BBC - Alien Empire (1995) Part 5 Metropolis

Alien Empire puts you into the bizarre world of insects for an unforgetable encounter with the alien life that surrounds you. Where science fiction meets science fact. This is a radical adventure that will turn your world inside out. Stunning macrophotography and stateoftheart, multisensory digital effects propel you into a world of unimaginable power, intelligence, beauty and horror.

This six-part miniseries employs groundbreaking video techniques to illustrate the bizarre universe of the 30 million species of insects with which human beings uneasily share the planet – and without which the human race could not survive. Combining cutting-edge computer animation with live-action footage and powerful magnifying cameras, Alien Empire offers a startling “insect's eye-view” of their own extremely complex existence

Insects are everywhere and in vast numbers too. There are at least a million species, ranging from microscopic beetles and wasps to beetles which are larger and heavier than the smaller mammals. They inhabit desert and arctic tundra, land and sea; they are even in our homes and on our bodies. Unsung toilers on our behalf, they perform most of the major ecological tasks upon which we and all other species depend. Many animals, birds and people rely on them for food, while all of our fruits and many of our vegetables are entirely dependent on them for pollination. We need to know more about these extraordinarily beautiful and complex creatures to understand their vital role in maintaining our planet's life support systems so that we are better placed to conserve them and, ultimately, our own living space.

Alien Empire open the doors into a world that we have never seen. We discover the design miracle of insects' bodies - external skeletons that can be adapted for any use; their sophisticated communication systems - on-board sensors which gather visual, auditory and scent data, with transmitters for emitting sound and light signals; how they function in co-operating groups; their fast and furious reproduction systems, and much much more about their strange structures and lives. As this series shows, in their looks and behaviour, insects are as close to an alien life form as any we are likely to find in the stars.

Incredible photography, graphics and time-lapse techniques investigate how these agile creatures become airborne, seemingly defying the conventional laws of flight. From the beautiful blues, greens and reds of jewel beetles to close-up footage of a moon moth emerging from its cocoon, this WNET/BBC co-production provides a fascinating insight into the sophisticated miniature world of insects and takes the viewer on a spellbinding journey into another world.

Part 5: Metropolis

Exploring the great insect societies, Hymenoptera and Isoptera, “Metropolis” looks at the habitats and social relationships of insects. Communal insects such as termites, bees and ants rely on extraordinary means of communication to survive and assert their strength in numbers to defeat larger, stronger insects. These prehistoric life forms have endured, adapted, and multiplied individually or in complex “cities.” Intricate colonies dominate the landscape and their ability to organize, to enslave, and to wreak total devastation are but a part of this Orwellian cosmos.