Cockroaches, spiders, and dung beetles around the world can face great challenges. anthill– They fight while navigating the big world. Because of their small size, they are easily crushed and have many natural enemies. Humans also generally view these creatures as: low charisma More than a big, hairy creature.our evolutionary bias We worry about our safety around insects. As a result, these creatures are often sadly left out of conservation efforts.
[Related: Why small, scary, and ‘non-charismatic’ lost species are harder to rediscover.]
“One of the reasons we find them uncharismatic is because they are relatively far from us on the evolutionary tree,” entomologist Tim Cockerill To tell pop science. “Our instinct is to think that insects, and insects in general, are very different from us. But it’s the other way around. We’re an oddity in terms of the diversity of animals on Earth.”
Even all the species of birds, amphibians, fish, reptiles, and mammals combined fall short of the more than 1 million known insect species that live on Earth.
To photograph insects, you must know about insects.
new documentary series real insect life on Disney+ aims to change that perspective by showcasing the world’s insects and arachnids in a wonderful new light. National Geographic’s new five-part series, narrated by actor Awkwafina, draws inspiration from the world of the 1998 Disney and Pixar animated children’s film. bug’s life And it shows you the high-stakes real world of Earth’s smallest animals and what they need to survive. The series takes viewers to New York City, the jungles of Costa Rica, the backyards of suburban Texas, the African savannah, and British farms to discover how familiar and more unique insects live, eat, and move around. Observe.
The series was shot in 4K HDR, and a new generation of probe lenses allowed the filmmakers to truly see through a bug’s eye. But all the technology in the world relies on a deep knowledge of bugs. That’s where Bug Wrangler comes into play.
“Whenever an animal interacts with a TV, we need to set up a situation that allows us to show the animal at its best. To do that, we need to know these things very well.” said Cockerill, who served as a staff member and scientific consultant.
Cockerill has spent more than 20 years studying insects, and uses his fundamentals of animal behavior to create films such as a fire ant building an ant bridge in a backyard pool or a dung beetle climbing out of a dung pile. It is useful for the producers to take pictures.
“What helped me most was that I still felt like a 7-year-old kid looking at insects in the bushes in the backyard. As the temperature warmed up, I realized that was when they started to germinate. Start,” Cockerill says. “On the contrary, we find that early in the morning they are calm and still, allowing us to take close-up portraits.”
“The weakling of the insect world”
One of the most difficult creatures to photograph in the series was the ubiquitous cockroaches of New York City. It’s estimated that there are 120 cockroaches per person in the Big Apple, but they’re lightning fast and difficult to catch even for the most experienced bug catchers.
“Cockroaches are the underdogs of the insect world. I have an inordinate fondness for them,” Cockerill laughed. “It’s always a bit of a challenge to spend days facing cockroaches and trying to get them to behave as they should in front of a camera.”
[Related: Scientists strapped tiny cameras to beetles to get a bug’s-eye view of the world.]
Cockerill points to a “hidden superpower” that makes them part of the animal kingdom’s ultimate survivors.may be surprising There are 4,600 species of cockroaches in the world and scientists They are estimated to be at least 200 million years old.They can survive and thrive in dirty and dingy environments, and their bodies Can survive for up to a week without a head. Cockroaches breathe through small holes in their body segments and have an open circulatory system. This means you don’t have to breathe with your head. If they don’t have a way to drink water, they will eventually die from dehydration. It can fit into gaps as small as one-tenth of an inch wide.
“It’s like when you squeeze a Coke can and squeeze it, it pops out when you let go. Cockroaches have evolved that ability. They can slip through very small cracks, so they can squeeze through cracks. It’s like pouring liquid,” Cockerill explains.
Accurately record the drama
A fascinating nature documentary There is a risk of anthropomorphism, or apply human traits and attributes to animals. In this series, Cockerill and his team don’t give the insects names, but instead teach them how they go about their lives, such as outrunning a hungry praying mantis, finding food, and avoiding being crushed by shoes. He tackled this issue by showing a very real conflict.
“All the drama that happens in our lives, the things that drive us, are also happening in the lives of all these little animals,” Cockerill says. “So when we make films that follow individual characters, it’s always a way for humans to enter into the lives that are actually happening right in front of our eyes.”
real insect life It will premiere on Disney+ on January 24th.
