BSkyB - Micro Monsters with David Attenborough (2013) Part 3 Courtship

Micro Monsters with David Attenborough

Right beneath our feet is a secret world of disguise and espionage, social networking and courtship, rape and pillage, parenthood and relationships. The terrestrial arthropods – the bugs – are the most dominant animals on our planet. They outnumber us in their hundreds of billions and have survived for 500 million years. They have outlived every catastrophe Earth has thrown at them, seen the dinosaurs come and go and even witnessed our own arrival. They are so intrinsic to the natural world that without them we would struggle to exist. Sir David Attenborough will take you deep into the macroscopic world of bugs that deeply fascinates him. He will uncover their marvellous adaptability from the primitive evolutionary design of the millipede through to the graceful apex predators that exist today. We will descend into the watery depths to witness aquatic battles, explore intricate spider webs and get closer than ever before to the fangs and claws that create this fascinating world.

Part 3: Courtship

It’s sexy time with the arthropods! This week David Attenborough takes a look at the courtship rituals of the creatures beneath our feet. But lovebugs won’t want to take tips from these bugs. The male Chilean rose tarantula, for instance, weaves a silk mat; deposits sperm on it, then sucks that sperm into a finger-like appendage near his mouth before he looks for a mate. Then there’s the gruesome, but surprisingly effective, coupling of praying mantis. The cinematography is as amazing as ever, catching the mating battles of tramp ants and providing luminescent footage of the courtship dance of Tanzanian red claw scorpions.

The Guardian

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