Make the most of your insect investigations with five great documentaries about bugs.
1 :: David Attenborough narrates the five-part BBC series Life in the Undergrowth (2006), which explores the world of insects, from gnats so small they’re invisible to the naked eye to millipedes so large they can capture flying bats.
2 :: NOVA: Lord of the Ants (2008) isn’t just about ants—though the Harrison Ford-narrated documentary does explain sociobiologist Edmund O. Wilson’s fascination with the insects and how they helped the scientist develop his theory of evolutionary biology.
3 :: Director Claude Nuridsany captures amazingly detailed moments of insect life in Microcosmos (1996), including bees collecting nectar, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, a mosquito hatching, snails mating, and more.
4 :: The insects are coming! And their adaptability and quick reproduction cycle could spell the end of life as we know it, insists the fictitious doctor narrating the documentary/sci-fi/horror film The Hellstrom Chronicle (1971). It’s a weird mix, but it works.
5 :: Brief (it’s just 12 minutes long) but compelling, the mini-documentary Camouflage and Defense in the Insect World (2007) focuses on the ways that insects protect themselves from predators.
This article was originally published in the Spring 2014 issue of home/school/life magazine. For lots more ideas like this to inspire your homeschool life in every season, subscribe to home/school/life.
