310
01:08:00,776 --> 01:08:04,045
right on top of funnel-web
spiders' home territory.
1311
01:08:04,213 --> 01:08:07,181
So, what did these spiders do?
1312
01:08:07,349 --> 01:08:08,683
Well, nothing.
1313
01:08:08,851 --> 01:08:11,853
The males keep on wandering,
just like they always did.
1314
01:08:12,020 --> 01:08:14,055
Now known as the Sydney funnel-web,
1315
01:08:14,223 --> 01:08:16,324
the suburbs are their new bush.
1316
01:08:16,492 --> 01:08:19,293
And if their romantic journey
should take them near a house,
1317
01:08:19,461 --> 01:08:21,829
they are likely to come in.
1318
01:08:21,997 --> 01:08:23,498
Trouble is,
1319
01:08:23,665 --> 01:08:27,702
they're probably the most
venomous spiders on the planet.
1320
01:08:27,870 --> 01:08:30,438
When cornered,
they can be really aggressive,
1321
01:08:30,606 --> 01:08:33,574
and 13 people have been
killed in the Sydney area -
1322
01:08:33,742 --> 01:08:37,278
but none since antivenin
was discovered in 1981,
1323
01:08:37,446 --> 01:08:41,249
even though 30 to 40 people
are bitten each year.
1324
01:08:42,084 --> 01:08:44,419
They normally eat beetles and cockroaches,
1325
01:08:44,586 --> 01:08:46,254
so it's actually quite a mystery
1326
01:08:46,422 --> 01:08:49,657
why the venom of male
funnel-webs is so poisonous...
1327
01:08:49,825 --> 01:08:52,493
...to humans and other primates.
1328
01:08:52,661 --> 01:08:55,763
I've caught one in the act here
in the old garage,
1329
01:08:55,931 --> 01:08:57,632
walking around.
1330
01:08:57,800 --> 01:08:59,200
Can't stay here, mate.
1331
01:09:02,037 --> 01:09:05,006
Some of them are more
aggressive than others.
1332
01:09:05,174 --> 01:09:08,509
If they rear up, you know
they mean business.
1333
01:09:08,677 --> 01:09:12,780
You have to be very careful
with puffs of wind.
1334
01:09:18,554 --> 01:09:20,555
This is rearing behavior.
1335
01:09:20,722 --> 01:09:25,760
Universal language for
"Danger - Stay out of my way. "
1336
01:09:25,928 --> 01:09:29,163
I'm gonna try something here.
1337
01:09:29,331 --> 01:09:30,782
I've got a theory that...
1338
01:09:30,783 --> 01:09:35,136
...a spider just doesn't bite
the ground that it's walking on.
1339
01:09:35,304 --> 01:09:38,606
It's got to have a good reason
to be aggressive and to attack
1340
01:09:38,774 --> 01:09:42,210
if it's under attack itself.
1341
01:09:42,377 --> 01:09:45,580
I'm gonna try and let it walk over my hand.
1342
01:09:47,316 --> 01:09:48,983
I think.
1343
01:09:51,453 --> 01:09:55,356
This, believe it or not,
is not an act of foolishness.
1344
01:09:55,524 --> 01:09:56,924
Ah, look at it.
1345
01:09:57,092 --> 01:10:00,228
I've handled bugs, good
and bad, for over 20 years.
1346
01:10:00,395 --> 01:10:01,762
I know when it is safe.
1347
01:10:01,930 --> 01:10:05,867
And I know that venom
is precious to a spider.
1348
01:10:06,034 --> 01:10:07,969
They don't want to waste a drop.
1349
01:10:08,136 --> 01:10:10,771
And they will only attack when threatened.
1350
01:10:10,939 --> 01:10:13,374
Ooh, that was close.
1351
01:10:13,542 --> 01:10:15,042
Ugh.
1352
01:10:15,210 --> 01:10:16,644
God, I don't believe I did that.
1353
01:10:16,812 --> 01:10:18,513
[Gasping]
1354
01:10:21,083 --> 01:10:22,884
But please, if you live in Sydney
1355
01:10:23,051 --> 01:10:27,722
or anywhere there are venomous
spiders, don't you try this.
1356
01:10:38,134 --> 01:10:41,569
My journey to find
the baddest bugs enters a swamp.
1357
01:10:41,737 --> 01:10:44,439
This could be anywhere in the tropics.
1358
01:10:44,607 --> 01:10:46,307
I'm Ruud Kleinpaste, and I'm on the trail
1359
01:10:46,475 --> 01:10:48,610
of a bug that's so unbelievably bad,
1360
01:10:48,778 --> 01:10:54,182
it can be linked to the deaths of millions
of humans in the last thousand years.
1361
01:10:54,350 --> 01:10:56,651
I think I can hear something.
1362
01:10:56,819 --> 01:10:58,253
Yeah.
1363
01:11:00,790 --> 01:11:02,857
It hasn't found me yet.
1364
01:11:07,296 --> 01:11:10,065
These bad bugs love to feed on us,
1365
01:11:10,232 --> 01:11:14,969
and they can find us
from a long way off by smell.
1366
01:11:15,137 --> 01:11:17,338
Of course, I'm talking about mosquitoes,
1367
01:11:17,506 --> 01:11:19,207
and these ones are in the laboratory,
1368
01:11:19,375 --> 01:11:21,976
where researchers use
a special machine to study
1369
01:11:22,144 --> 01:11:25,513
what kind of smells mosquitoes
are most attracted to.
1370
01:11:25,681 --> 01:11:26,915
This is how it works.
1371
01:11:27,083 --> 01:11:28,917
Lots of mosquitoes in these containers,
1372
01:11:29,085 --> 01:11:32,053
and some pipes and tubes
in which you can put an attractant,
1373
01:11:32,221 --> 01:11:33,822
and then you can measure the response.
1374
01:11:33,989 --> 01:11:38,693
Number one, I know breath
attracts them - carbon dioxide.
1375
01:11:38,861 --> 01:11:41,596
I've got a sachet of
artificial carbon dioxide here,
1376
01:11:41,764 --> 01:11:43,998
which I'm going to put in this chamber.
1377
01:11:44,166 --> 01:11:45,800
Upsy-daisy you are.
1378
01:11:45,968 --> 01:11:48,069
See what happens.
1379
01:11:48,871 --> 01:11:51,673
And there they go,
straight for the carbon dioxide.
1380
01:11:51,841 --> 01:11:53,374
It really turns them on.
1381
01:11:53,542 --> 01:11:57,512
If I would go "hoo!"
and breathe a bit more...
1382
01:11:58,347 --> 01:11:59,814
...they would even like that better.
1383
01:11:59,982 --> 01:12:01,216
So breath.
1384
01:12:01,383 --> 01:12:02,917
This is another one.
1385
01:12:03,085 --> 01:12:07,155
I put my hand in here, open that one up.
1386
01:12:07,323 --> 01:12:09,257
This shows you that
the chemicals on my hand -
1387
01:12:09,425 --> 01:12:13,027
the sweat and the body odors -
are also a very good stimulant
1388
01:12:13,195 --> 01:12:17,098
for those female mosquitoes
to grab me, to get hold of me.
1389
01:12:17,266 --> 01:12:19,167
But I've got something else.
1390
01:12:21,670 --> 01:12:25,073
I've got the odor of all odors.
1391
01:12:25,241 --> 01:12:27,008
I haven't washed those for a couple of days,
1392
01:12:27,176 --> 01:12:29,177
so I hope it's not going to kill them.
1393
01:12:29,345 --> 01:12:31,045
[Chuckles]
1394
01:12:31,213 --> 01:12:32,514
No, it doesn't.
1395
01:12:32,681 --> 01:12:34,782
They're actually - [laughs]
1396
01:12:34,950 --> 01:12:37,285
They really like this stuff.
Isn't that amazing?
1397
01:12:37,453 --> 01:12:39,420
It's like Swiss cheese to a mosquito -
1398
01:12:39,588 --> 01:12:41,656
big foot odor, big sweat.
1399
01:12:41,824 --> 01:12:43,625
Mmm!
1400
01:12:43,792 --> 01:12:46,761
Only female mosquitoes come after us.
1401
01:12:46,929 --> 01:12:48,463
They want the protein in our blood
1402
01:12:48,631 --> 01:12:50,965
to help develop their eggs.
1403
01:12:52,034 --> 01:12:53,434
[Mosquito buzzing]
1404
01:12:53,602 --> 01:12:54,602
They find us first
1405
01:12:54,770 --> 01:12:57,639
by locking on the carbon dioxide
in our breath.
1406
01:12:57,806 --> 01:13:00,608
They can detect us from over 100 feet away.
1407
01:13:02,144 --> 01:13:04,679
When they get closer, they smell our skin.
1408
01:13:04,847 --> 01:13:08,783
Mosquitoes react to over
300 different skin chemicals.
1409
01:13:08,951 --> 01:13:11,252
And, look, there they are,
going straight for my fingers.
1410
01:13:11,420 --> 01:13:16,324
These mosquitoes can take four times
their own body weight of my blood.
1411
01:13:16,492 --> 01:13:18,693
That means that they become
four times heavier...
1412
01:13:18,861 --> 01:13:20,395
...than they are when they started.
1413
01:13:20,563 --> 01:13:23,698
And that means that their abdomens
really have to stretch
1414
01:13:23,866 --> 01:13:26,734
and let in more and more blood.
1415
01:13:26,902 --> 01:13:28,436
And if you look really carefully,
1416
01:13:28,604 --> 01:13:31,139
you can see that they eject water
1417
01:13:31,307 --> 01:13:33,841
with little droplets from their abdomen,
1418
01:13:34,009 --> 01:13:35,476
just to make room for a bit more blood.
1419
01:13:35,644 --> 01:13:39,914
They really want as much
protein as they can get.
1420
01:13:40,082 --> 01:13:42,784
Different mosquitoes
have favorite animal hosts.
1421
01:13:42,952 --> 01:13:46,421
These striped Aedes aegyptii
love human blood.
1422
01:13:46,589 --> 01:13:49,624
They live in the tropics
and like to live in our houses.
1423
01:13:49,792 --> 01:13:50,758
Problem is,
1424
01:13:50,926 --> 01:13:55,430
each one is a potentially
loaded gun full of nasty disease.
1425
01:13:55,598 --> 01:13:57,498
So am I in danger?
1426
01:13:57,666 --> 01:14:00,335
Thankfully, not from these little ladies.
1427
01:14:00,502 --> 01:14:03,838
They are laboratory-bred and disease-free.
1428
01:14:04,006 --> 01:14:06,474
But you can imagine that,
if these would have...
1429
01:14:06,642 --> 01:14:09,611
...things like yellow fever
or dengue inside them,
1430
01:14:09,778 --> 01:14:11,212
I would be a sitting duck.
1431
01:14:11,380 --> 01:14:12,313
[Buzzing]
1432
01:14:12,481 --> 01:14:15,450
Aedes mosquitoes spread
yellow fever and dengue fever
1433
01:14:15,618 --> 01:14:18,186
by sucking up disease
from the blood of an infected person
1434
01:14:18,354 --> 01:14:20,788
and passing it on to others.
1435
01:14:20,956 --> 01:14:23,291
The disease multiplies in a new host,
1436
01:14:23,459 --> 01:14:26,861
rupturing red blood cells
and causing severe fever -
1437
01:14:27,029 --> 01:14:32,200
fever that affects millions and
kills thousands of people each year.
1438
01:14:33,535 --> 01:14:36,904
Next, a bug that wants
to hurt us in a big way.
1439
01:14:43,212 --> 01:14:44,545
The baddest bugs in this show
1440
01:14:44,713 --> 01:14:47,048
were bred in Brazil in the 1950s.
1441
01:14:47,216 --> 01:14:50,952
They escaped and reached the U.S. in 1990,
1442
01:14:51,120 --> 01:14:53,454
and they're spreading fast.
1443
01:14:53,622 --> 01:14:56,624
They're Africanized honeybees,
or killer bees.
1444
01:14:56,792 --> 01:14:58,826
They look just like normal honeybees,
1445
01:14:58,994 --> 01:15:02,363
but they are superaggressive
in defense of their queen.
1446
01:15:02,531 --> 01:15:03,931
If an intruder comes near,
1447
01:15:04,099 --> 01:15:08,036
thousands of bees will attack
and give chase for over a mile.
1448
01:15:08,203 --> 01:15:12,974
Hundreds of people have been
killed by this modern bad bug.
1449
01:15:14,910 --> 01:15:17,578
You generally don't mess around
with killer bees, I was told.
1450
01:15:17,746 --> 01:15:19,614
[Laughs]
1451
01:15:19,782 --> 01:15:24,085
And that means full suit and great care.
1452
01:15:24,253 --> 01:15:25,586
Ooh.
1453
01:15:26,588 --> 01:15:30,124
I'm in Arizona, and
killer-bee expert Justin Schmidt
1454
01:15:30,292 --> 01:15:32,160
is taking me to a killer-bee nest.
1455
01:15:32,328 --> 01:15:33,561
We must be careful.
1456
01:15:33,729 --> 01:15:36,564
Even a noise or vibration
could cause an attack.
1457
01:15:36,732 --> 01:15:40,168
And when killer bees attack,
most of the hive will swarm,
1458
01:15:40,336 --> 01:15:43,071
and I don't want that,
and Justin doesn't, either.
1459
01:15:43,238 --> 01:15:45,306
There it is, up there
- the killer-bee colony.
1460
01:15:45,474 --> 01:15:46,741
The less people, the better,
1461
01:15:46,909 --> 01:15:49,577
so I'm going to wish you
good luck and bon voyage.
1462
01:15:49,745 --> 01:15:50,745
[Chuckling] Oh, thank you.
1463
01:15:50,913 --> 01:15:52,914
I'll need it. I'll be very careful.
1464
01:15:53,082 --> 01:15:54,449
See ya.
1465
01:15:56,385 --> 01:15:57,552
Must be careful.
1466
01:16:02,224 --> 01:16:05,960
There's a huge nest of killer bees there.
1467
01:16:06,128 --> 01:16:10,431
And you - you can hear them
buzz from right here.
1468
01:16:10,599 --> 01:16:12,867
Now, I don't want to disturb them,
1469
01:16:13,035 --> 01:16:15,603
because when they're disturbed, they attack.
1470
01:16:15,771 --> 01:16:17,805
When they attack, they sting.
1471
01:16:17,973 --> 01:16:21,242
And when they sting, they die,
and I don't want that to happen.
1472
01:16:21,410 --> 01:16:24,045
But I've got to be very,
very quiet and very careful.
1473
01:16:24,213 --> 01:16:27,815
But what will be nice is
to have a look inside the nest
1474
01:16:27,983 --> 01:16:29,751
and to see how they react.
1475
01:16:29,918 --> 01:16:32,587
Don't forget, I'm downwind from them.
1476
01:16:32,755 --> 01:16:36,324
And I'm going to put
this little camera inside...
1477
01:16:37,593 --> 01:16:39,794
...and see what I can find.
1478
01:16:46,869 --> 01:16:49,137
Oh, boy, guard bees.
1479
01:16:49,304 --> 01:16:52,907
Oh, amazing, they haven't seen me yet.
1480
01:16:54,843 --> 01:16:57,445
Oh, sensational. This has
never been done before.
1481
01:16:57,613 --> 01:16:59,847
Oh, look, they're investigating
the camera now.
1482
01:17:00,015 --> 01:17:03,351
[Chuckles] Wonderful!
1483
01:17:03,519 --> 01:17:05,353
Oh, God, the noise -
the noise.
1484
01:17:05,521 --> 01:17:08,389
Whoa, whoa, here they come.
I've got to get out, folks.
1485
01:17:08,557 --> 01:17:10,558
I've got to get out. No, this is not safe.
1486
01:17:10,726 --> 01:17:12,193
I've got to get out.
1487
01:17:14,096 --> 01:17:16,497
I'm on. I'm moving.
1488
01:17:19,701 --> 01:17:21,335
Better get out.
1489
01:17:22,838 --> 01:17:26,808
It's a bit safer here, but
I think I'll come back tonight.
1490
01:17:26,975 --> 01:17:29,844
I reckon it's a lot safer in the dark.
1491
01:17:35,884 --> 01:17:37,452
When I approach the nest at night,
1492
01:17:37,619 --> 01:17:40,922
I expect the bees to be at rest,
but they're not.
1493
01:17:41,089 --> 01:17:44,459
They are still aggressive
after my earlier visit.
1494
01:17:44,626 --> 01:17:49,063
As I approach, they approach me... on foot.
1495
01:17:49,231 --> 01:17:52,934
They climb my boots
and my legs. It's amazing.
1496
01:17:53,101 --> 01:17:54,302
Even though this is night,
1497
01:17:54,470 --> 01:17:58,372
they are still alert, still superaggressive.
1498
01:17:58,540 --> 01:18:01,876
They start stinging.
It's time to get out of here.
1499
01:18:02,044 --> 01:18:04,612
But there will be no escape
from the killer bees
1500
01:18:04,780 --> 01:18:06,147
tomorrow morning.
1501
01:18:13,154 --> 01:18:15,856
My journey to find the world's baddest bugs
1502
01:18:16,023 --> 01:18:19,426
ends here today in the Arizona desert.
1503
01:18:22,864 --> 01:18:24,798
I didn't sleep last night.
1504
01:18:24,966 --> 01:18:28,869
I kept thinking about
the crazy thing I've agreed to do.
1505
01:18:33,674 --> 01:18:35,909
Not too sure about this.
1506
01:18:37,578 --> 01:18:38,512
[Sighs]
1507
01:18:38,679 --> 01:18:41,481
And it's hot already. I hope
the bees like the warmth.
1508
01:18:41,649 --> 01:18:43,884
Um, in there, I think.
1509
01:18:44,051 --> 01:18:46,653
I really am nervous. Hmm.
1510
01:18:46,821 --> 01:18:49,623
You'd be, too, if you were about to
have thousands of killer bees
1511
01:18:49,791 --> 01:18:51,825
put on you without any protective clothing.
1512
01:18:53,127 --> 01:18:54,861
Going to have an exciting day.
1513
01:18:55,029 --> 01:18:58,098
Hmm, this must be my torturer,
entomologist Norm Gary.
1514
01:18:58,266 --> 01:19:00,434
- Are you well?
- Hi. Norm.
1515
01:19:00,601 --> 01:19:02,903
Yeah, we're going to have
some excitement here.
1516
01:19:04,272 --> 01:19:05,572
I have no idea
what's gonna happen.
1517
01:19:05,740 --> 01:19:06,807
So tell me, what do I do?
1518
01:19:06,974 --> 01:19:08,508
The first thing you do is not panic.
1519
01:19:08,676 --> 01:19:11,445
No matter what happens,
don't panic, because that's bad.
1520
01:19:11,612 --> 01:19:14,247
Okay, so, I reel- I - I - relax.
1521
01:19:14,415 --> 01:19:16,683
- You relax totally.
- As much as I can.
1522
01:19:16,851 --> 01:19:20,554
How can anyone relax with
50,000 bees on their face, eh?
1523
01:19:20,721 --> 01:19:21,688
Uh, how many?
1524
01:19:21,856 --> 01:19:24,858
Well, at least 50,000 bees are here today.
1525
01:19:25,026 --> 01:19:25,992
Okay.
1526
01:19:26,160 --> 01:19:27,427
We hope they're all in a good mood.
1527
01:19:27,595 --> 01:19:28,929
[Buzzing]
1528
01:19:29,096 --> 01:19:30,664
Going to sting a lot, so...
1529
01:19:30,832 --> 01:19:33,133
He puts repellent around my eyes.
1530
01:19:33,301 --> 01:19:34,935
My sleeves and cuffs are taped
1531
01:19:35,102 --> 01:19:37,771
to prevent bees getting into
my clothing and stinging me.
1532
01:19:39,507 --> 01:19:41,141
Norm Gary is a bee expert
1533
01:19:41,309 --> 01:19:43,410
and has worked a lot with killer bees,
1534
01:19:43,578 --> 01:19:45,612
but what we are planning is very risky.
1535
01:19:45,780 --> 01:19:47,247
[Buzzing]
1536
01:19:47,415 --> 01:19:50,150
- This is a-
- Hey - I mean, hang on.
1537
01:19:50,318 --> 01:19:51,785
Is this it?
1538
01:19:51,953 --> 01:19:53,286
That's it, Ruud.
1539
01:19:53,454 --> 01:19:55,989
It's not beautiful, but it's functional.
1540
01:19:56,157 --> 01:19:58,058
This is a small vial of liquid.
1541
01:19:58,226 --> 01:20:01,094
It's a pheromone complex,
actually - many pheromones -
1542
01:20:01,262 --> 01:20:02,929
bee pheromones
combined together.
1543
01:20:03,097 --> 01:20:05,765
So, you can already see,
the bees are showing interest in it,
1544
01:20:05,933 --> 01:20:07,000
even before I open the vial.
1545
01:20:07,168 --> 01:20:07,868
Yes.
1546
01:20:08,035 --> 01:20:10,403
So in order to attract the bees to you
1547
01:20:10,571 --> 01:20:11,838
and get them to cluster on you,
1548
01:20:12,006 --> 01:20:14,074
we're going to place
little droplets of this
1549
01:20:14,242 --> 01:20:15,842
wherever we want the bees to come.
1550
01:20:16,010 --> 01:20:18,445
Wow, they're really responding.
1551
01:20:18,613 --> 01:20:20,046
Just little droplets here and there.
1552
01:20:20,214 --> 01:20:21,949
The pheromone is the key
to what we are going to do.
1553
01:20:22,417 --> 01:20:24,485
It's the same chemical that a queen produces
1554
01:20:24,652 --> 01:20:29,456
when she flies from an overcrowded hive
to encourage workers to follow her.
1555
01:20:29,624 --> 01:20:33,227
That's why they will come to me,
and that's why I'm doing this -
1556
01:20:33,395 --> 01:20:35,929
to prove the power of the pheromone.
1557
01:20:36,097 --> 01:20:38,932
I trust that it will communicate
to these killer bees
1558
01:20:39,100 --> 01:20:41,068
that they should not attack me.
1559
01:20:41,236 --> 01:20:42,336
Just to be on the safe side,
1560
01:20:42,504 --> 01:20:44,838
I have a fistful of medications here,
1561
01:20:45,006 --> 01:20:46,573
most anything for any purpose.
1562
01:20:46,741 --> 01:20:49,543
And we'll take good care of you
if you get stung.
1563
01:20:49,711 --> 01:20:51,779
Okay, so that's if I go absolutely out.
1564
01:20:51,946 --> 01:20:52,980
All right, are we ready?
1565
01:20:53,148 --> 01:20:54,648
- I'm ready, mate.
- Very good.
1566
01:20:54,816 --> 01:20:56,417
[Bees buzzing]
1567
01:20:56,584 --> 01:20:57,684
Ready?
1568
01:20:57,852 --> 01:20:59,787
Ready? Ready?
1569
01:20:59,954 --> 01:21:01,555
What am I doing here?
1570
01:21:08,329 --> 01:21:10,464
Once a few bees are in position,
1571
01:21:10,632 --> 01:21:13,367
then they are quite attracted
to the other bees.
1572
01:21:13,535 --> 01:21:19,406
So this is gonna build up now,
and it's going to alarm you.
1573
01:21:19,574 --> 01:21:20,941
There's no question about it.
1574
01:21:21,109 --> 01:21:24,578
What's even more alarming
is what Norm says next.
1575
01:21:24,746 --> 01:21:28,549
This is the first time I've ever used
1576
01:21:28,716 --> 01:21:32,252
Africanized, so-called killer bees,
on a person.
1577
01:21:32,420 --> 01:21:35,222
As the bees go on, I start to panic.
1578
01:21:35,390 --> 01:21:37,758
500 stings will kill me,
1579
01:21:37,926 --> 01:21:40,727
and there must be close to
500 on me already.
1580
01:21:40,895 --> 01:21:44,865
But I must have confidence
in Norm and confidence in the bees.
1581
01:21:45,033 --> 01:21:47,201
I have to believe they only attack
1582
01:21:47,368 --> 01:21:49,703
if they have a queen or a hive to defend,
1583
01:21:49,871 --> 01:21:52,372
and today, I'm their queen.
1584
01:21:52,540 --> 01:21:54,942
If you get stung,
1585
01:21:55,110 --> 01:21:56,543
I want you to let me know right away.
1586
01:21:56,711 --> 01:21:57,544
I will.
1587
01:21:57,712 --> 01:21:59,046
If you can't say anything with your mouth
1588
01:21:59,214 --> 01:22:02,049
because you're covered,
just go, "Ugh," like that.
1589
01:22:02,217 --> 01:22:04,084
When I first did this, I was terrified.
1590
01:22:04,252 --> 01:22:06,086
A sting is what I'm most afraid of.
1591
01:22:06,254 --> 01:22:10,791
If one killer bee stings,
it will release a sting pheromone.
1592
01:22:10,959 --> 01:22:13,093
That's the signal for a mass attack.
1593
01:22:14,362 --> 01:22:16,663
It is bizarre. It is a weird sensation.
1594
01:22:16,831 --> 01:22:19,900
It is frightening as hell.
1595
01:22:20,068 --> 01:22:22,569
It is really frightening, because you feel
1596
01:22:22,737 --> 01:22:25,606
that they're all going for you,
which is what they do.
1597
01:22:26,741 --> 01:22:29,276
Which is what they do,
isn't it, Norm? They go for me.
1598
01:22:29,444 --> 01:22:33,013
They're going for you because
you smell like the queen bee.
1599
01:22:33,181 --> 01:22:34,848
- Hmm. [Ryuud chuckles]
- That's why. Yeah.
1600
01:22:35,016 --> 01:22:36,750
The biggest queen in town.
1601
01:22:36,918 --> 01:22:39,286
Oh, gosh!
1602
01:22:39,454 --> 01:22:41,455
It's hard to scoop the residual bees.
1603
01:22:41,623 --> 01:22:45,192
I'm going to fling them
in the air downwind from you,
1604
01:22:45,360 --> 01:22:46,727
and they will smell their way up
1605
01:22:46,895 --> 01:22:48,061
and come and join the other bees.
1606
01:22:48,229 --> 01:22:52,866
So, on the count of 3- 1... 2... 3.
1607
01:23:03,945 --> 01:23:05,579
How many more do you have?
1608
01:23:05,747 --> 01:23:08,749
Well, I would say,
maybe you have 30% of the -
1609
01:23:08,917 --> 01:23:09,716
Oh!
1610
01:23:09,884 --> 01:23:12,186
I can go ahead and
release the others quickly.
1611
01:23:12,353 --> 01:23:13,754
Can I put my arms down?
1612
01:23:13,922 --> 01:23:16,223
- Oh, yes, just keep them down.
- Okay.
1613
01:23:16,391 --> 01:23:18,792
As long as they're -
Sorry, I'm getting tense.
1614
01:23:18,960 --> 01:23:20,360
Just relax.
1615
01:23:20,528 --> 01:23:21,828
As Norm releases the bees,
1616
01:23:21,996 --> 01:23:24,398
they come flying onto me at great speed.
1617
01:23:24,566 --> 01:23:27,868
It's like riding a motorbike
through a swarm.
1618
01:23:28,836 --> 01:23:31,104
I'm getting really tired.
1619
01:23:31,272 --> 01:23:33,707
At this point, you should
start feeling a lot of weight.
1620
01:23:33,875 --> 01:23:35,108
Yes, I can feel weight.
1621
01:23:35,276 --> 01:23:40,013
The bees are heavy. About
3,000, 4,000 bees per pound.
1622
01:23:40,181 --> 01:23:42,683
And you have at least
a half pound on your hat alone.
1623
01:23:42,850 --> 01:23:43,884
Yeah.
1624
01:23:44,052 --> 01:23:46,286
I can hear them so close-up...
1625
01:23:46,454 --> 01:23:50,757
that they feel as if
they're living in my ears,
1626
01:23:50,925 --> 01:23:52,993
and it's, like, deafening.
1627
01:23:53,161 --> 01:23:55,963
I can - Honestly, I cannot
hear anything that you're saying.
1628
01:23:56,130 --> 01:23:57,231
You have to shout.
1629
01:23:57,398 --> 01:24:01,602
I have to learn to relax
and look up straight.
1630
01:24:01,769 --> 01:24:03,470
I can't see a thing.
1631
01:24:03,638 --> 01:24:06,440
The bees are shading my eyes.
1632
01:24:06,608 --> 01:24:09,810
Can you see that?
I can hardly see a thing now.
1633
01:24:09,978 --> 01:24:11,945
It's awful.
1634
01:24:12,113 --> 01:24:17,517
Under the weight of 50,000 bees,
I'm feeling totally isolated.
1635
01:24:17,685 --> 01:24:19,519
I'm starting to panic again.
1636
01:24:19,687 --> 01:24:22,256
I want this to end now.
1637
01:24:22,423 --> 01:24:23,290
Please.
1638
01:24:23,458 --> 01:24:25,125
Ruud, I thought you might like to see
1639
01:24:25,293 --> 01:24:27,160
how you appear in the mirror, so...
1640
01:24:27,328 --> 01:24:28,829
- Oh, no...
- Take a look.
1641
01:24:28,997 --> 01:24:30,464
Oh, you're joking.
1642
01:24:30,632 --> 01:24:32,299
Oh, no, look at this!
1643
01:24:32,467 --> 01:24:35,202
Ah, this is amazing.
1644
01:24:40,074 --> 01:24:42,009
Hmm.
1645
01:24:44,312 --> 01:24:48,782
This is what you call
ultimate trust in insects.
1646
01:24:48,950 --> 01:24:50,250
They're not out to kill us.
1647
01:24:50,418 --> 01:24:52,519
That's not what they're about.
1648
01:24:52,687 --> 01:24:55,022
They're about to defend their honey,
1649
01:24:55,189 --> 01:24:56,823
because we always steal it,
1650
01:24:56,991 --> 01:25:02,896
and I reckon this is the most
powerful way of finding that out.
1651
01:25:03,064 --> 01:25:04,631
[Buzzing continues]
1652
01:25:04,799 --> 01:25:07,501
Okay, Ruud, it's time to get these bees off.
1653
01:25:07,669 --> 01:25:08,769
[Puffing]
1654
01:25:12,740 --> 01:25:15,042
A little bit on your cheek here,
huh, to start with?
1655
01:25:15,209 --> 01:25:16,076
- Whoops.
- Ugh!
1656
01:25:16,244 --> 01:25:17,277
I'm sorry. My fault.
1657
01:25:17,445 --> 01:25:19,446
I'm stung! I'm stung!
1658
01:25:19,614 --> 01:25:21,248
Will they attack?
1659
01:25:27,755 --> 01:25:29,923
Thank God, they stay calm.
1660
01:25:30,091 --> 01:25:31,625
I can't believe it.
1661
01:25:31,793 --> 01:25:33,427
I've done it.
1662
01:25:33,594 --> 01:25:35,529
But don't you do any of the things
1663
01:25:35,697 --> 01:25:37,331
you've seen me do on this show.
1664
01:25:37,498 --> 01:25:41,368
You have to be an expert
to face up to the world's baddest bugs
1665
01:25:41,536 --> 01:25:44,838
an expert and a little bit crazy.
1666
01:25:45,006 --> 01:25:47,207
Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow,
ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!
1667
01:25:48,743 --> 01:25:50,911
You are essentially
free of bees, my good man.
1668
01:25:51,079 --> 01:25:52,079
Wow.
1669
01:25:52,246 --> 01:25:53,714
And you got two stings. Yeah.
1670
01:25:53,881 --> 01:25:55,382
Well, I'm sorry about that, but you know
1671
01:25:55,550 --> 01:25:57,184
it could have been 50,000...
1672
01:25:57,352 --> 01:25:59,986
- Yeah, I know...
- Under other circumstances.
1673
01:26:00,154 --> 01:26:01,788
I've never done anything
like this in my life,
1674
01:26:01,956 --> 01:26:06,626
and, um, I feel that
I put my trust in the bees
1675
01:26:06,794 --> 01:26:10,263
and what I know about them
and entered their world.
1676
01:26:10,431 --> 01:26:12,632
And I'll tell you
what you are constantly aware,
1677
01:26:12,800 --> 01:26:17,537
if you make one such thing
as a wrong move, you're history.
1678
01:26:17,705 --> 01:26:20,807
Oops. That's it. You got to play their game.
1679
01:26:21,909 --> 01:26:24,511
What a stunt to finish on.
1680
01:26:24,679 --> 01:26:26,747
But we've done it. Yeah, we've done it!
1681
01:26:26,914 --> 01:26:29,249
[Laughing]
1682
01:26:29,417 --> 01:26:30,650
Whoo-hoo!
1683
01:26:30,818 --> 01:26:32,753
[Screaming]
1684
01:26:34,589 --> 01:26:36,289
Does it taste bad?
1685
01:26:36,457 --> 01:26:39,760
Hoo!
1686
01:26:39,927 --> 01:26:42,396
[Screaming]
1687
01:26:43,698 --> 01:26:45,065
Ah, you did it!
1688
01:26:45,233 --> 01:26:46,299
Aye!
1689
01:26:46,467 --> 01:26:47,634
I call.
1690
01:26:47,802 --> 01:26:48,969
That's right, I did.
1691
01:26:49,137 --> 01:26:50,203
Whoa! Okay.
1692
01:26:50,371 --> 01:26:51,705
I'd like another one.
1693
01:26:51,873 --> 01:26:53,840
Ah! Ah, ah.
1694
01:26:55,777 --> 01:26:56,910
Yeah-ha!
1695
01:26:57,078 --> 01:26:58,678
Yeah!
127950
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