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Searching for Praying Mantises in the Brazilian Amazon

Season 1 Episode 3 | 10m 07s

Mantis expert Gavin Svenson heads to the Brazilian amazon to sample the diversity of mantises in the forest. It is important for Svenson to understand the and quantify the number of mantises in the amazon, he describes the problems with declines in that we cannot know what we are losing if we don’t know what we even have. Svenson wants to find a mantis he described and named after his daughter.

Extras
Ummat Somjee goes to Thailand to observe the cultural tradition of fighting beetles.
On the plains of South Africa, an army of dung beetles recycle the dung of large mammals.
Dragonfly expert Jessica Ware heads to Guyuna to sample dragonfly diversity.
Monarch butterflies winter in the fir forests of Michoacan, Mexico, after an epic migration.
Jesse Barber and Akito Kawahara study the evolutionary arms race between bats and moths.
A four-part investigation into insect declines, exploring their diversity and ecological importance.
Urban Ecologist Sylvana Ross visits Baltimore, Maryland, to find Tapinoma Sessile.
Evolutionary Biologist Ummat Somjee describes his research on Flag-footed bugs in Panamá.
Beetles are the world’s most abundant animals, called “the most important species on the planet.”
Praying mantises and aquatic insects reveal cunning physical adaptations for ruthless survival.
Pollinators – bees, moths and butterflies – bring color to the world and put food on our plates.
Could a world without insects survive? Scientists investigate the global insect “apocalypse.”