Back to Show
Deep Look
This Fly Torpedoes a Bindweed Bee's Nest
Season 10
Episode 10
A “bee fly” looks a bit like a bee, but it’s a freeloader that takes advantage of a bindweed turret bee’s hard work. The bees dig underground nests and fill them with pollen they collect in the form of stylish “pollen pants.” As the bees are toiling on their nests, the flies drop their *own* eggs into them from the air. But the bees employ a tricky defense against the flies.
Support Provided By
4:51
Horseshoe crabs may look scary, but really they’re lovers, not fighters.
4:29
Digger bees build a different kind of sandcastle at the beach – it's part of their nest.
4:42
Can axolotls salamanders thrive once again in their ancestral waters in Mexico City?
4:09
Hermit crabs are more than happy to let snails build them a perfect home.
5:03
The drama is real for this sultry flower, a gorgeous butterfly and an unlucky fungus gnat.
3:56
Scorpions are notorious predators, but they also have delicate sensory organs.
4:52
The hydra, named after a mythical multiheaded monster, may be the secret to eternal youth.
4:25
This fly’s larvae tunnel inside greens like arugula and kale, leaving squiggly marks.
4:15
Each seed is home to a head-banging moth larva, trying to survive the Sonoran Desert sun.
5:01
Female aphids are matriarchs of a successful family operation — taking over your garden.
4:36
Firebrats and silverfish are pretty darn similar to some of the earliest insects on Earth.
4:11
After sunset, tiny crustaceans called beach hoppers emerge from sandy underground burrows.