On first impression, skeleton shrimp anatomy is confusing. These crustaceans use a funky assortment of body parts to move around like inchworms, feed on bits of sea garbage, stage boxing matches, and make lots of clingy babies. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! https://www.youtube.com/user/kqeddeeplook?sub_confirmation=1 Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- The striking bodies of skeleton shrimp are gangly and ridiculously elongated. These omnivores constantly sieve food particles or small organisms from the water by waving their bodies back and forth, using comb-like filters on their shorter antennae. Most of the time, they are detritivores, helping break down dead organic matter further into nutrients for smaller animals. They also play another impo

Tadpole shrimp are neither tadpoles nor shrimp. They're time-traveling crustaceans called triops. Their eggs can spend years – even decades – frozen in time, waiting to hatch. When California rice growers flood their fields, they create the perfect conditions for hordes of these ravenous creatures to awaken. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Each spring, hungry hordes of tadpole shrimp find their way into the rice fields of California’s Central Valley and go to town munching on the young seedlings. Tadpole shrimp aren’t really tadpoles or shrimp, but they are crustaceans whose ancestors once lived in the sea. “They look like tiny horseshoe crabs,” says Ian Grettenberger, an integrative pest

Under the bright yellow petals of a tarweed plant, an insect known as the assassin bug kills its caterpillar victim by stabbing it over and over. But does this perpetrator have an accomplice? Sticky droplets all over the plant could be a clue. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook ---+ Why is an assassin bug called an assassin bug? Likely because it impales its insect and arachnid victims with its pointy mouthparts. ---+ Is an assassin bug the same thing as a kissing bug? No. Assassin bugs and kissing bugs are relatives, but they’re different from each other. They’re both part of a large family of insects called reduviids, known as the “assassin bug” family, hence part of the confusion. Kissing bugs and assassin bugs look similar to each other in that they have long mouthparts that they keep folded under their head when they’re not using them. But they’re different from each other in their feeding habits. Assassin bugs, which

Most damselflies prefer sunny spots, but the quirky San Francisco forktail damselfly digs the fogginess of its hometown. When they hook up, they do it in style – linking their delicate bodies in a heart shape, then flying tandem for an hour or more after. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt​ Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook​ DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- The San Francisco forktail damselfly fits right in, in its hometown – a city that has long-attracted dreamers, misfits and lovers. Unlike most other damselfly species, the San Francisco forktail has uniquely adapted to the cooler, foggy conditions here, evolving a darker, more robust body, and a tolerance for colder weather. There are thousands of species of damselflies and their dragonfly cousins - a famil

Horseshoe crabs may look scary, but when it's springtime in Delaware Bay, millions of these arthropods show they're lovers, not fighters. They lay masses of blue-green eggs up on the shore. At just the right time, they pop and release the larvae within the sea. WATCH our crab collab episode with OVERVIEW on@PBS Terra! https://youtu.be/PSX4NvvgmJM DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Each spring during May and June, Atlantic horseshoe crabs gather by the millions along the East Coast of North America with only one thing on their mind — a springtime spawning spree! From Maine to the Gulf of Mexico they seek out calm bays and estuaries, waiting for the highest tides to emerge from the waves. They dig down into the wet sand and deposit huge numbers of pea-sized eggs. David R. Smith, a biological statistician who

It might seem peculiar to see bees at the beach. But the bumblebee-mimic digger bee (Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana) makes its home at beaches in Northern California and Oregon. Once they’ve mated, the females spend the spring digging their nests into sandy cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook They find a nearby source of water like a stream and slurp water into a pouch in their abdomen called a crop. They can make 80 daily trips back and forth from the stream to a cliff onto which they spray the water to soften it up. This allows them to dig a series of holes into which they lay their eggs. --- Do many bees nest in the ground? Yes. About 70% of the world’s bee species nest underground. --- Where else do bees make their nests? Mason bees, such as blue orchard bees, make their nests inside narrow cavities – for example, hollow twigs. And carpenter bees dig their nests in wood. --- Why

Native to the lakes of Mexico City, the axolotl stays in the water its whole life, swimming with a tail fin and breathing through frilly external gills. It’s nearly extinct in the wild, but survives in research labs the world over, studied for its amazing regenerative abilities. With our help, can these beloved creatures thrive once again in their ancestral home? SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt​ Go watch Animal IQ, on PBS Terra! : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDrBsr_KdVw&list=PLnNZYWyBGJ1EwEssKD7m6YN5gjYHxVNQN --- The axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is an aquatic salamander that basically never wants to grow up. It grows in size as it matures, but unlike most of its close cousins in the mole salamander family, it does not change into a land-dwelling adult. For its entire life, it lives in the water, retaining its larval characteristics – like external gills and a tailfin, used for swimming. Now, the few remaining wild axolotls left in the world live in the middle of Mexico City, in the ca

Hermit crabs are *obsessed* with snail shells. These crafty little crabs, found in California's rocky intertidal zone, are more than happy to let the snails build them a perfect home. When the crabs find a snail shell they like, they hop right into their new abode. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Hermit crabs are one of the most recognizable and adored inhabitants of tide pools. But they aren’t just cute (for a crab). “They’re one of the most important creatures in the intertidal zone because of their role as scavengers,” said Stephen Dunbar, a professor of biology at Loma Linda University. “They begin the process of cleaning up dead materials, like dead seaweed, fish, crabs, snails or whatev

The devilish caterpillars of the pipevine swallowtail butterfly *devour* the California pipevine, never mind that the plant is trying to poison them. Their butterfly moms don’t pollinate the pipevine in return, though. So, the vine traps unlucky gnats in its labyrinthine flowers to do the job. Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- This is the story of a love triangle between a plant, a striking butterfly and an intrepid gnat. At the center of this triangle is the California pipevine (Aristolochia californica). The plant produces poisonous compounds called aristolochic acids and it’s also known as the California Dutchman’s pipe because its flowers are shaped like a tobacco pipe. The California

Look past their grasping claws and lightning-fast stingers, and you'll see scorpions have a delicate pair of comb-like organs on their belly called pectines. These sensory body parts help them navigate, and figure out who's a menace, a meal or a mate. Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook​ SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt​ DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Scorpions are arachnids with a monstrous reputation, but wait until you get to know their sensitive side. On their belly-sides, scorpions sport unique, brush-like organs called pectines, that endow them with extraordinary sensing abilities. These sensors help the animals with a variety of behaviors: finding mates; hunting prey; identifying other scorpions or predators; and they even help them navigate. Each

Could this tiny creature, named after a mythical multiheaded monster, hold the secret to eternal youth? Related to jellyfish and anemones, the hydra has an almost otherworldly ability to heal itself and stave off aging. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- The hydra gets its name from the Lernaean Hydra, a monster from Greek mythology that guarded an entrance to the underworld. Chop off one of the beast’s many snake-like heads and two would grow in its place. While much less formidable in size, the real hydra does have a remarkable ability to heal from injuries. Cut a hydra in half and within a few days the bottom half will grow a new head. The severed head grows a new body. The secret to the hyd

This fly’s larvae tunnel inside bitter-tasting greens like arugula and kale, leaving squiggly marks behind. The plants fight back with toxic chemicals. So before laying her eggs, the fly mom digs into a leaf and slurps its sap – a taste test to find the least toxic spot for her offspring. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- As they feed inside a leaf’s spongy layer, leaf miners etch intricate patterns that are visible to us on the leaf’s surface. The whitish tan or light gray markings can be neatly serpentine or converge and have a blotch-like appearance, depending on what insect made them. Many different flies, butterflies and moths lay eggs on the leaves of citrus, vegetables and ornamental plants that grow into leaf miner larvae. One leaf miner that gardeners

To find its place in the shade! Each hollowed-out seed is home to a head-banging moth larva, just trying to survive the harsh Sonoran Desert sun. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt​ Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook​ DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Often sold as novelty items and exported worldwide, Mexican jumping beans are actually the seed capsules of a shrub (Sebastiania pavoniana) that have been taken over by the tiny larvae of an attractive grey moth (Cydia saltitans). The moth lays its eggs on the green immature capsule of female flowers in the spring and summer, and the immature larvae bore into the young seed capsules. The developing seed will be home and food for the larva as it grows. By late summer, the capsules separate into three sections, f

Female aphids are the matriarchs of a successful family operation— taking over your garden. But don’t lose hope; these pests have some serious predators and creepy parasites looking to take them down. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Aphids are one of gardeners’ most hated pests. They’re incredibly prolific, seemingly popping up overnight to take down your favorite veggies. "Aphids are just experts at reproducing," said Ian Grettenberger an entomologist at the University of California, Davis. "Given the right conditions, they can multiply really quickly and get out of control. For most of the year female aphids giving live birth to clones that are themselves already pregnant. That means t

What *is* that bizarre fishlike thing squirming in your sink at night? Firebrats and silverfish are pretty darn similar to some of the earliest insects on Earth. With three long filaments poking out their back, no wings and mini-me babies, they have something to teach us about survival. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Look closely at the firebrat munching on cereal in your kitchen or getting cozy in a pile of newspapers. You’ll see traits some of the earliest insects had around 400 million years ago. Take its three tail-looking filaments. The two outer ones are called cerci. They work like antennae, detecting chemicals and predators like house centipedes. Other insects, like cockroaches,

As the sun sets, hordes of tiny crustaceans called beach hoppers –– also known as sand hoppers –– emerge from underground burrows to frolic and feast. They eat so much decaying seaweed and other beach wrack that by morning all that’s left are ghostly outlines in the sand. Watch and Subscribe to PBS Terra: https://www.youtube.com/pbsterra SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt​ DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Night falls, and the beaches come alive with sand hoppers – hungry, jumping shrimp-like creatures that look a lot like giant translucent fleas. No, it’s not a horror movie, and these animals “don’t bite or suck your blood. They’re much more than fleas,” says Jenny Dugan of the Marine Science Institute at UC Santa Barbara. Through her research on sandy beach ecology, Dugan has spent years developi

Two tiny mites duke it out on strawberry plants throughout California. One is a spider mite that sucks the juices out of the delicious crop and destroys it. The other, persimilis, is a crafty predator that growers drop by the thousands from high-tech drones to protect their fields. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. Individual spider mites are barely visible, about the size of a grain of salt, but together they cause huge damage to crops around the world. They suck sap from the leaves and stems of crops and houseplants, leaving yellow or dry rusty leaves and tangles of fine silk. Farmers can use pesticides to knock them back, but spider mites quickly develop resistance, making them particularly st

California oak moth caterpillars eat all the leaves on an oak, leaving a brown skeleton. Then they rappel down on a strand of silk, twirling and swinging. If you were enjoying the shade, good luck getting out of their way. For the oak, the caterpillars are a bigger deal –– will the tree survive? SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- It’s an event that scientists still can’t explain. Every few years, a light-brown moth native to California seems to appear out of nowhere up and down the state. These California oak moths surround a few trees, usually coast live oaks. Females beat their wings frantically to attract a mate. Once they lay their eggs, the tree is in trouble. Bright-yellow, orange and b

A fly has a pair of tiny, dumbbell-shaped limbs called halteres that were once a second pair of wings. They wield them to make razor-sharp turns and land out of reach on your ceiling. But don't despair – there *is* a trick to smacking these infuriating insects. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Flies are formidable opponents, with an arsenal of tools they carry all over their bodies. For starters, their hair and antennae help a fly sense us as we walk up to them. And a fly’s eyes and tiny brain process information 10 times faster than human eyes and brains. “Compared to flies, humans are slow and sluggish creatures,” said Sanjay Sane, who researches flies at the National Centre for Biological

Eelgrass sea hares may look like lazy, zebra-striped spoonfuls of jello, but these sea slugs are actually environmental heroes. Their voracious appetite for algae helps keep underwater meadow ecosystems in balance–which is great news for sea otters. Deep Look Mollusk Playlist! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wtLrlIKvJE&list=PLdKlciEDdCQBKKj0mY_irUMTg_yS5VEHY SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Eelgrass sea hares are tiny aquatic slugs named for the bunny-like tentacles on top of their head. They can be found munching on the microscopic algae that grow on the surface of eelgrass, a type of marine seagrass. Also known as the Taylor’s sea hare, these humble, zebra-striped slices of green jello are actually crucial to the health of their ecosystem. They don’t eat t

They may look cute and colorful, but starfish are actually voracious predators. To sniff out and capture their prey, they rely on hundreds of water-propelled tube feet, each with a fiercely independent streak. Watch the new PBS Terra science show, OVERVIEW: https://youtu.be/Lt9qYvKFumM SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- On a visit to a friend’s lab in Tokyo, marine biologists Amy Johnson and Olaf Ellers witnessed something they’d never seen before. The starfish in Tatsuo Motokawa’s lab weren’t content slowly gliding across the floor of their tank, they bounced and galloped, zooming around their enclosure. For one of the most familiar animals in the sea, this was a new behavior, never before described in the scientific literature. “It was an absolute epiphany,” s

High up in their 300-foot tower penthouse, falcon stars Annie and Grinnell's romance quickly gets real, as they face the tough demands of raising a family. They furiously guard their eggs from invaders, then stuff their screaming newborn chicks with meat. Will these kids ever leave the nest? Watch Self Evident on PBS Voices! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQkloQHtdo4&list=PL1mtdjDVOoOoOprSD5CrM3bvGeNvgkzGS DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) wildlife and nature series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Grinnell, a male peregrine falcon, looked up from his nest and started screaming. It was late March and he was taking a turn warming the four eggs he and his partner, Annie, were caring for in their home atop the bell tower at the University of California, Berkeley. A young female peregrine falcon, quite a bit larger than Grinnell, was lurking on the ledge above

Orb weaver spiders build exquisite spiral webs not only to catch insects, but to extend their senses. Once they shrink-wrap their prey with silk, the nearly blind spiders can store them for later, and read their web's strands as a kind of memory map to guide them back. Take the PBS Digital Studios Survey! http://to.pbs.org/2020survey SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look: http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) wildlife and nature series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- The more than 48,000 spider species create a wide variety of web styles. There are over 4,000 different species of orb weaver spiders alone; these are the eight-legged spinners that create the famous spiral-shaped webs. Anyone who’s watched orb weavers in action has seen them use their exquisite creations to deftly ensnare flying insects. Impressive as this, the webs function as much more

Not every yellow bloom ― or fluffy white globe ― taking over your backyard is a dandelion. Some of them are close relatives called catsears. But both of them have a little secret. To tell them apart and discover why they’re so successful you need to peek under their petals. Take the PBS Digital Studios Survey: http://to.pbs.org/2020survey SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Gardeners cursing as they yank out yellow blooms from the ground might be misplacing their anger. Not everything that looks like a dandelion is one. Dandelions have many doppelgangers, among them the most successful plant you’ve never heard of: catsears. Bees and butterflies love the nectar and pollen provided by dandelions and catsears, and little songbirds like lesser goldfinches feed on the

Ducks and geese spend *a lot* of time preening their all-weather feathers. This obsessive grooming – and a little styling wax from a hidden spot on their back side – maintains the microscopic feather structure that keeps them warm and dry in frigid waters. Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Summer is a great time to be a bird watcher in California. Ducks, geese, and many other species of aquatic birds come to California to breed, build nests and raise broods. If you go to your local pond right now, chances are good that you will see a mallard or Canada goose paddling along with a gaggle of its offspring in tow. But watch for too long and you might find yourself wondering “how do these birds stay

Cape sundews are carnivorous plants that grow in bogs, where they don't have access to many nutrients. So they exude sweet, shimmering droplets from their tentacles to lure in unsuspecting insects. Once their prey is hopelessly stuck, they wrap it up and dissolve it for a tasty meal. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Please support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- If you have houseplants, most of the time there's not a lot of visible activity. But then there are carnivorous plants, like sundews. They aren’t content to just sit still. Typically found in habitats where other plants usually can’t thrive — like bogs with nutrient-poor soil — they often need to supplement their diet with nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Carnivorous plants have d

Ensatinas are a sprawling group of colorful salamanders, each one with different strategies for avoiding predators, from bold warning colors to confusing camouflage. Their diverse family tree offers us a rare snapshot of millions of years of evolution – how one species becomes many. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Even though they sport different colors and behaviors, and are spread out across the Western coastal states, from Canada to Baja California, they are still considered one species. That is because all types of ensatinas are able to mate and have offspring with each of their neighbors. But when researchers look more closely, the two types of ensatinas at the southern tips of their range — the Monterey ensatina and the large-blotched ensatina — only rarel

Ever wanted to be invisible? The elusive glasswing butterfly knows just how to do it. Its transparent wings, covered in an anti-glare nano-coating, help it hide from its predators in the rainforest. Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Bay Area biologists are studying a beautiful and exotic butterfly with the hope that their findings may one day improve technologies from eyeglasses to solar panels. Named for their transparent wings, glasswing butterflies have evolved a clever disappearing act to avoid their many predators in the rainforests of South and Central America. “Most things in the rainforest are either bright and flashy or they're trying their best to hide,” said Aaron Pomerantz, a docto

Sharpshooter insects are beautiful, but they transmit a devastating disease that kills grapevines. When it's time to mate, they shake their abdomens to make strange calls that – when amplified in a lab – sound like a clucking chicken, a howling monkey or a motorcycle revving up. Now scientists have found a way to use their songs against them. Please support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Entomologist Rodrigo Krugner has spent days on end listening to insects’ intimate conversations. This esoteric and painstaking bit of spy work is for a good cause: protecting your glass of California wine and bunch of table grapes. Krugner studies the mating calls of sap-sucking insects called sharpshooters at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s research facility in Parl

The new coronavirus packs a devastating punch. It penetrates deep into your lungs, causing our immune cells to go haywire and damage tiny air sacs – the alveoli – where oxygen normally flows into our blood. More COVID-19 Reporting and resources from KQED Science: https://www.kqed.org/science/1963200/how-covid-19-attacks-your-lungs Educators: Engage your students in an NGSS-aligned discussion about this video on KQED Learn: https://learn.kqed.org/discussions/68. KQED Learn is a safe online platform for middle and high school students to practice academic discourse. Please support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- The coronavirus has had an enormous impact on our lives: how we work, communicate and congregate. At this point, we’re familiar with how to protect o

The California floater mussel does a surprising amount of travel - for a bivalve. First it gets ejected from its parent's shell into the wide watery wilderness. Then it leads a nomad's life clamped on the fins or gills of a fish. Once it's all grown up, the mussel goes to work filtering the water, keeping it clean for all the life that depends on it. Check out Antarctic Extremes on PBS Terra: https://youtu.be/pzlA9HDNwBs DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- California floater mussels have evolved an ingenious method of launching their larvae, or glochidia, into the water, where they clamp onto a fish gill or fin. The larvae hitch a ride on the fish for a few weeks, absorbing nutrients from their hosts, until they drop off and begin life as a young mussel on the lake bed. If they’re lucky, the larvae on the fis

The Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can transmit dengue fever and Zika, makes a meal of us around our homes. And her eggs are hardy. They can dry out, but remain alive for months, waiting for a little water so they can hatch into squiggly larvae. Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- While the efforts to end COVID-19 have upended daily life, here’s something easy you can do to fight other dangerous diseases. Go through your house and yard and eliminate breeding places for the mosquitoes that can transmit dengue fever, a painful and sometimes deadly disease that afflicts an estimated 100 million people worldwide each year. The white-striped Aedes aegypti mosquito can also pass on the viruses that cause

Indian walking sticks are more than just twig impersonators. They even clone themselves into a surprising variety of colors to stay hidden in plain sight from predators. Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- There’s that old cheesy joke: What’s brown and sticky? A stick. But sometimes it’s not just a stick — but a walking stick. This non-native insect, originally from India, relies on clever camouflage to hide from predators. They’re so skilled at remaining undercover, you may not have noticed that they’ve made themselves right at home in your local park. Some Bay Area researchers are studying the insects’ genetics to learn more about how they are such masters of camouflage. "I can't think of any o

Before they can bite your cat or dog, these little "itch hikers" make an amazing leap 100 times faster than the blink of an eye. So how do they do it? Follow Lauren Sommer in her new job at NPR: https://www.npr.org/people/803934365/lauren-sommer Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Spring is here, and with it, the start of flea season. With the warming weather, people and their pets are spending more time outside — which increases the chances of bringing home a hungry “itch hiker.” While pet owners curse the tiny insects and look for a way to rid them from their homes, it turns out fleas actually perform some remarkable athletic feats, like jumping 50 times their height — the equivalent of a human jumping 300 feet — or leaping so fast that t

Kangaroo rats use their exceptional hearing and powerful hind legs to jump clear of rattlesnakes — or even deliver a stunning kick in the face. Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- As they forage, kangaroo rats need to continually scan the surrounding sandy environment for any predators – foxes, owls, and snakes – that could be anywhere. Once a well-camouflaged sidewinder rattlesnake strikes, aiming its venomous fangs at the furry seed-harvester, the kangaroo rat springs up, and away from the snake’s deadly bite, kicking its powerful hind legs at the snake’s face, and using its long tail to twist itself in mid-air away from the snake to safety. Kangaroo have the uncanny ability to jump high at ju

Not all roaches are filthy. The Madagascar hissing cockroach actually makes a pretty sweet pet, thanks to the hungry mites that serve as its cleaning crew. Check out Antarctic Extremes on PBS Terra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvRAuy1ZmTc SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- As the weather starts to warm and cold days give way to balmier, sunny days, one rite of spring returns every year, just like spring flowers: cockroaches. Most people run to buy a can of bug spray or to call the exterminator when they see the scurrying little insects in their kitchens or outside their homes. But not all roaches are pests. Some are pets – like the Madagascar hissing cockroach. They can be bought at pet stores or online for $5 or less. They don’t bite and don’t carry diseases. T

Mammalian moms, you're not alone! A female tsetse fly pushes out a single squiggly larva almost as big as herself, which she nourished with her own milk. Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Mammalian moms aren’t the only ones to deliver babies and feed them milk. Tsetse flies, the insects best known for transmitting sleeping sickness, do it too. A researcher at the University of California, Davis is trying to understand in detail the unusual way in which these flies reproduce in order to find new ways to combat the disease, which has a crippling effect on a huge swath of Africa. When it’s time to give birth, a female tsetse fly takes less than a minute to push out a squiggly yellowish larva almos

Male crickets have a different song for every occasion: to advertise their fitness, woo a mate or keep their rivals away. So how do they make all those different chirps? One word: stridulation. Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Ask most people about crickets and you’ll probably hear that they’re all pretty much the same: just little insects that jump and chirp. But there are actually dozens of different species of field crickets in the U.S. And because they look so similar, the most common way scientists tell them apart is by the sounds they make. “When I hear an evening chorus, all I hear are the different species,” said David Weissman, a research associate in entomology at the California Ac

To protect herself and her eggs, female webspinners shoot super-fine silk from their front feet. They weave the strands to build a shelter that serves as a tent, umbrella and invisibility cloak. But shooting silk from her feet requires her to moonwalk to get around. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Please support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- With the holidays just around the corner, it’s that time of year when you’re ready to burn off Thanksgiving turkey and Christmas cookie calories by heading outdoors for a hike. Maybe you’ve noticed what looks like spider webs woven in between weeds alongside the trail, or poking out from under rocks or draped across logs. But take a closer look – those webs might actually not be spider webs. A lot of them a

Every fall, male tarantulas leave home for good with one thing on their minds: sex. But before these spiders can make the ultimate connection, they have to survive the perils of the open road...which include their potential mates. Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. -- Every September, a generation of newly mature male tarantulas leave their underground homes to wander the landscape south of La Junta, Colorado, to look for mates. The lucky males will find females, who remain near their dens the whole lives, and possibly mate. But this so-called “migration” is a one‐way trip. Among the many risks for these itinerant tarantulas, besides running out of time and becoming roadkill, are the local tarantula

Something is growing inside that fruit fly in your kitchen. At dusk, the fly points its wings straight up and dies in a gruesome pose so that a fungus can ooze out and fire hundreds of reproductive spores. Join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. Some of the scariest monsters are the ones that grow inside another being and take over its body. Think of the movie Alien, where the reptile-like space creature explodes out of its victim’s chest. That monster might be fictional, but scientists are studying a fungus that’s horrifyingly real — at least for the flies it invades, turns into a zombie-like state and kills in order to reproduce. “Oh, it’s a nightmare for the flies,” said entomologist Brad Mullens, who studied the fungus at the University of California

Giant Malaysian leaf insects stay still – very still – on their host plants to avoid hungry predators. But as they grow up, they can't get lazy with their camouflage. They change – and even dance – to blend in with the ever-shifting foliage. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Please support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- You’ll have to look closely to spot a giant Malaysian leaf insect when it’s nibbling on the leaves of a guava or mango tree. These herbivores blend in seamlessly with their surroundings because  they look exactly like their favorite food: fruit leaves.  But you can definitely see these fascinating creatures at the California Academy of Sciences, located in the heart of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, through the spring of 2022. 

Kidnapper ants raid other ant species' colonies, abduct their young and take them back to their nest. When the enslaved babies grow up, the kidnappers trick them into serving their captors – hunting, cleaning the nest, even chewing up their food for them. Please join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. A miniature drama is playing out on the forest floor in California’s preeminent mountain range, the Sierra Nevada, at this time of year. As the sun sets, look closely and you might see a stream of red ants frantically climbing over leaves and rocks. They aren’t looking for food. They’re looking for other ants. They’re kidnappers. “It’s hard to know who you're rooting for in this situation,” says Kelsey Scheckel, a

Alfalfa leafcutting bees are way better at pollinating alfalfa flowers than honeybees. They don’t mind getting thwacked in the face by the spring-loaded blooms. And that's good, because hungry cows depend on their hard work to make milk. Join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook Please take our annual PBSDS Survey, for a chance to win a T-shirt! https://www.pbsresearch.org/c/r/DL_YTvideo DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Sure, cows are important. But next time you eat ice cream, thank a bee. Every summer, alfalfa leafcutting bees pollinate alfalfa in an intricate process that gets them thwacked by the flowers when they release the pollen that allows the plants to make seeds. The bees’ hard work came to fruition last week when growers in California finished harvesting the alfalfa seeds

Peregrine falcons catch other birds mid-flight by diving at more than 200 mph. To do it, they need some high-precision gear: special eyesight, talons and aerodynamics that can't be beat. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Please support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- While known for being the world’s fastest bird–peregrines have been clocked at diving more than 200 miles per hour–these majestic birds were at risk for going extinct 50 years ago. Widespread use of pesticides such as DDT decimated native populations of peregrine falcons. By 1970, California’s peregrine population had dwindled to only two known nesting pairs statewide. The federal government banned DDT in 1972. And successful restoration efforts spearheaded by organizations like The P

Check out America From Scratch: https://youtu.be/LVuEJ15J19s A rattlesnake's rattle isn't like a maraca, with little bits shaking around inside. So how exactly does it make that sound? SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Please support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook Watch America From Scratch: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClSZ6wHgU2h1W7eAGaa7cUw DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. Rattlesnakes are ambush predators, relying on staying hidden to get close to their prey. They don’t sport the bright colors that some venomous snakes use as a warning to predators. Fortunately, rattlesnakes have an unmistakable warning, a loud buzz made to startle any aggressor and hopefully avoid having to bite. If you hear the rattlesnake’s rattle here’s what to do: First, stop moving! You want to figure o

At night, these parasites crawl onto your bed, bite you and suck your blood. Then they find a nearby hideout where they leave disgusting telltale signs. But these pests have an Achilles’ heel that stops them cold. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. Adult bed bugs are about the size and color of an apple seed. After biting, they hide in a nearby cranny, like the seam of the mattress. At the University of California, Irvine, biologist and engineer Catherine Loudon is working to create synthetic surfaces that could trap bed bugs. She was inspired by the tiny hooked hairs that grow from the leaves of some varieties of beans, such as kidney and green beans. In nature, these hairs, called trichomes, pierce thro

Straight out of science fiction, the fearsome wormlion ambushes prey at the bottom of a tidy - and terrifying - sand pit, then flicks their carcasses out. These meals fuel its transformation into something unexpected. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Join our community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- Ominous creatures that lurk deep underground in the desert, like the sandworms in the classic science fiction novel "Dune," aren’t just make-believe. For ants and other prey, wormlions are a terrifying reality. While quite small—they can grow up to an inch—wormlions are fly larvae that curl up their bodies like slingshots. Usually found under rock or log overhangs in dry, sandy landscapes, they’ll energetically fling soil, sand and pebbles out of the way t

Yep, you probably have Demodex mites living on your face. These tiny arachnids feast on sebum, the greasy oil in your pores. But should you be worried about your eight-legged guests? SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt Please support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. Pretty much every adult human alive has a population of these mites living on them. Also called eyelash mites, they’re too small to see with the naked eye. They’re mostly transparent, and at about .3 millimeters long, it would take about five face adult mites laid end to end to stretch across the head of a pin. Face mites spend their days face-down inside your hair follicles nestled up against the hair shaft. They eat sebum, that greasy oil your skin makes to protect itself and keep it from dr

Honey bees make honey from nectar to fuel their flight – and our sweet tooth. But they also need pollen for protein. So they trap, brush and pack it into baskets on their legs to make a special food called bee bread. JOIN our Deep Look community on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. Spring means honey bees flitting from flower to flower. This frantic insect activity is essential to growing foods like almonds, raspberries and apples. Bees move pollen, making it possible for plants to grow the fruit and seeds they need to reproduce. But honey bees don’t just move pollen from plant to plant. They also keep a lot for themselves. They carry it around in neat little balls, one on each of their hind legs. Collecting, packing and