BiOLOGY (5th Video) Planet of Life (The Insect World)

planet Earth 300 million years ago a world of lush green forests sanctuary for creatures gaining a foothold on land but within this ancient habitat colony of insects already armed with life insects were the first airborne creatures in their early days giant dragonflies with wingspans of nearly three feet dominated the skies insects of myriad designs were evolving Stano dick gel looks a lot like the present-day dragonfly for the phasma bears an uncanny resemblance to today's cockroaches but strikingly different anatomies our empathy and ancestors were also making their way onto land over the ages and fibia pnes would give birth to dinosaurs mammals and a host of other animals but in sex more than any other creature would succeed at populating the face of planet Earth 150 million years ago Earth's land vertebrates had made remarkable progress Barriss horas a giant that ruled jurassic forests throughout most of the dinosaur era this animal was as tall as a five-story building and stretched more than 80 feet from end men in the years following their arrival on land dinosaurs diversified ultimately penetrating every ecosystem across the globe at the height of their hundred million year reign on earth dinosaurs were a model of evolutionary success this dragonfly fossil from the dinosaur era is only a fraction the size of its ancestors faced with numerous predators insects reversed earlier survival strategies growing smaller as time passed without a backbone vertebrates like the dinosaur could never have grown to their gargantuan size a sturdy spine could support a larger body insects have no internal structural support just a kind of body armor a skeleton worn on the outside if this beetle could grow as large as some vertebrates this anatomical design would spell disaster with its carapace of shell now stretched thin the inner body sags and eventually collapses if its exoskeleton were thickened to support a giant body the beetle would fare no better to hold the beetles weight the shell would have to be very thick so thick that there would be no space left for muscles and organs exoskeletons were an evolutionary innovation but they had their limitations size was only one adaptation insects tested other survival strategies developing special organs for their streamlined bodies one major achievement the compound I the compound eye is an assembly of as many as 25,000 tiny lenses each of these hexagons is the lens of an individual mind viewed in cross section the compound eye appears very thin like a layer of film mm of these lenses together occupy only one tiny square millimetre of space this is an artificial compound I designed to simulate an insects vision a plate with two thousand lenses is placed in front of a camera although less precise than the average humans eyesight insect vision is sharp enough to discern the shape of these flowers this unique adaptation gives dragonflies an advantage which would be passed on to other insects in Earth's evolutionary drama who or what survives or vanishes to extinction is unpredictable the rise of flowering plants or angiosperms spelled the end of the dinosaur era and the new age for insects and mammals that flourished in their midst in his outdoor laboratory Cornell University biologist dr. Karl Nicklaus observes nature's angels alliances at work to ensure their survival Nicklaus says that early plans and insects formed highly specialized relationships insect pollination allows a plant to transport pollen from one individual to the next using the brain of the insect to identify the same kind of plant as the donor of the pollen so for example you can have angiosperms that are separated by many miles to flowering plants of the same species separated by many miles in the insect can transport pollen over that mileage plants can't move but insects can through the act of pollination insects and flowers became partners in evolution helping each other to survive and prosper flowering plants reward insects with nectar or pollen providing a sensory roadmap to the source during the Cretaceous for the very first time there was a partnership that was established between flowering plants and insects before that time it was an antagonistic relationships the insects were eating the plants but with the evolution of flowering plants a kind of hand and glove relationship began to evolve flowers started changing their reproductive structures to accommodate the insects that were visiting them and insects were beginning to change their morphology their shape to accommodate the visiting of flowers the most sophisticated adaptation was undoubtedly the compound eye unlike human kind insects can see colors in ultraviolet light observe through a special camera that simulates insects vision flowers look do and they do to our naked eye like Niang roadsides the vivid centers battered each plant favoring specific insects through one-on-one relationships both insects and flowers prospered by the end of the dinosaur era scientists believe that the diversity of insects was almost complete with the number of species nearing present-day levels a weevil less than half an inch long it's long trunk searching for pollen looks like that of a miniature elephant 60,000 different species of Weeble exist today remaining small and adapting to a variety of habitats and food sources insects are masters of survival cross the globe they have prospered for millions of years unlike any other living creature evidence of nature's partnerships abounds in fossil records around the world where bonds are strong the odds of mutual survival improve the suburbs of Frankfurt are mine Germany 50 million years ago this area was a lake surrounded by a dense forest from time to time lethal volcanic gas erupted from these waters annihilated by the vapors animals that walked or swam or flew were buried here millions of years ago enveloped in an earthen time capsule this Beatle fossil scintillates a beautiful metallic blue this is an ancient jewel beetle the exceptional conditions of this lake bed preserved the beetles exquisite natural color this stag beetle also maintains a distinctive shape as if it were still alive altogether 400 species of insects were found here in the meso oil alongside the insects a number of mammal fossils were excavated proof that in the wake of the dinosaur Earth's evolutionary path had taken a new turn from these shadowy remains emerges the shape of my head it's a bet the most frequently cited animal here the theory is that bats flying over the lake succumbed to poisonous gas eruptions even felled their watery tomb so sudden were their deaths and even the stomach's icame fossilized this compound I was found in the digestive tract of a fossilized bat it had been feeding on insects scales from the bodies of moths also surfaced in these specimens from the samples found at Messel came evidence that surprised biologists moths made up to 70% of the bats diet to escape the notice of predatory birds during daylight hours moths over time lived on the night shift today more than 200,000 species of moths exist on the planet they are the most successful of the nocturnal insects bats have been nocturnal animals for more than 50 million years most modern-day bats still prey on lawns confining themselves in caves and crevices during the day they emerge at sundown in search of prey bats fly in the dark with the help of ultrasound inaudible to human hairs specially devised microphone picks up the ultrasound emitted by the bats rely on ultrasound to see obstacles and prey bats fly freely through the night forest the bats peculiar nose serves as a satellite dish emitting ultrasound a huge pair of ears may equal half the size of the bats head inside the ear is a snail shaped organ this highly sensitive device can detect even the slightest ultrasound echo a tremendous amount of information captured by the ears gathers in the brain a breakdown of the sensory data provides the bat with an image of its surroundings as if it could actually see the bat releases various types of ultrasound to trap Mars first it emits ultrasound in search mode scanning for signs of the mall detecting the precise shape location and speed of its intended victim and the bat can swoop in for the kill like a laser-guided missile with survival skills honed over millions of years bats are Master predators the University of Toronto Canada it is here that zoologist dr. James Bullard studies the defense mechanisms of the moth he now knows that malls have a specially developed organ designed to help them evade bats laws were flying at night and didn't have years before the bats arrived and once bats began to fly once bats began to send out their sonar signals then then the malls had to come up with some way in which to detect the bats and what malls did was change a very sensitive sensor work and on the base of one of their wings that was already there that was telling the moth what the position of their wings were because I was already a sensitive organ that organ became what we call pre-adapted or it became more likely to turn into this particular organ in this case what happened was it became an ear directly below the moth swings lies a small hole within is the tympanic membrane a kind of eardrum further inside this ear are the two cells that catch the bats ultrasound how can moths fend off attack using only this rudimentary system the moth knows that the bat is getting very close because it can hear that that sound with its ears the bat sounds closer because it's louder and the bat is also putting out a kind of sonar wishes which is specific to being very close so the moth has that information it knows it can't see of course this is all happening at night but it knows by its ears where the bat is and it also can tell which side the bat is coming from because it has two ears it has an ear on this side has an ear on that side and by determining which side the bat is coming from it can make a correct movement away dr. fuller has been working with tape recordings of a bats ultrasound to determine how moths might escape these predators this is the same ultrasound bats use in tracking mode the moment the ultrasound begins the moth responds by flapping furiously eventually ceasing its struggle to escape the experiment shows that with only two cells activated the moth is extremely sensitive immediately picking up the bats ultrasound the moth reacts quickly increasing its chances of survival some laws will just fold their wings up and drop straight to the ground and that is hopefully to get away from the bat because the bat will be swooping like that there's another way of getting away from the bat though which is exactly the opposite and that's to actually fly up because what the bat is doing is coming down like this the moth flies up the bat because it's heavier can't adjust its flight in time and so misses them off as it goes underneath free-flying moths were exposed to the same tape recordings the instant the ultrasound stimulates the moth it appears to fall toward the ground track in stop-motion the moth actually turns around and quickly nose dives in the nick of time the moth escapes the simulated back with its attacker only a few feet away the moth vanishes from the bats radar the insects that have lived the longest in the world are the ones that have got the simplest nervous systems he just can't count nerve cells and say that some animals are better than other animals animals are evolved into they're into what they have to do in life and evolution allows them to do that and evolution doesn't make any judgments it doesn't say this animals better than that animal I thought the animals decide who's better than that and the successful ones survive and the end the unsuccessful ones don't over millions of years the slow accumulation of simple adaptations has made insects a diverse and resilient group in the tropics of Asia swallowtail butterflies have honed one of nature's most brilliant survival strategies cleverly hidden in the branches of this tree is the pupae of a Swallowtail it is camouflaged green to blend in with the foliage here the pupil of the same species is brown to protect themselves from their chief predator the bird Swallowtail pupae adjusts their color to match their surroundings what actually determines the color of the Swallowtail pupae dr. kihachi honda of the University of Hiroshima Japan speculates that the answer lies in the texture of the branches he prepares two wires one is green but rough the other brown but smooth these conditions reverse the natural order how will the larvae adjust the insects can barely see instead they feel the surface of the wire as they inch along choosing a safe place to transform into moths as their last act as larvae within a few days the pupae on the rough wire turns brown the one on the smooth wire is shaved in green relying on touch instead of vision the larvae adjusts their color insects can't see the detailed features of different parts of a tree their behavior is based on very limited sources of information in nature a smooth surface means a green branch a rough surface a brown one a simple but critical concept for survival some insects mimic even the most delicate textures of beads the elaborate technique of camouflage is truly astounding and remains to this day one of the great natural defenses responding to nuances of their environment these tiny insects have survived the ages while entire families of vertebrates became extinct in the woods of suburban Tokyo a model cooperative thrives once independent operators insects long ago discovered that collective living could work more efficiently these are Japanese honeybees by some standards one of nature's most complex insect societies in this colony 10,000 honeybees make up one Society it is a strict caste system that maintains clear division of labor Zombies forage of others build nests or store honey the hive functions smoothly without a leader because the bees act in concert this social behavior is the secret of their success in wooded areas across Japan the honeybees find sanctuary but there are times when the atmosphere changes and this quiet Haven becomes a battleground a wasp tries to attack the honeybees flying in and out of the nest hearing the vibrating wings of the enemy wasp the honeybees perform a war dance shaking their bodies and fluttering their wings in a threatening gesture in response the wasp attempts a sneak attack on the honeybee nest wasp is several times larger than the bees but the honeybees are fiercely territorial one after another they fall upon the invader eventually covering him completely a look through a special heat sensitive camera reveals that the swarm of these engulfed in the wasp is getting warmer and warmer vibrating the muscles of their wings the honeybees are cooking the was when the temperature reaches a hundred and thirteen degrees Fahrenheit the wasp dies the honeybees can generate more heat but are careful not to let the temperature climb any higher at a hundred and eighteen degrees they too could risk death this skillful defense allows bees to take on enemies larger than they are inside the hive the entire colony is creating a wave of sound like a squadron of fighter planes these insects are delivering a powerful display to their enemies professor Masami Sasaki of Tokyo's tamagawa University studying how the bees communicate the location of pollen and nectar first he places an artificial feeder about 100 yards from the colony a solution of sugar water at the edge of the feeder rewards visiting bees the first bee to visit the feeder is marked with blue scientists and other honeybees will watch it closely when it returns to the colony back in the hive the bee spins around as if dancing those observing its gyrations will be marked with orange soon the bees dotted in orange will leave the colony one by one they head straight for the artificial feeder all of the bees find their way how did they know where to look somehow the location of this feeder was announced to the hive by the be marked in blue scientists like Professor Sasaki believe that honeybees use the sound of their wings to communicate but what kind of information is being transmitted by the wings vibration professor Sasaki's group makes field recordings of the bees to bring back to the lab for analysis when the honeybees shimmy Sasaki says the sound produced indicates distance from the colony to the potential food source located igano see La Cueva note they do we think that the honeybees receiving information from a member of the colony waved their antennae over the dancing be like this they recognize the sound vibrations resonating through the antennae and then fly off to the flowers Sabo sometimes we place the feeder a few feet from the colony sometimes half a mile away the returning honeybees dance we learned that if they dance for one second it means that the food source is about twenty-two hundred feet away and that's what they're communicating to the others upon closer observation the dance is more complex than it looks a honeybee will always face the same direction when it shimmies generating sound using only body language the B gives precise directions to the nectar the hive stands perpendicular to the ground when the bee gyrates it to is vertical the line of the hive and the direction of the dance create an angle as illustrated by this diagram by shifting the line to the position of the Sun scientists discovered that the gyrating B points directly to the food source as the dawn breaks and flowers stretched to greet the Sun the colony hums with activity a message delivered by a single beam reverberates throughout the hive acting collectively these simple creatures have forged communities that have withstood environmental pressures throughout the ages specialization has ensured the bees survival but in the world of insects bees were not alone in developing complex societies sealed and a capsule of amber this ant and larvae have been frozen for 20 million years wherever they headed when time suddenly stopped suspended in this tiny two-inch square is the rest of its colony in all 2000's ants are the minimalists of the insect world with no physical frills they look similar to bees but have no wings their vision is poor if they have developed an even more sophisticated social structure than bees at the Brussels free university researchers are attempting to understand how these complex societies work in his laboratory professor zhang dawei de newborn is studying the way ants interact within the colony using simple logic based mechanical models ands are in the habit of collecting scattered objects d'ner Borg is observing the insects to find out what determines their behavior this research has led him to conclude that individual hands are hardwired by nature to follow a simple set of rules using tiny and like robots denier board tests his theories he gives them easy logic instructions the rest is left to chance if there is a peg in front of the robot it will pick it up and carry it if it runs into another peg will set it down and turn in a random direction over time a significant pattern appears even though the robots operate independently of one another this small scale model illustrates how ants acting as simple individuals can produce a collective result for models like this one have come insights into the nature of intelligence and the functioning of insect societies it is it is clear that there is no eight quarter or leader and that there is no centralized system as we know for humans but what self-organization teaches us is that the rules needed to produce such a global response such a well-defined pattern are generally more sample they are not as complex as specialists looking at social and sex believe these rules must be barro Colorado Island small slice of tropical rainforest on the Panama Canal professor Turner Brooks team has come to study a species of ant and for millions of years has thrived in jungles throughout the Americas the leaf covers on a network of highways they've traveled through the forest they speed along in convoys sometimes several hundred yards long these tiny insects have fared exceptionally well in the evolutionary chain studying their behavioural patterns the scientists are trying to understand the sequence of their success in rainforests like this one leafcutter ants clear more vegetation than any other living creatures unlike most other kinds of ants leaf cutters can digest fresh foliage using its long legs as a compass a leaf cutter measures a neat Crescent it sharp mandibles trim the leaf as efficiently as scissors the harvesting continues night and day a colony of leaf cutters will collect close to a ton of foliage this way every year carrying leaf fragments many times their own weight the ants cover long distances at dizzying speeds efficient grazers they forage selectively moving frequently from plant to plant when a fallen leaf barricades their root the obstacle is promptly removed eons of experienced that made them efficient foresters like all ants new cutters are a society of females born of the sand queen only the largest do the heavy lifting in the forest the ants live in huge colonies sometimes five million strong one of the oldest agricultural societies on Paris each member has duties to perform their job determined by their sides inside the nest mid-sized ants pick up the relay tearing the leaves into smaller pieces another caste choose the leaf fragments into pulp adding fecal fluid as fertilizer the smallest ants in the colony apply the paste to the nest walls which will then be mixed with fungus from older chambers others weed and harvest soon the small white puffs will spread across the nest enough to feed the entire colony these fungi are the mainstay of their diet working their subterranean plots leaf cutters are the only fungus growing ants to use live plants in their farming agriculture was a way of life but these insects millions of years before humans appeared on the planet I don't know why I don't know why such insects stimulate me so much it's possible that it's a real bit because it's like another planet because we are human and function within a certain system we think of all behavior in terms of our logic but it's an entirely different situation in the insect world I have in front of me something which here I have in front of me something that is stronger and more original than any sense fiction books that I have ever read in my life in my life it is morning in the forest rush hour is already underway filing through the branches like obedient motorists these ends are cleaning house after the harvest it's time to make room for another crop the ants pile the refuse in one place their own compost heap the mountain of discarded leaves will eventually return to the soil to provide rich fertilizer for the forest for 300 million years insects have held fast to successful survival strategies by responding to evolutionary pressures modifying their size and becoming masters of camouflage their communities continue to thrive today in sex account for at least 70% of the animal species on earth in the lottery of life they have outmaneuvered the dinosaur and a host of other creatures great and small at home in every ecosystem of the planet their luck shows no sign of running out perhaps humans can learn from the eloquent simplicity of insects as we answer environmental challenges of our own

Channel: CatholicVoting4Life

Views: 64,677

Rating: 4.6483517 out of 5

Keywords: Documentary, Discovery, Planet of Life, Birth of Earth

Id: QBd3gn0EuXs

Length: 45min 35sec (2735 seconds)

Published: Sat May 24 2014