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A hair-trigger existence – the extreme peril of feasting on Venus flytrap nectar
One of the most deceptive members of the plant kingdom, the Venus flytrap lures insects and arachnids onto its leaves with the promise of sweet nectar, only to snap shut, trapping its unsuspecting prey once its motion-sensing hairs are triggered. This harrowing extract from BBC’s ‘Life Story’, featuring hungry flies getting caught in the plants’ clutches, shows that even in the absence of brains, life can be startlingly cunning.
Video by BBC’s ‘Life Story’
Narrator: David Attenborough
video
Nature and landscape
‘A culture is no better than its woods’ – what our trees reveal about us, by W H Auden
5 minutes
video
Animals and humans
One man’s quest to save an orphaned squirrel, as narrated by David Attenborough
14 minutes
video
Biology
Butterflies become unrecognisable landscapes when viewed under electron microscopes
4 minutes
video
Fairness and equality
There’s a dirty side to clean energy in the metal-rich mountains of South Africa
10 minutes
video
Biology
‘Save the parasites’ may not be a popular rallying cry – but it could be a vital one
11 minutes
video
Evolution
The many ways a lizard tongue sticks, grasps, pinches and plops – in slo-mo
6 minutes
video
Animals and humans
Villagers struggle to keep their beloved, endangered ape population afloat
19 minutes
video
Biology
Starlings swoosh like brushstrokes across the sky in this dazzling short
3 minutes
video
Ecology and environmental sciences
The tree frog die-off that sparked a global mystery – and revealed a dark truth
15 minutes