Watching factual channels is my favorite late night Bridge To Dreamland activity–aside from personifying Midnight Snack, of course. Feeding your mind with all those pieces of knowledge that I obviously cannot get from the professional industry I’m in either renews my perspective on a specific subject or installs new badass information on my gray hard drive. Other than those, I can have a ready trivia that serves as an icebreaker or an awkwardness crusher to any conversation I am in. “I watched Animal Planet last night–I think I saw you. HAH I’M KIDDING IS IT FUNNY?.”
Anyway, I came across with this show and I think it’s worth sharing with all of you. Too bad, I can’t find encore schedules for this program–Aliens of The Amazon. I hope my (human) friends from Animal Planet can help me.
I'm sure I wasn't watching "Alien Planet."
Here’s a Press Release:
GET READY FOR CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE INSECT KIND,
THIS APRIL ON ALIENS OF THE AMAZON
The Membracidae insect family, more commonly known as ‘treehoppers,’ is roughly unknown to us. They have been in existence for at least 40 million years but have never been studied, photographed, or filmed until now. Bizarre in appearance, some liken them to miniature aliens while others consider them to be true masterpieces of biodiversity. How do these creatures live? What is the use of their super-structure? And what role do they play in the ecosystem of the tropical rainforest? This April, Animal Planet journeys deep into the forests of Ecuador for some very close encounters with these ALIENS OF THE AMAZON, to find out. ALIENS OF THE AMAZON premieres every Sunday at 1900 hrs (7:00 pm SIN/HK), beginning April 10. Encores Thursday at 1400 hrs (2:00 pm) and Sunday, April 17 at 1200 hrs (12:00 pm).
Forehead protrusions, large globular eyes, razor-sharp mandibles. These creatures sound like the stuff of science fiction movies. But they are very real and very much of this world, inhabiting the treetops and various strata of the tropical Amazonian rainforest. Treehoppers range in size from 25 millimeters to two millimeters – about the size of a walnut down to that of a pinhead. Their inconspicuous size has helped these tiny insects evade scrutiny, and as such they have largely remained a mystery to entomologists.
A two-part series, ALIENS OF THE AMAZON follows a group of researchers as they embark on a unique expedition in Ecuador. The team is led by Dr Stuart McKamey, a Research Entomologist with the USDA Smithsonian Institution and a world authority on treehoppers. With him are Carolina Godoy from Costa Rica, an entomologist and author of the only scientific field guide on treehoppers; Nic Tatarnic, an evolutionary biologist from Canada; Rex Cocroft, from The University of Missouri, Colombia, who specializes in the communication of treehoppers; Patrick Landmann, the expedition photographer; and Yves Paccalet, a philosopher and writer who has travelled the world with Captain Cousteau. The team is under the watchful eye of Humberto, their guide from the local Huaorani tribe.
Starting out from Quito, the capital of Equador, the group sets off on the hunt to discover some of the weirdest creatures in wildlife, tiny insects of infinite complexity and curious design. Equipped with state-of-the-art imagery gear, the team reveals the infinitely strange and the most outlandish of sounds from the world of these bizarre bugs. Filmed for the very first time under the environmental scanning electron microscope, we are able to view them under a new dimension where minute features such as hairs look like trees, and cavities look like craters.
Watch how a symbamorpha nymph perfectly imitates a green leaf. Witness the talinia hiding in perfect camouflage (if you can spot it!) amongst the foliage. Learn how the solitary heteronotus communicates. Observe how treehoppers protect their offspring from the dangers of the rainforest – a rare behaviour for insects. Tune in for these incredible insights and more, on Animal Planet’s ALIENS OF THE AMAZON.
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