06x02 - Bugs

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Butterfly in the sky ♪

♪ I can go twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know ♪

♪ And ways to grow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

Hi.

Isn't this beautiful?

Butterflies
are such amazing insects.

Just look at his wings.

They're so delicate
and colorful.

I'm looking for insects today.

Let's go and find some others.

Ooh! Here we go!

Wow. That butterfly
sure was fast!

I wanted to get
a closer look at him

Because insects
are so different

From you and me,

And they live almost
everywhere on earth,

So it's a good idea-- missed--
to get to know them.

Insects are annoying
when they bite or sting,

But most of the time
they're harmless.

We've nicknamed insects "bugs,"

Though bugs
are only one kind of insect,

And there are thousands of them.

Itching to get to know some?

Well, then, check them out
in this book.

It's called bugs.

What did sam find swimming
in his apple cider?

A spider.

You can find spiders

In lots of places
besides cider.

This orb-weaving spider
lives in the woods.

Orb weavers spin webs
that are round,

Then they wait for insects
to fly into the web

And get caught.

That's how the spider
gets its food.

This is what the orb weaver
looks like underneath.

The color and markings

Help keep the spider
camouflaged

Or hidden.

Those little hands
near its head

Are really mouth parts
called pedipalps.

The spider uses them
to bring food to its mouth.

This spider
is licking his pedipalps.

There are lots of spiders
who don't spin webs.

They catch food
by grabbing it!

This crab spider
sat on a flower

Until a bee came by,

Then it pounced!

What fluttered its wings
as it flew by?

A dragonfly.

Dragonflies and damselflies,
like this green one,

Live in wet, swampy areas
near lakes, rivers, and ponds.

Dragonflies are long and thin,
and can fly very fast.

They have two sets of wings,
big eyes,

And legs they use
to cling to branches,

Catch mosquitoes,
and clean themselves.

That's what
this pink dragonfly

Is doing right now.

Why did the porch
collapse one night?

[Rumble!]

Crunch! Crunch!

Crunch, crunch... Smack!

Termites!

The porch collapsed

Because termites had eaten
the wood beams holding it up.

Termites really like wood,

So besides eating it,
they live in it.

They dig tunnels
and carve out rooms

Big enough for a whole colony
to live in.

That's what these termites
are doing right now.

They're making a home.

Whose shrill sound woke ada?

A cicada!

The loud buzzing ada heard

Was a male cicada
singing for a mate.

He makes the sound
by vibrating.

When a female cicada
hears him,

She wants to check him out.

So they mate.

Then the female lays eggs
right into her tree.

I really like insects.

Me, too!

There are more insects
in the world

Than any other kind of animal.

But, because they're so little,

You can walk right through
their neighborhood

And never even see them.

Insects love to hang out
in places like this--

This old log that's fallen
across the path.

Let's see if we can

Catch some of the action
in here...

Whoa! Look at this!

We got some pill bugs here--

The ones with the armor.

These with the spots
are lady beetles-- ladybugs.

What's this guy
with all the legs?

Well, let's see...

A centipede.

Yeah, it's a centipede.

"Centipedes like dark places

"And can be found
under stones or houses,

"Or sometimes in houses.

"Most centipedes
in north america

Are not dangerous."

That's good to know.

This is a reference book,
not a story,

But a grab-bag of information.

You just reach in
whenever you want

And pull out some new
interesting fact.

Let's see... Ha! Ants.

"Ants live in large groups
called colonies.

"Most ants eat other insects.

"They live in deserts, houses,
gardens, under stones,

Decaying wood, and trees..."
Decaying wood?

Yikes! Ants in my pants!

Ha, ha, ha, ha!

Ants are pretty common,

So you've probably
run into a few.

But have you ever seen
a hissing cockroach?

Hissing cockroaches?

That's right, levar.

There are 5000
different species

Of cockroaches
in the world.

This is insect world
at the cincinnati zoo.

This is thane maynard.

Why would
a cockroach hiss?

They're trying
to scare away birds

Who might want to eat them.

Insects breathe
through their abdomens.

Forcing air out--
going "hsss"--

Gives them
a split-second chance.

So it's
a defense mechanism.

Absolutely.

Can I touch this?

Sure.

I never thought
I would be

Touching
a cockroach.

It's not as
disgusting
as I thought

Touching a roach
would be.

Many people
think of roaches

As bad guys,

But they're not--
they're essential.

These hissing cockroaches come
from the island of madagascar

Off east africa's coast.

They get bigger
than this.

Is this related
to the roach

We sometimes
find at home?

Though there
are thousands of
different types,

All roaches
are closely related

To one another.

That's remarkable.

We've got hundreds
of different species
from the very big--

Like this,
the biggest of beetles,

The royal goliath beetle
from central africa--

To the very small.

These are baby grasshoppers.

Eventually they'll be
three or four inches long.

Technically, are these
bugs or insects?

These are both insects.

That is confusing,

Because
all bugs are insects,

But not
all insects are bugs.

Do you have
a true bug?

Yes. This is the largest
blood-sucking insect

In the world,

Related to our bedbug
from the saying,

"Sleep tight, don't let
the bedbugs bite."

This one has a big snout.

They get to be
three inches long.

I shouldn't
touch this one.

If you don't know
what it is,

You shouldn't
pick it up.

I'll go along
with that.

Watch where you're going!

You might not see them,

But here at insect world,
they're everywhere.

There are insects
in this bush?

Right. But even
an entomologist
couldn't spot them.

An entomologist
studies bugs, right?

Right. They can't
see these because
of camouflage.

Here's one right here.

It's called
"a walking leaf."

So well camouflaged
that when you look
you can't see it.

Like leaves,
it's dark on one side

And light on the other.

They only bite leaves.

That's a javanese
walking leaf.

It is an insect because
it's got six legs,

An antenna, and two wings.

It's just like
a leaf!

It's great for
keeping birds away.

We couldn't even see it
when we were next to it!

Are there
other insects
in this tree?

Here's a walking stick

Called a "giant walking stick."

These get to be


They come from
tropical malaysia.

They live in the rain forest
where it's green all year,

So they are green also.

Those long legs sometimes
get to be eight inches long.

Thane, is this guy
trying to attract
attention?

Absolutely.

It doesn't
want to stay hidden.

That brightly-colored
pattern on a scarab beetle

Is there because
they get away with it.

They can outfly their
predators and escape.

Of all the insects
I've seen here today,

This guy
is my favorite.

I don't understand
why insects

Have gotten
such a bad rap

From human beings.

It might be that people
are unfamiliar with

The insect world.

There's so many
different kinds
we're overwhelmed.

If I was a bug,
I'd be afraid of us.

We're much bigger!

Thane, thanks
for your time

And sharing your
friends with us.

It's been fun.

There really is
no magic in nature,

But there is mystery and wonder.

And this little guy's life
is full of it.

It starts out
as a very hungry caterpillar,

Then it forms a crysalis...

And though you might think

The caterpillar
is in there napping,

It's really
changing into a butterfly.

But that's only the beginning

Because that butterfly
is a monarch,

And when winter comes

It'll do something
no other insect does--

It'll fly thousands of miles
to its own corner of the world

Up in the mountains, in mexico.

There it might meet a scientist
who loves butterflies--

Dr. Lincoln brower.

[Dr. Brower]
just as you're
all getting ready

To go back to school,

The monarchs are starting
their southward migration

To a place they have
never been to before,

To these beautiful
sierra campanero mountains.

These are magical,
mystical mountains

That stick out of
a volcanic plain.

The monarchs have
probably been coming here

For a million years,
and maybe more.

For the last seven years
I've come here to mexico.

I can't wait to arrive.

It's a wonderful mystery,

Wondering what we'll find out
about these butterflies.

Why do they come
to this site

And cluster
by the hundreds of thousands

And millions of butterflies?

The way scientists
discovered this place

Was by tagging butterflies
in the north

And following them down
through the united states

To mexico.

Monarchs migrate south

Because when winter
comes up north,

All their food plants die.

Now we're tagging them

To find out where they
go back to in the spring.

You do this by gently
handling a butterfly

And rubbing the scales
off its front wing.

You have to do this
very carefully.

This does not
hurt the butterfly at all.

After it's cleaned off,
the little tag will stick to it.

I take a tag
and note its number...

This is the hardest part.

You gently fold it
over the wing

Being very careful
not to hurt that front vein.

These tagged butterflies
are really valuable.

If you find one
you can help us immensely.

Read the directions
and do what they say.

This butterfly
arrived here in november,

And during
almost the entire winter,

They don't eat a thing.

All they drink is water,

So they have to sustain
themselves on the fat reserves

That are inside their
fat little tummies.

This mouth
is not like your mouth.

It pulls out.
It's a long tube.

When it lands on the flower
or drinks water

It rolls that out.

Tiny muscles inside
allow it to do this.

It sticks that proboscis
into the flower

And sucks up the nectar

The way you drink
a milkshake with a straw.

A butterfly's thorax
has six legs attached to it.

You can see on the very tips
these little claws.

When they hold onto you,
it tickles.

If I pulled this leg slightly,

It would break off,

Then the butterfly

Wouldn't be able
to taste nectar in its flowers

Because the taste buds

Are actually in the tips
of their little toes.

A butterfly has four wings,

Two big front wings,

And two beautiful
big hind wings.

These big forewings
have white spots.

Those are very important
for the butterflies

To be able to find each other,

Particularly
when they're migrating,

Because they can see
these white spots

As the butterflies
rapidly flap their wings

Through the sky.

When the butterflies
are in their clusters,

They're sound asleep.

They look
just like dead leaves.

Sometimes
the cluster of monarchs

Is close enough to the ground

So you can see closely
into it.

The butterflies,
lined up in rows,

Hang onto the needles
of the fir trees.

Their little claws hang onto
the needles and each other.

It's the most beautiful
structure.

Let's let this butterfly go.

But, before I do,
because it's cold out,

I'll have to warm it up
a little bit.

Here's how you do that
without hurting them.

This is warming the muscles
inside the thorax.

Now he should be ready
to fly off.

Sometimes when I walk
through the forest

It's as if I'm in
a symphony hall,

But instead of
hearing the music,

I'm actually seeing it.

You may not be able
to get here

To see the butterflies

High up in the mountains
in mexico,

But the next time
you look at any butterfly,

Look at its wings...

The wings of a butterfly are
like a treasure trove of books.

There are hundreds
of stories to be told

By reading them very carefully.

The monarch certainly
has stories to tell.

But so do all the other
insects in the world.

If you've gone "buggy"
over insects,

These books will really
raise your antennae.

But you don't have to
take my word for it.

Hi. My name is jenny tarr.

If you're interested
in bugs like I am,

I would read this book--
backyard insects.

The best part of the book

Is the chapter
on hidden insects.

Some insects are camouflaged.

That means they're
hidden by their colors.

You may think you're looking
at a spike of grass,

But it's really
a hairy caterpillar.

There's some
unusual insects, too,

Like the hickory horned devil,

And the spittle bug.

The spittle bug looks like
it's taking a bubble bath.

I like caterpillars
because they tickle my hand

And they turn into
beautiful butterflies.

Find your favorite bug in
this book, backyard insects.

Have you ever seen
a real live ladybug?

There's lots of them
in this book called ladybug.

I always thought

Ladybugs looked the same
their whole lives,

But I was wrong.

This book tells the whole
life story of a ladybug.

First there's a larva,

Then pupa,

And finally a grown-up ladybug.

There's a picture
showing a ladybug

Eating an aphid!

It's kind of gross,

But everything in nature
has to eat something.

I'm eiko clarke.

You should look at
any garden or park

And try to find
your own ladybug.

Hello, all you kids
in america.

You don't know me,
but I'm brian garner,

And I just read
this outrageous book

Called ant cities.

You've got to get it.

Ants are fascinating.

We see them all the time,

But we never know
they're working so hard.

There are many
different kinds of ants,

But I'm
interested in thief ants.

Once my lunch was on the ground,

And some thief ants
took it away!

Ants can lift


Can you imagine
strength like that?

Ant cities was a neat book.

I wanted to try
being an ant for a day.

My advice to you--
ant cities.

Don't leave home without it!

Here's another great book
to take on an insect hunt...

It's called the bug book,

And it comes
its with own bug bottle,

Or you can make one yourself.

Remember to punch
some holes in the top for air,

And remember to feed them.

No matter where you live,

Your closest neighbors
are probably insects.

Go out and introduce
yourself to some.

You may not always find
the butterfly of your dreams,

But you'll surely
not come home empty-handed.

I'll see you next time.

Today's reading rainbow books
are

Bugs,
by nancy winslow parker

And joan richards wright.

Illustrated by
nancy winslow parker.

Published by greenwillow books.

Backyard insects,
by millicent e. Selsam

And ronald goor.

Photos by ronald goor.

Published by four winds press.

Ladybug,
by barrie watts,

A "stopwatch book" published
by silver burdett press,

A simon and schuster imprint.

Ant cities,
by arthur dorros.

Published by thomas y. Crowell.

The bug book,
and the bug bottle,

By dr. Hugh danks,
illustrated by joe weissmann,

A somerville house book
published by workman publishing.