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in the shadows of our planet there's an
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extraordinary world where insects
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outnumber humans 200 million to one by
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far the biggest animal family on earth
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they rule the skies the watery
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underworld command the rotting forest
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floor
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they're bizarrely adapted
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from horrifying mouth paths strength in
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numbers
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and killer camouflage to a giant
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predator that rules them all for the
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size and strength to prey on bats this
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is the world of incredible insects
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end of winter Japan a giant Hornet queen
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awakes from a six-month slumber at 5
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centimeters long she's the largest wasp
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on earth
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[Music]
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she has only one goal to raise an army
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[Music]
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she constructs a nest from wood pulp and
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spit to lay the eggs of her prized
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warriors everyone a female
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her daughters are born armed and
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dangerous a stinger over six millimeters
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long jaws strong enough to dismember
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prey
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and wings design for precision flying
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[Music]
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soon the hive is over 600 strong
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[Music]
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the larvae scraped their mandibles along
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the cell walls to signal their hunger it
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is time for the Hornets to hunt their
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favorite prey honeybees Scouts are
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dispatched
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[Music]
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one reaches a beehive and marks it with
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pheromones which guide the troops
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they're after the larvae and honey
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but first they must destroy the Beast
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[Music]
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a single Hornet can execute 40 honeybees
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in immunity
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they rip the grubs from the comb
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[Music]
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but the bees rally they have evolved
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their own way of dealing with unwelcome
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wasps first they mob the intruder
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by vibrating their flight muscles the
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honeybees raise the collective
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temperature to over 40 degrees Celsius
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the bees are more heat tolerant an
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intruder is literally cooked alive
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[Music]
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yet despite the bees best efforts there
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are no match for a hornet swarm
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[Music]
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[Music]
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within three hours the massacre is over
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and nearly 30,000 bees are dead
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the Hornets return to their nest with
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enough food to feed the entire colony
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not least the growing grubs Hornets have
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mastered the military attack but other
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bugs have adapted in different ways to
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find food even if it means getting wet
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this is the diving beetle although it
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can fly the prefers to swim its flats
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round body helps it glide through the
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water like a torpedo and a hardy
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exoskeleton protects it when it's on the
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hunt its back legs are covered in fine
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hairs and adds like pores which propel
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it forward but most impressive
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is its ability to breathe underwater the
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diving beetle shoves the tip of his
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abdomen out of the surface and pulls air
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into the cavity below its wings this air
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bubble will act like a homemade scuba
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tank from which it can breathe
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[Music]
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once the oxygen supply is used up the
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leftover gases are released and the
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Beetle returns to the surface for a
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refill
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but why go through all this trouble the
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answer is simple food down here there's
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an all-you-can-eat buffet with little
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competition
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and the diving beetles favorite prey are
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juicy tadpoles
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you can't see while it's all so the
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people simply grabs at anything that
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moves
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[Music]
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it slices up its meal with a scissor
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like mouth and starts to devour the
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tadpole alive the diving beetle is not
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the only one to exploit these waters
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while it may rule the aquatic underworld
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another bug has evolved to patrol the
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surface
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this is the miraculous water Strider
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like a figure skater the water Strider
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has mastered the art of walking on water
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the tips of its legs are shaped like
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oars and while the middle legs paddle
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the hind legs stare at Vilnius
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centimeter long the water Strider can
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move and over 1 meter per second that's
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like an ice skater skating the length of
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3 ice rinks in one second technically
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water Striders should sink as they're
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denser than water their long legs do
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help to distribute their body weight but
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the true secret to this miracle is
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hidden at a microscopic level
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thousands of micro hairs cover its body
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and legs and each hair is coated in a
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waterproof wax these hairs trap air
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which forms a bubble cushion against the
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surface of the water as each leg pushes
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down the air bubble pushes back allowing
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the water Strider to walk on water such
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miraculous legs require the utmost care
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so grooming keeps it's waterproof hairs
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in check
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but amid its small size and delicate
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touch fool you the water Strider is an
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accomplished predator with its front
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legs it picks up the vibrations of a
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struggling insect
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but others also prey on drowning victims
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it'll have to leave this one to the fish
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competition is stiff but there's enough
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to go around
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with special claws he holds his prey in
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position and injects a cocktail of
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enzymes that liquefy the moths gut
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before slapping up the nutritious meal
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the water Strider Wade's too sure to
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prepare for its next attack a dangerous
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place for some a nursery for others this
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bizarre-looking creature is actually a
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dragonfly in the making it's known as a
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nymph and is specially adapted to live
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underwater with gills in its rectum and
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an on-board jet propulsion system
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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some species will live as nymphs for up
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to five years molting 15 times as they
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grow to grow into an adult this nymph
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must eat as much as he can
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it's a terrifying hunter behind this
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hinge lies a shocking surprise
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[Music]
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[Music]
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it's hard to believe that something so
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adapted eventually takes to the air but
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not all insect larvae live in water one
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lives in one of the driest places on
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earth the 40 degree African savannah is
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the hunting ground for a lightning-fast
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predator
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the antlion looks like a creature more
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at home in a Star Wars film and it's
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perfectly adapted to rule this sandy
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inferno
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tiny hairs propel it through the sand
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while a waxy exoskeleton slows
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dehydration the antlion doesn't need to
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drink water it gets all its liquids from
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its prey it's the larvae of a flying
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insect
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[Music]
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but it still has to develop wings eyes
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and an anus and to grow into a
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full-fledged adult the aunt line must
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eat
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[Music]
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but first it sets a hunting trap
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[Music]
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using its abdomen it shovels through the
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sand in search of the perfect spot for
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an ambush
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[Music]
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the antlion gradually bores into the
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earth making the pet deeper and deeper
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[Music]
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the steep sides are loose and unstable
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[Music]
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[Music]
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Sun showers knock its victim off-balance
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it's sickle-shaped jaws slam shut and
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inject paralyzing venom to finally
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subdue its prey the jaws act like a
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straw through which the antlion feeds
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once the carcass is sucked dry the empty
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vessel is discarded and the antlion
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resets its trap ready for the next
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victim
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while the antlions clever trap
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provides it with prey it also offers
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protection from predators
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staying out of harm's way as an
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important driver in the evolution of
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insects and the defense's and naturally
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the most effective way of staying out of
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danger is not to be detected at all
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somewhere on this tree is the longest
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insect on the planet the giant stick
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insect can grow to over 25 centimetres
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long and to avoid being eaten this
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dithering vegetarian has evolved an
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array of elaborate defenses her most
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powerful is camouflage
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sucker pods are the tips of her feet
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allow her to hang around and even abide
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down almost lifeless her exoskeleton
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bears a striking resemblance to bark
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while her joints look like knots along a
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branch even her eyes are hard to find
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the stick insect not only looks like a
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twig she acts like one too swaying in
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the wind she consumes the entire leaf
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leaving no half-chewed bit behind that
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might give away her position the stick
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insect takes camouflage so seriously
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that even her faeces looks like a stick
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but when her clever camouflage doesn't
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quite cut it
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she has another trick up her sleeve
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wings this sudden flash of colors
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designed to startle predators but the
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snake isn't the turn so the stick insect
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tries one more defense insect teargas it
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works
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the stick insect goes to extreme lengths
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to cling to life and so does this bug
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she's stocking up her lada with bodies
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this is the thread wasted was her large
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eyes provide excellent color vision and
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allow her to spot prey from afar
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[Music]
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for precision flying she hooks her wings
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together like velcro and targets a
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praying from the air the wasp injects
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venom into the caterpillar keeping it
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alive but completely paralyzed this
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preserved meal is not for her she drags
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the dead weight dinner back to her
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underground nest where her eggs
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incubating glued on to previously
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incapacitated prey
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this wasp can carry caterpillars that
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weigh up to 10 times her own weight
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her forelegs are like brakes and
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covering the entrance to a maze with
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strong jaws she pulls the plug and a
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caterpillar is dragged into the darkness
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[Music]
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completely paralyzed
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it will stay alive and fresh in this
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tomb for weeks and when the baby was
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born the caterpillar will be eaten alive
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she covers her tracks only she will know
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where to find it again
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while this was Berry's her victims
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underground others go one step further
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to ensure a fresh meal for their
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offspring this parasitoid wasps injects
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her eggs straight into the caterpillar
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she lays up to a hundred eggs in one
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shot
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deep into the caterpillars body
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[Music]
00:21:25
the soft insides of the caterpillar
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incubate the eggs and once they hatch
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the larvae would eat their way out
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the growing wasp La Vie control the
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caterpillars nervous system and appetite
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forcing it to consume one and a half
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times more food than it normally would
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until it's time to leave the host
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[Music]
00:22:00
they eat their way free and complete
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their transition into adulthood
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but sadly the mutilated caterpillar will
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never get to complete its own
00:22:13
metamorphosis the praying mantis is an
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expert husband
00:22:27
[Music]
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it combines incredible speed with a set
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of deadly weapons its front legs are
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spring-loaded and lined with hooks and
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spikes used to impale its prey but the
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secret of the marksman's hunting success
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lies not only in its deadly forearms but
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also in its incredibly sharp senses to
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thin an 10 I pick up even the faintest
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scent of prey its triangular head can
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turn almost full circle giving it a
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super-sized field of view while five
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eyes allow it to detect movement up to
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18 metres away it's two larger eyes made
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up of 10,000 light-sensitive structures
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essentially each one a tiny eye with its
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own lens
00:23:40
each tiny lens focuses light down to the
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optic nerve with a full Super HD
00:23:47
panoramic picture is created these alien
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like eyes don't have pupils the black
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spots are an optical illusion
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the Mantid isn't just looking at you it
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sees everything
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it's weapons are loaded and it senses a
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sharp it's time to hunt
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[Music]
00:24:26
[Music]
00:24:36
[Applause]
00:24:42
with incredible strength the praying
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mounted tears its prey apart
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[Music]
00:25:04
[Applause]
00:25:07
after consuming every last bit he cleans
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up before heading off to find dessert
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the praying mantis is not the only
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killer patrolling the forest floor while
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it may look funny and the assassin Barna
00:25:36
is more horror story than comedy the bug
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has the ability to literally liquefy its
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prey it's red color is not just for show
00:25:53
it's a warning to other predators with
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antennae as long as its body it seeks
00:26:03
out its next meal and it's needle-like
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beak can inflict a painful sting
00:26:39
once a tasty meal is being targeted
00:26:44
[Music]
00:26:47
the assassin bug grabs hold tiny hairs
00:26:51
on its legs offer a vice-like grip once
00:26:55
it finds a soft spot the proboscis goes
00:26:59
to work within seconds the prey is
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paralyzed and its insides begin to
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dissolve the robust kiss kisses the
00:27:14
victims gut injecting a lethal cocktail
00:27:17
of enzymes and digestive juices this
00:27:21
venomous saliva destroys everything in
00:27:24
its path
00:27:25
turning the cells into soup once the
00:27:29
liquid meal is ready the assassin bugs
00:27:32
slaps it all up back through its deadly
00:27:35
straw most bugs that feed this way have
00:27:40
two separate tubes one for injecting and
00:27:43
one for sucking with the assassin bugs
00:27:47
big acts as both syringe and siphon
00:27:50
which allows it to target large prey
00:27:52
twice its own size Africa is home to
00:28:02
many deadly animals
00:28:04
both large and small this river of jaws
00:28:10
is made up of over 50 million ants
00:28:15
the largest ant colony in the world
00:28:20
these are driver ants from the hunters
00:28:25
and gatherers to the builders and
00:28:27
architects every single ant has its
00:28:29
place in this super organized super
00:28:32
organism for the largest and scariest of
00:28:36
them all are the soldiers standing over
00:28:40
three centimetres tall they guard the
00:28:42
colony with their life and their
00:28:45
enormous jaws these powerful pincers can
00:28:50
intimidate crush and tear apart anything
00:28:53
that threatens the colony its jaws are
00:28:57
so strong that they will maintain a
00:28:59
vice-like grip even if its body is
00:29:02
removed from its head local tribesmen
00:29:06
even use the ants decapitated heads as
00:29:08
surgical staples to close up open wounds
00:29:13
to survive out here the colony works
00:29:17
together as one
00:29:20
they use their own bodies to build
00:29:22
incredible structures columns to form
00:29:26
the foundation for their nests living
00:29:29
walls to protect their Queen and even
00:29:34
bridges up to 12 meters long to cross
00:29:37
water and they do all of this in the
00:29:42
dark
00:29:44
they're all blind they communicate with
00:29:50
pheromones picked up with their
00:29:53
super-sensitive antenna and the message
00:29:57
is clear it's time to feed
00:30:03
in just 24 hours this black wave strips
00:30:07
the life from an area as big as a
00:30:09
football fields
00:30:10
[Music]
00:30:14
up to 100,000 victims in one day
00:30:20
but not only the small fall prey to this
00:30:23
deadly swarm
00:30:27
drive ants will overpower birds and even
00:30:31
weak mammals
00:30:35
their victims are dismembered
00:30:38
transported and consumed by the masses
00:30:43
[Music]
00:30:49
they leave nothing behind
00:30:52
once they've eaten everything in the
00:30:54
area it's time to move on and find new
00:30:57
feeding grounds southern Africa may be
00:31:02
home to some of the deadliest bugs
00:31:04
around but it's in the tropics that we
00:31:08
find the true Giants an abundance of
00:31:12
food and clever ways of avoiding
00:31:14
predators have allowed a handful of bugs
00:31:17
to reach incredible size even though
00:31:20
everyone starts off small in this
00:31:25
indonesian jungle a miracle is about to
00:31:29
unfold right before your very eyes
00:31:33
this tiny egg no bigger than a grain of
00:31:36
rice will give rise to one of the
00:31:38
largest insects on the planet
00:31:41
the Atlas moth but in order for him to
00:31:46
reach gigantic proportions he needs to
00:31:49
eat and for the first six weeks of his
00:31:53
life
00:31:54
that is all he does it's not long before
00:31:59
he's too big for his own skin his soft
00:32:03
inside bulge and his old body suit pops
00:32:07
open to allow the caterpillar to burrow
00:32:10
his large fleshy spikes coated in an
00:32:14
itchy powder help deter any hungry
00:32:16
onlookers he will shed his skin four
00:32:21
times as he grows fatter and fatter
00:32:24
and nothing goes to waste
00:32:30
this glutton continues to binge eat
00:32:33
until he's the size of a pork sausage
00:32:36
and then it's time for his makeover
00:32:42
the caterpillar starts to construct his
00:32:45
own silk changing room it's behind this
00:32:50
silky curtain that the magic happens
00:32:58
while his outer skin hardens into a
00:33:01
protective shell the caterpillars
00:33:04
insides liquefy as his new body parts
00:33:07
develop
00:33:12
it's a full-body makeover one month
00:33:20
later it's time for the big reveal
00:33:25
[Music]
00:33:39
[Music]
00:33:43
he pumps air and blood into his wings to
00:33:47
expand and hardener
00:33:53
the wingspan extends to 30 centimeters
00:33:57
[Music]
00:34:01
it truly is a mammoth moth
00:34:04
[Music]
00:34:12
the ugly duckling is now a mosaic of
00:34:15
color and it's not just for show
00:34:23
the tips of the muff swings resemble the
00:34:26
face of a cobra when threatened by
00:34:31
predators
00:34:31
the Atlas moth will imitate this deadly
00:34:35
snake by moving his wings back and forth
00:34:39
despite this elaborate and miraculous
00:34:42
transformation the adult Atlas moth has
00:34:45
little over a week to live with no mouth
00:34:50
he is unable to feed so all his energy
00:34:53
goes into finding a mate even the
00:35:07
biggest of insects will have to
00:35:09
contribute to the circle of life
00:35:12
and with little strength left our
00:35:14
mammoth moth can't escape the dangers of
00:35:17
the jungle floor
00:35:19
[Music]
00:35:24
his time is up and he becomes an
00:35:27
integral part of the food chain the
00:35:41
tropical rainforests of Central America
00:35:44
provides the perfect cover for our next
00:35:47
giant amongst the decay of leaves and
00:35:52
the remains of fallen trees
00:35:54
it's the grub of a Hercules beetle this
00:35:59
monstrous larva already weighs as much
00:36:02
as an apple and he's bulking up his lift
00:36:13
underground for over a year
00:36:15
gorging himself on rotting wood getting
00:36:18
bigger and bigger tiny hairs all over
00:36:23
his body
00:36:24
help him his bulb through the wet
00:36:27
soil always searching for more food
00:36:33
one sees the size of a bread roll he
00:36:36
disappears underground to begin an
00:36:38
incredible transformation three weeks
00:36:44
later the bulging grub has transformed
00:36:47
into an impressive beetle its new limbs
00:36:52
are hooked with claws it's once soft
00:36:57
flesh is now coated in indestructible
00:37:00
armor
00:37:03
complete with a gigantic horn
00:37:09
this is the Hercules beetle
00:37:14
he's now almost 18 centimeters in length
00:37:17
and he's able to carry up to 850 times
00:37:21
his own weight
00:37:26
that's the equivalent of a human lifting
00:37:29
nine elephants yet this giant is a
00:37:36
strict vegetarian
00:37:41
this rotting fruit is a delicacy but
00:37:48
another male also has a sweet tooth
00:37:57
[Music]
00:37:59
they're gigantic horns only have one
00:38:02
purpose to fight each other
00:38:06
[Music]
00:38:08
and this feast is worth defending
00:38:14
[Music]
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the winner will be the first one to flip
00:38:21
his opponent
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[Music]
00:38:30
[Music]
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the Challenger doesn't stand a chance
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against our hurricanes
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[Music]
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victorious a heavyweight champion
00:38:49
returns to his feast but the intruder
00:38:53
will have to try his luck elsewhere this
00:38:58
giant vegetarian may have size and
00:39:00
strength on its side but our next
00:39:02
monster bug adds deadly venom to feast
00:39:05
on something totally unexpected the dark
00:39:10
Amazon jungle is home to one of the
00:39:14
world's scariest bugs
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this is a centipede an undulating wave
00:39:24
of point seek Lord legs revealed this is
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not an insect this species is
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carnivorous and venomous but its sheer
00:39:34
size is what sets it apart its last pair
00:39:46
of extra-long legs act like spikey
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pincers to grab anything that approaches
00:39:52
from behind
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[Music]
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but it's the front pair of modified legs
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that are lethal to enormous hypodermic
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fangs filled with paralyzing venom
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for the centipede is dwarfed by a bigger
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brother
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this is the giant centipede
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[Music]
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it can grow to the length of your
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forearm which allows this heavyweight to
00:40:33
capture prey twice its own size even if
00:40:38
it flies when night falls in the Amazon
00:40:42
jungle things quickly go from tropical
00:40:45
to terrifying the giant centipede
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prepares to hunt
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[Music]
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he's not interested in the beetles and
00:41:08
cockroaches on the cave floor
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there's a much larger meal on offer
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it's pitch black but the centipede is
00:41:22
used to hunting in the top
00:41:33
it's blind as a bat and uses its feelers
00:41:36
to pick up the scent and movement of
00:41:38
potential prey
00:41:51
the bats sense danger and take flight
00:41:59
but the giant centipede is waiting
00:42:08
he snags one out of midair with the
00:42:17
strength of a small snake he wraps up
00:42:20
his prey his fangs sink in quickly
00:42:27
paralyzing the bat the giant centipede
00:42:31
shears off pieces of meat and devours
00:42:34
the bat alive it eats all the bats flesh
00:42:40
doubling its own weight and process
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[Music]
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over 400 million years of evolution have
00:42:57
turned the giant centipede into a
00:42:59
specialist cliff-hanging hunter and
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there's no telling what prey it'll go
00:43:06
after next the world without insects is
00:43:12
unimaginable they are an essential link
00:43:15
in the food chain without which the web
00:43:19
of life would collapse
00:43:22
our collection of insects has many weird
00:43:25
and wonderful abilities from liquefying
00:43:27
spit and strength in numbers to expert
00:43:31
weapons and full body makeovers
00:43:36
some specialist hunters while others are
00:43:39
attentive parents they're masters of
00:43:42
camouflage and they are downright
00:43:45
magnificent
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the diversity of nature is alive and
00:43:51
well in the incredible world of insects
00:43:56
[Music]
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you
