I came across this presentation on Netflix streaming movies. As would be expected the picture and sound are outstanding, and of course Meryl Streep's narration is beyond reproach.
As she narrates she assumes the identity of a flower. Not just any flower, but every flower. She goes on to explain that early Earth had no flowers and when they were "invented" it entirely changed the balance and dynamic. Without flowers we would have no fruit, and without fruit we would have far fewer choices of things to eat.
So flowers get pollinated and fruits form. But how does the pollination happen? By small flying things. Insects, especially bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, and bats. Those four are the focus of the "wings of life" in the title of this presentation.
It uses remarkable photography to illustrate its points. Nighttime film of bats first pollinating, then weeks later feasting on the fruit of desert cactus. Hummingbirds fighting to defend their sources of nectar. Bumble bees and honey bees doing their work. The long migration of Monarch Butterflies.
All in all a superb and interesting presentation. There is a cautionary tone near the end, of honey bees disappearing mysteriously, and the habits we humans have of clearing land and building homes and highways, taking away some of the natural habitats of these necessary pollinators. And all that is true, but the whole presentation is much more science and nature than it is politics.
As she narrates she assumes the identity of a flower. Not just any flower, but every flower. She goes on to explain that early Earth had no flowers and when they were "invented" it entirely changed the balance and dynamic. Without flowers we would have no fruit, and without fruit we would have far fewer choices of things to eat.
So flowers get pollinated and fruits form. But how does the pollination happen? By small flying things. Insects, especially bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, and bats. Those four are the focus of the "wings of life" in the title of this presentation.
It uses remarkable photography to illustrate its points. Nighttime film of bats first pollinating, then weeks later feasting on the fruit of desert cactus. Hummingbirds fighting to defend their sources of nectar. Bumble bees and honey bees doing their work. The long migration of Monarch Butterflies.
All in all a superb and interesting presentation. There is a cautionary tone near the end, of honey bees disappearing mysteriously, and the habits we humans have of clearing land and building homes and highways, taking away some of the natural habitats of these necessary pollinators. And all that is true, but the whole presentation is much more science and nature than it is politics.