Help! I'm No Bigger Than A Bug

Unbeknown to most of us, a secret world with life-threatening dangers, deadly predators and endless wars exists right on our doorstep. The average British garden is a melting pot of thousands of creatures all fighting for survival in their very own ‘jungle’. Intrepid naturalist Nigel Marven undertakes a unique dramatised exploration of this habitat, going on safari on his own back garden after being ‘shrunk’ down to the size of an ant. This new documentary for ITV1 uses the latest in motion-control camera movement, CGI, macro-photography and pioneering computer software to view the typical British garden in stunning detail.

Starring Sarah Matravers as Nigel’s Technical Assistant Laura Green and Robin Lawrence as driver Doug Kruger, the programme follows the adventures of the team as they shrink to half an inch tall and attempt to cross the length of Nigel’s garden in just 24 hours. Investigating the struggles which go on every day, Nigel will bring to life the miniature world which exists all around. All the creatures, and the garden itself, are entirely real and their scale is dovetailed with that of Nigel, to place him realistically inside their secret world.

Nigel begins his investigations at the bottom of the garden, witnessing the food chain first hand as black ants scurry to protect aphids who are in turn, eaten by ladybirds. He reveals Ladybirds to be vicious predators with a tough shell like a miniature armoured tank which protects them.

Moving on to the pond Nigel sees a group of pond skaters attack a drowning wasp with the ruthless efficiency of a pack of hyenas as they eat the wasp alive from the inside out. Revealing that dragonflies spend 95% of their lives underwater, those at the bottom of the pond are filmed attacking fish at lightening speed, 12 times faster than a human blink of the eye. Once they emerge from the water and hatch, dragonflies live for one month only and the team are lucky enough to see one emerge from its cocoon and take its unsteady first flight.

As the light fades, Nigel undertakes a night safari. Chased by a shrew which uses ultrasonic sounds to navigate itself, he narrowly escapes death when the shrew is captured by a Tawney Owl, whose feathers break up the wind specifically to allow a silent attack. All around, beetles set to work on the corpses of dead animals, helping to bury them and using them as the perfect home for laying their eggs.

As dawn sets in and the sun begins to rise, the team see bumble bees warm their bodies up to 30 degrees so they can fly earlier in the day than other insects and get first pickings at the pollen and nectar available. The bees will fly over 300 miles and visit 80,000 flowers for just one teaspoon of honey.

Using an innovative way to explore the average British back garden, Help! I’m No Bigger Than a Bug brings wildlife programming closer to home then ever before.

Last edited: Tuesday, 2 December 2008