From the BBC’s now classic Life in the Undergrowth:
The best nature documentary series ever.
Alex Wild on insects, science, and photography
-
A personal blog by Illinois-based biologist and photographer Alex Wild.
Myrmecos- derived from the ancient greek word for "ant"- hosts Alex's musings about these and other little creatures that share our planet.
Questions? Email alwild [at] myrmecos.net; or follow @Myrmecos on Twitter.
-
Recent Images
-
-
Bits and Pieces
Agreed. Of all the ‘Life’ series that involve Sir David Attenborough, Life in the Undergrowth was by far the most interesting for me. An absolutely amazing production, probably one of the most significant factors in me deciding on Entomology as an interest/study/career path.
Agreed. But we usually attribute the series to David Attenborough (who I respect deeply), but I wonder if anyone knows the names of any of the entomologists that provided the information on the subjects, or the photographers that actually produced the magnificent footage that is shown.
I had the privilege of working as one of the scientific advisors on this series, and was in the field with the crew during the filming of two episodes. A lot of the principal photography was done by Mike Salisbury, who also produced the entire series, and Alistair MacEwen, who filmed, among others, the dragonfly sequences. Alas, only one of my stories made into the documentary (moths catching fulgorid honeydew.) Needless to say, I also consider Life in the Undergrowth one of the best nature documentaries ever made.
I asked Alistair MacEwen once what he considered to be his finest documentary, and he answered, “Without question, Life in the Undergrowth”.
Many of the social insect scenes were filmed by Martin Dohrn and an early incarnation of his amazing Frankencam: http://natgeotv.com/za/great-migrations/videos/frankencam