Life in the Undergrowth
Life in the Undergrowth | |
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The Open University | |
Original release | |
Network | BBC One |
Release | 23 November 21 December 2005 | –
Related | |
Life in the Undergrowth is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the UK from 23 November 2005.
A study of the evolution and habits of invertebrates, it was the fifth of Attenborough's specialised surveys following his major trilogy that began with Life on Earth. Each of the five 50-minute episodes looks at a group (or aspect) of the creatures using innovative photographic techniques.
The series was produced in conjunction with Animal Planet. The executive producer was Mike Gunton, the series producer Mike Salisbury, and the music was composed by Ben Salisbury and David Poore. The Chief Scientific Consultant was Dr. George McGavin.[1]
Background
Invertebrates had been largely ignored by filmmakers in the past, due to the difficulties in filming them, but advances in
Production of the series took around two years, during which time filming took place around the world, from the Amazonian rainforest to Costa Rica, Australia, Malaysia, Hungary, Switzerland and many more locations, including the United Kingdom.
To follow and understand the various species looked at throughout the series, the production team consulted with some of the foremost experts on invertebrate life. In certain instances, their help proved invaluable, particularly when coming across particularly dangerous species or societies. In other instances, the specialists helped to provide some of their most recent discoveries, enabling the makers to showcase in rich detail the complex processes through which invertebrates may interact with their environment, as well as the regular processes of all animals in the wild, such as their mating rituals and hunt for food. Many of the creatures' interactions were not only filmed for the first time, but were also recorded with such extraordinary magnification that scientists who studied them were able to answer specific questions that observance with the naked eye had hitherto rendered impossible.
As always, time and money constraints played a huge part. The filming schedules had to be arranged to fit in with expected dates of major events that were planned to be included, such as the emergence of the North American cicadas or the mass emergence of mayfly in Hungary. As is usual in the preparation of a nature documentary, not everything went to plan, due to the unpredictable nature of the subject matter.
Although filming took place over several years, time constraints still meant that some scenes almost weren't filmed, and a few never materialised at all. For instance, the simultaneous mass emergence of the mayfly in Hungary did not occur until the deadline day for its filming, as David Attenborough had to be in Switzerland the very next day to film the mating of wood ants. Using expert advice, the team had come to film at the time of the annual emergence, but the problem of the unusually wet spring had delayed the event. Luckily, on the very last day conditions were perfect, and the mayfly emerged – apparently in one of the more impressive manifestations of recent times. Because of these kinds of occurrences being largely dependent on environmental factors such as temperature or moisture, it was nearly impossible to tell exactly when they would happen. Instead the producers had to rely on expert estimates, but even these could be completely unpredictable. So although the mayfly appearance was captured, others were missed, such as the advent of a type of moth in Arizona (despite the camera crew camping out in the area twice, two weeks at a time).
Sometimes subjects were so small that it would have been impossible to film them in the wild. Instead, the construction of a complete habitat in a studio allowed easy pursuit of their actions, allowing the camera to capture them throughout their day. This technique was used on the wolf spider, for example, which provided some 200 hours of film – notably including its courting ritual. Despite the arm span of the grown spider being no more than 1 cm, even the newborn arachnids are shown in tight close-up as they climb on to their mother's back.
Filming also involved entering rough environments. To film the giant centipede, a team had to endure a dark cave whose floor was covered with guano, beetles and cockroaches.
Episodes
"An eye from another world; a smell-detector, investigating the path ahead. We don't often see a snail that way, and that's because we've only recently had the tiny lenses and electronic cameras that we need to explore this miniature world. But when we meet its inhabitants face to face, we suddenly realise that their behaviour can be just as meaningful to us as the behaviour of many animals more our own size."
— David Attenborough's opening narration
No. | Title | Original air date | |
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1 | "Invasion of the Land" | 23 November 2005 | |
The first episode tells how invertebrates became the first creatures of any kind to colonise dry land. Their forerunners were shelled and segmented sea creatures that existed 400 million years ago. Some of them ventured out of the water to lay their eggs in safety, and Attenborough compares those first steps with today's mass spawning of leopard slugs and the meticulous nest maintenance of the harvestman. The arrival of earthworms was of great importance since they changed the nature of the soil, leading to a proliferation of plant life. Despite their aquatic ancestry, many invertebrates, particularly those with no exoskeleton, need a moist environment to keep themselves from drying out. Finally, a creature that has adapted to a desert habitat, the scorpion , is shown as it pursues its dangerous courting dance, followed by the birth of up to fifty individuals. | |||
2 | "Taking to the Air" | 30 November 2005 | |
The next programme deals with flying insects. It begins in Central Europe, where the helicopter damselfly, lives away from water (unlike all the others in its group) and is also the biggest. Several types of butterfly are shown, but all have common habits, and Attenborough describes their physiology. Together with moths, they possess the largest wings, and this surface area gives ample opportunity to display for partners or warn off predators. In cold weather, bumblebees must warm themselves to prepare for flight: they 'disable' their wings, enabling them to exercise their muscles without taking off. The vestigial rear wings of flies and crane flies are used for navigation, and arguably the most accomplished insect aviator is the hoverfly, which makes continuous adjustments while in the air to remain stationary. Beetles that are capable of flight have to keep their wings below covers, and a specimen of the largest, the titan beetle , is shown. Attenborough attempts to entice a male cicada, only to have it land on his ear (causing laughter from the camera team). | |||
3 | "The Silk Spinners" | 7 December 2005 | |
The third instalment examines the Nephila and can be several metres across. The venomous redback spins three-dimensionally, and fixes vertical lines that suspend its unlucky meals in mid-air. Meanwhile, a bolas spider swings a length of silk with a sticky blob on the end, with which to snare passing moths. Argiope exemplifies the dangers of mating that are faced by some male spiders: unless they are careful, they can be consumed by the females. The courtship of the wolf spider, though less risky, is one of the more elaborate. Its nesting habits are discussed, along with the eventual birth of its young, which cling to their mother's back. | |||
4 | "Intimate Relations" | 14 December 2005 | |
The penultimate episode focuses on the relationships between invertebrates and plants or other animals. It begins with Alcon blue butterflies manage to get their young inside the ants' nests by giving their young a scent exactly like that of the ant larvae; as a result the caterpillars are treated as if they were in fact ant larvae. However, this strategy is not flawless. Ichneumon wasps break into the ant colonies and release chemicals that make the ant guardians attack each other; the wasp then injects two of her eggs into the butterfly caterpillars. However, the ants seem to save at least one caterpillar as one of the pupae is later shown hatching into an adult Alcon blue butterfly. | |||
5 | "Supersocieties" | 21 December 2005 | |
The final programme looks at the mangrove swamp has to be continuously rearranged to escape the tides. Meanwhile, desert-dwelling harvester ants block up nearby nests in an effort to maximise their food pickings. A bivouac of army ants is explored: they prove to be one of those most regimented organisms, where the action of each individual is for the good of the million-strong colony. Attenborough investigates magnetic termites, whose slab-like mounds are all aligned to account for the movement of the Sun. Finally, a full-scale battle between termites and matabele ants is depicted in close-up.
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"If we and the rest of the backboned animals were to disappear overnight, the rest of the world would get on pretty well. But if [the invertebrates] were to disappear, the land's ecosystems would collapse. The soil would lose its fertility. Many of the plants would no longer be pollinated. Lots of animals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals would have nothing to eat. And our fields and pastures would be covered with dung and carrion. These small creatures are within a few inches of our feet, wherever we go on land – but often, they're disregarded. We would do very well to remember them."
— David Attenborough, in closing
DVD and book
The series is available in the UK for Regions 2 and 4 as a 2-disc DVD (BBCDVD1737, released 5 December 2005) and as part of The Life Collection. Its special features comprise an interview with the series producer, Mike Salisbury, and the original score.
The accompanying 320-page book, Life in the Undergrowth by David Attenborough (
Viewer's guide
In 2008, the BBC made available online a viewer's guide to Life in the Undergrowth, specially designed to help the viewer locate an exciting clip of a particular scientific or geographical lesson.
Topic | Subtopic | Species | Episode | Description |
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Adaptation | Feeding Strategies | Moth, hummingbird hawk moth | 2 - Taking to the Air | How different moths feed on tree sap and nectar, including the hummingbird hawk moth. |
Behaviour | Camouflage | Stick insect | 4 - Intimate Relations | Features a stick insect that, through camouflage, looks like a dried leaf. |
Behaviour | Social Groups | Bee, wasp | 5 - Super Societies | Colonial breeding and organisation of super societies in bees and wasps. |
Communication | Pheromones | Alcon butterfly | 4 - Intimate Relations | Alcon butterfly caterpillars using pheromones to disguise themselves as ant larvae to hide in ant nests. |
Competition | Animals | Harvester ant, Long legged ant | 5 - Super Societies | Competition for seeds between harvester ants and long legged ants. |
Cooperation | Cooperation | Army ant | 5 - Super Societies | Features a million or more army ants cooperating in hunting and nesting. |
Decomposers | Decomposers | Earthworm, giant Gippsland earthworm | 1 - Invasion of the Land | Features the earthworm and its importance for the soil, and six feet long giant gippsland earthworm. |
Evolution | Invertebrates | 1 - Invasion of the Land | Evolution of land invertebrates, how they have adapted to survive out of water, and their relationship with green plants. | |
Habitats | Deserts | Scorpion | 1 - Invasion of the Land | Features a typical desert landscape and explains how scorpions are able to survive in this dry, hostile environment. |
Habitats | Ponds | Diving beetle, fairy wasp, water flea | 4 - Intimate Relations | Features a variety of pond creatures including diving beetles, fairy wasps and water fleas. |
Habitats | Gardens | Aphid, ant, ladybird |
4 - Intimate Relations | Features the friend and foe relationships between gardeners, aphids, ants and ladybirds. |
Locomotion | Flight | Dragonfly | 2 - Taking to the Air | Explains the mechanics of how dragonflies fly, showing their amazing speed and manoeuvrability. |
Locomotion | Flight | Bumblebee, fly | 2 - Taking to the Air | Wing design and flight mechanics of bumblebees and flies. Immaculate aerial control makes a male more attractive to females in hover flies. |
Parasites | Parasites | Wasp, cabbage white butterfly | 2 - Taking to the Air | Wasp parasitising cabbage white butterfly caterpillars. |
Parasites | Parasites | Blister beetle, digger bee | 4 - Intimate Relations | Deception by blister beetle larvae in order to parasitise digger bee nests. |
Parasites | Parasites | Bot fly | 4 - Intimate Relations | Bot fly life cycle which includes parasitising house flies and cows. |
Predation | Invertebrates | Velvet worm, giant centipede | 1 - Invasion of the Land | Features some of the most vicious invertebrate hunters: the velvet worm catching its prey by shooting strings of glue and the giant centipede hunting bats in caves. |
Predation | Invertebrates | Glowworm, mayfly | 3 - The Silk Spinners | Dramatic spectacle of glowworms catching mayflies in a New Zealand cave. |
Predation | Invertebrates | Bolas spider | 3 - The Silk Spinners | Bolas spider using droplet pheromone as bait to lure moths. |
Predation | Invertebrates | White crab spider, assassin bug | 4 - Intimate Relations | Features white crab spiders and assassin bugs using pheromones to lure their prey into their claws. |
Reproduction | Courtship | Spring tail | 1 - Invasion of the Land | The headbutting courtship dance of tiny spring tails. |
Reproduction | Courtship | Mojave sand scorpion | 1 - Invasion of the Land | The Mojave sand scorpion's dangerous courtship ritual. |
Reproduction | Hermaphrodites | Leopard slug | 1 - Invasion of the Land | Features the unusual mating behaviour of leopard slugs which have both male and female organs. |
Reproduction | Parental Care | Paper wasp | 5 - Super Societies | Shows how paper wasps build colonial nests and share parental duties which enables them to raise more young. |
Reproduction | Invertebrates | Wolf spider | 3 - The Silk Spinners | Courtship, mating, egg laying and parental care in wolf spiders. |
Reproduction | Invertebrates | Cabbage white butterfly | 2 - Taking to the Air | Life cycle of the cabbage white butterfly. |
Reproduction | Invertebrates | Paper wasp, bumblebee | 5 - Super Societies | Colonial breeding strategies of paper wasps and bumblebees. |
Shelters | Shelters | Termite | 5 - Super Societies | Features termites constructing a gigantic mound which is equipped with protective features. |
Symbiosis | Plants and insects | Duroia tree | 4 - Intimate Relations | How ants depend on the Duroia tree for a nesting site, and in return protect the tree from plant predators and competing plants. |
Symbiosis | Plants and insects | Ant, aphid | 4 - Intimate Relations | How ants protect aphids from predation by ladybirds, and in return get a meal of sugary nectar. |
Children's favourites | Mini beasts | 1 - Invasion of the Land | Features a montage of mini beasts at very close quarters. | |
Children's favourites | Mini beasts | Snail | 1 - Invasion of the Land | Features a snail thriving in dark, damp conditions. |
Children's favourites | Mini beasts | Spider | 3 - The Silk Spinners | Features a spider skilfully constructing its web. |
Learning to learn | Teamwork | Bee | 5 - Super Societies | Features bees working together to help make their colonies a success. |
Learning to learn | Teamwork | Army ant | 5 - Super Societies | Features a million or more army ants working together to establish a new nesting site. |
See also
- Microcosmos (nature documentary with similar subject matter)
References
- ^ "Dr George McGavin". Jo Wander Management. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
External links
- Life in the Undergrowth at BBC Online
- Life in the Undergrowth at BBC Online
- Life in the Undergrowth on the Eden website
- Life in the Undergrowth at IMDb
- Fly on the Wall at the Open University's Open2.net site