The Cornfield - Just an Area for Producing Food… or a Land Full of Secrets?

the cornfield just an area for  producing food or a land full of secrets why are some cornfield inhabitants harmful   and others useful what do the colorful  flowers at the edge of the field promise us in winter the cornfield looks like  a strange extraterrestrial landscape in the western industrial nations cornfields  and woods take up the greatest proportion   of rural land but how much natural life  dwells in what now seems like a desert the hair was originally a step animal  but he also feels at home on a bare field   it's mating time now in the early spring the  bucks race at speeds of 70 kilometers per hour   in an attempt to impress and win over a doe about one meter deep in the ground a  hamster doe is dozing in her burrow   she's hibernated throughout the time in which  the untilled cornfield resembled a desert above the first arrivals such as common toads   and golden ground beetles are  appearing on the still bare field for many animals a field is a kind of no  man's land just waiting to be conquered the days are growing longer and the  slows along the edge of the field   take on a white veil just like the old  cherry tree at the other side of the field close by the hamster doe is busy  removing the hardened clod of earth   she used last autumn to seal  off the inside of her burrow   the winter reserves are almost used up it's  time for her to make her way up to the surface it's still almost impossible for the hamster doe  to find anything edible on the bare clotted earth   it's a tough time for her when the cherry tree is in full bloom  the field horsetails shoot up out   of the soil the cone-shaped tips of the shoots   bear ripening spores which will  later be carried away by the wind after this unsuccessful trip to the surface  the hamster doe returns to her fortress there are turbulent times ahead of her within a few hours the appearance  of the hamster's habitat has changed during the sowing 300 grain seeds were  dropped into each square meter of soil just 14 days later an army of seedlings  shoot upwards within a few days the bald   field has turned into a green field  all types of grain are a kind of grass   this means that the cornfield is actually a  grassland and therefore a step formed by humans the old cherry tree is standing  in an ocean of seedlings   with an increasing number of  animals romping between them it's now worthwhile for the hamster  doe to leave the safe burrow   while the quail parents are busy with a dust  bath the hungry hamster doe sniffs an opportunity such calorie bombs are just what she  needs because she has to build herself   up for the exhausting time ahead  of mating and rearing her young like the hares the pheasants are also turning  their attention now to searching for a mate   the red swollen wattles on their faces and their  excited fluttering are expected to work wonders a hamster buck is on his way  in the field and has picked   up the scent of the hamster doe down in her burrow hamsters are actually solitary animals  and tend to be aggressive to each other   however they now approach each other  cautiously and accept each other straight away the hamsters mate dozens of times to make  sure they really will produce offspring exhausted they both fall asleep hamsters tolerate  this togetherness for only a few days a year within just a few weeks field crops  have developed out of the tiny seedlings while the grain is growing the pests thrive too  these include the grain aphid which rank among a   farmer's main enemies because they can spread out  as if from an explosion and infest entire fields   however the farmers do have an ally in the fight  against the army of sap sucking insects a single   ladybird can exterminate up to 40 000 aphids in  his lifetime where such beneficial organisms are   allowed to increase without interference  there is no need for the chemical catcher the germanic tribes of old revered the youthful  ladybird at that time it was not yet dedicated to   our lady the mother of god but called the little  fryer bird after the highest germanic goddess no small bird but an imposing bird of prey  is the montague's harrier on a dirt track   the male harrier woos a female in the end the  object of his desire succumbs high in the air   when in the middle of a skillful flight maneuver  he presents a field mouse to her as a wedding gift nowadays we have very few large meadow areas that  are left unknown until the summer for that reason   the montague's harriers breed in cornfields now   the larger the field the better predators  have little chance of finding their nests here the landscape around the old cherry tree has  donned its summer dress as far as the eye can see   there are cornfields at  different stages of ripeness where no weed killers are used the fields present  themselves not just in a simple shade of green   but with a host of colorful flowers night flowering catchfly common mallow johnny jump pimpernell cornflour venus's looking glass corn cockle they've all adapted to a life  in the sea of grass formed by human hand the most well-known flower in the  field is perhaps the red poppy a flower that holds plenty of promise only when this bright red flower  is blooming on field walks   can a creature exist which at first will change  the appearance of the poppy blossoms completely this visitor is an extremely rare insect  the poppy mason bee she searches for   particular poppy blossoms and cuts  fingernail-sized pieces out of them back in her brood cell she unrolls the small ball  of petals and works them into the wall lining   and so a nursery in red velvet emerges other animals are interested in poppy flowers too the field hamsters consider  the red blossoms a delicacy   the hamster doe enjoys the first  one she picks straight away and then stuff some more poppy  blossoms into her cheek pouches on each side of their mouths  the hamsters have a cheek pouch   which serves as a carrier bag when they  search for food in the forest of stalks   through which the short-sighted rodents find  their way by relying on their sense of smell the poppy mason bee does hard labor the stone  that fell into the brood cell is three times as   heavy as she is herself the lump of rock has to  be taken out so that she can bring flower pollen   which the larvae will eat later finally the  bee removes the dried up pieces of poppy   which have projected outwards like a frill  and uses them to close off the earth tube   she still has to close off the  entrance so her offspring can grow up   well protected and supplied with food a  poppy mason bee can do no more for her young in german the colorful field cow  wheat is called vachtelveitzen   or quail wheat in english because of  the common quails liking for its seeds   it's rare as are a lot of others  in this remarkable cornfield the young hamster pups are very lively   although they're only one day old they keep  their mother on the go again and again the   hamster doe has to round up the little  runaways and tidy up the insulating nest a creeping thistle in the rye is a meeting  place for very special field inhabitants   the creeping thistle gall fly needs the prickly  plant because only there does it live and multiply   the pretty flies with their zigzag wing designs  do mating dances in front of the females and   try to impress other males with their threatening  gestures this sometimes leads to actual wrestling   the thistle also serves as  a habitat for small spiders   who are particularly fond of hunting for flies the hunter and the hunted face each other  however contrary to what one would expect   the gall fly doesn't flee the effect of the  zigzag pattern on its wings becomes evident now   the spider thinks they are the  legs of an overpowering rival   sees in the courageous gall fly  another larger spider and retreats the four day old hamster offspring have  already donned a brightly colored downy hair   although they're still blind they're interested  in everything their mother brings to them as early as thousands of years ago people  cultivated many different kinds of grain   from wild grasses an important characteristic of  this commercially grown grass is that the ripe   seeds do not fall out of the ears by themselves  this means a lot more work for the sparrows   and gives the farmer a chance to harvest the crops this is not the case with the  wild plants such as the poppy the poppy blossoms for just a short time only  a few days after coming into bloom it loses   its beauty as the fruit capsules ripen and dry  up they open at the top like small pepper shakers the flower stems that were pliable before have  now become hard and wiry with every gust of wind   hundreds of poppy seeds fall  out of a shaker onto the ground   they roll into every crack and wait  there for good germination conditions   in the following year the colorful  splendor of the blossoms in the cornfield   depends therefore primarily on the selection of  seeds which have survived the winter in the ground   some come from far away like the  dandelion seeds on their little parachutes harvester ants feed on plant seeds which  they drag into their nest in strenuous   travel up and down hills most of the seeds disappear into the ants  stocks as food supply for times of scarcity   heaps of cornflour poppy and dandelion seeds   that is one reason why most field flowers  produce such enormous quantities of seeds although the first grain fields  around the old cherry tree are ripe   the hamster stalks are almost empty  she has to look for other food in the sea of ears of corn there is more  to be found than just seeds of grain the bush cricket's green  camouflage doesn't help her in the fields around the hamsters burrow there  is a splendid display of golden ears of corn the   barley ears with their long beards the rye which  developed from what was originally regarded as   field weeds upright wheat our oldest variety  of corn and oats with their bell-shaped fruit   for thousands of years they have  been ensuring the survival of mankind   the summer sun not only ripens the corn it  draws all moisture out of the plants and soil   the cornfield becomes a hot savannah   in former times the farmers who are working hard  under the blazing heat of the sun believed the   quails were mocking them because it sounded as if  they were saying bend your back bring your back the yellow hammer on the other  hand blares out the less severe   little bit of bread and no cheese into the field around the old cherry tree there  are still hedges and groves   where the colorful sparrows rear their young suddenly the field orchestra falls silent the petals on the pimpanel close  as a sign that rain is on its way the corn lady is moving through the field was  said once whenever the wind passed over the corn the smallest in the jungle of stalks are now  faced with a fight against elemental forces hmm the pouring rain has driven the  brooding quail hen from her nest   without protection her second clutch  of eggs is exposed to witness and cold and how are the little hamster pups  faring in their underground realm the streams of water are already  merging at the deepest points however down here it's perfectly dry   the hamster mother instinctively dug the entrances  to her burrow at a higher spot to prevent water   penetrating the inside of the burrow even in heavy  rainfall the young hamster pups hardly four weeks   old engage in boisterous tussles as training for  future conflicts with members of their own species the mother teaches the small ones everything  they need to know about what hamsters eat hamsters are very clean to relieve themselves   the little hamsters use the same  chosen toilet location each time the growing hamsters actually spend most of  their time sleeping and most likely dreaming in the late afternoon the rain is  over and the storm front has moved on   a wonderful smell of damp earth  and warm straw fills the air the water has collected in hollows  and depressions in the ground   it's time for some cornfield  inhabitants to prove their seaworthiness those who live at the top of the  corn jungle have nothing to fear   for the jumping spider the field is  dotted with sparkling drinking ponds the harvester ants on the other hand  have become flood victims a poppy petal   serves them as a rescue raft clinging to corn stalks they  make their way to safety at a dizzy height the harvester and queen  holds out until the deluge eventually subsides the water drenched soil forces  the earthworms up to the surface that is a call to action for all creatures  who are partial to these ringed soil dwellers a field like this accommodates  an average of 500 earthworms   in each square meter of soil 10 to 20 times as  many as in a conventionally farmed field a lot   of worms will attract a lot of toads which along  with the worms will exterminate scores of pests up to 100 tons of excrement are produced by  two and a half million earthworms per hectare   a lot of humus and free of charge but only  as long as no agrarian chemicals are used against such quantities the number of worms eaten   by the common toads and golden  ground beetles is insignificant the hamster's pups are already quite independent  they won't share the burrow with their mother and   sisters for much longer however they still  forage for food together in the corn jungle for four weeks now the mother has been devoted  to her young bringing them the poppy blossoms   they desire but she soon will become a loner  again and leave the burrow and her offspring secure in the dense thicket  at the edge of the field   the small yellow hammers have grown up only two  weeks old they're just about ready to fly away well hidden in a sea of stalks the  harrier fledglings are growing up on rich lime loamy soil warmed by the summer  sun the now very rare field nigella thrives   its flower is male at first and much  sought after by the hungry field wasps   once they reach it the wasps move around the  entire flower which is therefore referred to as   a roundabout flower the insect gradually opens the  well-filled nectar pots at the base of the petals   meanwhile the plant stamens  powder the back of the wasp with pollen a sex change occurs then the  male anthers droop and sees functioning   at the same time the female stigmas bend downwards   again the field wasps are attracted by their  nectar pots that are still full the wasps   which first visited the male stamens now graze  their pollen powdered backs along the stigmas   this reliably ensures the fertilization  and reproduction of the field nigella with the onset of twilight the  campions open their white blossoms   they first exude their sweet scent when most of  the other field flowers have already withered   campions reflect the moonlight and  serve as shining signals for moths   the special composition of their pollen nectar  attracts outlet moths and hawk moths in particular in return for their nocturnal pollination  they too are rewarded with sweet energy food a common toad sets off to catch prey   it's better protected against predators in the  dark just like the young field hamsters are increasingly their mother maintains a distance  from them and hardly ever comes back to the burrow   what turns this special field into a habitat  for the most varied animals and plants   is sustainable farming without any toxins  modern industrial agriculture on the other hand   has not only sacrificed biodiversity to profit  but also clean groundwater and healthy soil harvest time for the animals first more and  more ripe corn ends up in hungry stomachs   at the same time the corn collectors have  to be careful not to get eaten themselves a single tree sparrow can eat a  kilogram of grain seeds per year   however as he eats even more weed seeds and  pest insects he makes himself quite useful   and the field hamster once regarded as a cereal  pest and rigorously hunted has been fighting   for survival for a long time and nowhere does it  make its negative impact on yields more noticeable the tranquil life for animals in the  fields by the old cherry tree is now over the cornfield has become a  battleground there's only one way out slashing and clearing paradise noisy monsters put an end to the summer jungle all that is left are bare stubble fields   the calls of the quails and the chirping  of the bush crickets have fallen silent there are only a few poppies  left of the edge of the field   as suddenly as they came in the  spring the animals wander off again   the quails and montague's harriers migrate south   while the common toads start off on an  arduous march towards their winter quarters the hamster doe is one of the few  left she's looked for a new burrow   and now must do something crucial for her survival the toad has reached its destination   it will bury itself under the large  field edge and wait for the next spring rooks search the harvested  field for grains and insects the hamster doe too looks out for pickings  whereby some hairs stick in her throat into her cheek pouches she stuffs the grains that  have fallen down during the threshing a hamster   must collect and carry about four kilograms of  plant seeds so that it can survive the long winter in the hamster burrow there's always a storage  chamber and she fills it now in the late summer the grain field has fed and  satisfied a lot of animals   but now the corn must be used for its actual  purpose to be made into food for people   the corn jungle has disappeared and its  inhabitants have scattered to the four winds however preparations are already  underway for next year's cycle autumn the black thorns on the  field box are bearing fruit soon the first white flakes  will fall on the old cherry tree   at the edge of this very special organic field between the fields around the  old cherry tree there are still   dense hedges offering shelter  for the field inhabitants the golden ground beetles have  entrenched themselves in the soil   just as the common toad has done the harvester ants too will spend  the winter at the foot of a slow bush   the hamster doe has completed her new burrow  in good time and her sleeping phases are longer   and longer her body temperature begins to drop the hares and rhodia on the other hand stay awake  and have to struggle to get by during the winter the hamster doe wakes up again and  again to help herself from her supplies   she won't see daylight  again for another six months winter the seeds of the poppy flowers and the  other wild field plants lie dormant in the soil   nevertheless some animals still manage  to find enough to eat in the field next year when a new summer jungle emerges   innumerable field inhabitants will benefit from  the ecological tillage that is poppy's promise you

Channel: Free High-Quality Documentaries

Views: 226,382

Keywords: Free High-Quality Documentaries, HD, Full HD, Quality, European hare, hamster, Common toad, Golden ground beetle, Cherry tree, Field horsetail, quail, pheasant, Grain aphid, Ladybird, Montagu's harrier, vole, Night-flowering catchfly, mallow, Johnny-jump, Pimpernel, Cornflower, Corn cockle, Red poppy, Field cow-wheat, Creeping thistle, Rye, Wheat oat, Yellowhammer, Jumping spider, earthworm, Field nigella, Field wasp, Tree sparrow, Rook, Blackthorn, Roe deer, bee, cricket

Id: b8fcbxOKg9A

Length: 44min 17sec (2657 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 15 2022