Back to Show
Deep Look
Fly Metamorphosis is a Beautiful Nightmare
Season 11
Episode 8
Like the beloved butterfly, a house fly goes through an incredible metamorphosis. To make its grand entry into the world, it deploys a specialized, fluid-filled balloon on its head called the ptilinum (till-EYE-num) to break open its pupal casing, freeing itself to buzz around your kitchen.
Support Provided By
5:00
These plants spend their whole life getting in just the right position.
19:31
Mosquitoes, ticks, lice, kissing bugs and tsetse flies are all looking to grab a bite ... of you.
4:32
Burying beetles haul mouse carcasses into the dirt and prep them to start a family.
3:47
Wandering salamanders can skydive in the branches of the tallest trees in the world.
4:45
The petroleum fly and their larvae thrive in the natural asphalt at the La Brea Tar Pits.
5:15
Six-rayed sea stars make great moms, caressing and protecting their babies for months!
6:15
Stingless bees don’t have stingers. So, how do they keep honey thieves away?
5:16
After cochineals die, their legacy lives on in the brilliant red hue produced by their hemolymph!
3:44
Those rows of orange cluster under a fern leaf are spores waiting to be catapulted away.
5:16
These tiny marine flatworms are smaller than a grain of rice but have amazing abilities!
3:57
Sharpshooters have super-propulsive urine using a catapult in their butt.
4:36
Corals create an underwater "snowstorm" by sending tiny white spheres up the water column.