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George's marvellous minibeasts

A video collection featuring bugs and insects in amazing close up selected by insect expert and TV presenter George McGavin, with Goliath spiders, killer centipedes, ants and moths. By no means everyone's favourite animals bugs - encompassing true bugs and other creepy crawlies - hold a special place in George's heart and led him to an academic career at Oxford University. Having worked as scientific advisor on Attenborough's Life in the Undergrowth, George became a presenter in his own right. He is now loved and admired for his passionate engagement with invertebrates, whether in the jungles of Bhutan or the back gardens of One Show viewers.

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19 video clips in this collection

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View all 19 video clips

Animals in this collection

  • Glowworm hauling prey into a nest Fungus gnats

    There are four species of fungus gnat in the genus Arachnocampa.

  • Leaf-cutting ants on a branch Leaf-cutter ants

    The farmers of the insect world, leaf-cutter ants grow their own food in underground...

  • A subadult desert locust perched on a plant spine Desert locust

    The desert locust is one of about a dozen species of grasshoppers known as locusts which...

  • Close-up of the jumping spider Himalayan jumping spider

    The Himalayan jumping spider is a tiny spider that lives high up in the Himalayas, and...

  • A mass of monarch butterflies flying Butterflies and moths

    Elegant and beautiful, butterflies and moths never fail to impress.

  • Upside down money spider Money spiders

    The money spider family is a huge group, with thousands of species in it.

  • A cicada swarm covering a tree Periodical cicadas

    Large numbers of periodical cicadas emerge from the ground every few years, instead of a...

  • A monarch butterfly sucking at a fruit Monarch butterfly

    Monarch butterflies perform one of the world's most spectacular, annual, long-distance...

  • Black-palp wolf spider

    Black-palp wolf spiders are a common species of European wolf spider.

  • Indian tarantula climbing over a log Tarantulas

    Tarantulas have large, hairy bodies that make them the stuff of nightmares for many, but...

  • Termites building a mud wall Termites

    Termites are a highly successful group of colonial insects, with thousands of species.

Adaptations in this collection

  • A male leafy sea dragon with eggs Paternal care

    Paternal care is where the father of the offspring provides most or all of the effort...

  • Wildebeest migration in Kenya Migration

    Migration is the usually seasonal movement of animals in pursuit of food, suitable...

  • Black-blotched porcupinefish has inflated its body while swimming Predation defence

    Predation defence comes in many forms: physiological, anatomical and behavioural.

  • A firefly glowing yellow and green Bioluminescence

    Bioluminescence is light created by living organisms and and it can create the most...

  • A group of termite workers with two soldiers Eusocial

    Eusocial describes species with a very highly developed social structure.

  • Arctic tern in flight Adapted to flying

    Flying, in its true sense, is the ability to move through the air under your own power...

  • Wallace's gliding frog in mid-glide Adapted to gliding

    Gliding is where after an initial leap, animals rely on gravity to get them where they...

  • A hibernating dormouse curled up asleep in its nest next to hazelnuts Hibernation

    Hibernation is an extended period of deep sleep, or torpor, that allows animals to...

  • Kangaroo hopping over dry grassland Adapted to jumping

    Jumping is a method some animals have evolved to get around efficiently.

  • Japanese macaque cuddling her two-week-old baby Maternal care

    Maternal care is where the mother of the offspring provides most or all of the effort...

  • Tadpole sitting on a leaf Metamorphosis

    Metamorphosis is when a species changes body shape and structure at a particular point...

  • Red-eared turtle hatching out of its egg Egg layer

    Oviparous animals lay eggs, inside which the young then develop before hatching occurs.

  • Andean emerald hummingbird feeding at a yellow flower Pollinator

    Pollinators carry pollen from plant to plant and, often unwittingly, play a crucial role...

  • Long-beaked common dolphins circling a sardine baitball Predator

    Predators are creatures that catch and kill other animals for food.

  • Garden spider on web Trapping predator

    Trapping predators perform a particular type of ambush that involves constructing...

  • Sockeye salmon swimming over dead salmon at spawning ground Semelparous

    Semelparous organisms reproduce only once in their lives and then die.

  • A shoal of fish Swarming

    Swarming happens when animals gather or travel together in large numbers.

  • Banded mongoose foraging for parasites on skin of a warthog Symbiotic

    Symbiosis is a relationship between two organisms that's beneficial to one (commensal)...

  • Venom dripping out of a prairie rattlesnake Venomous

    Venomous organisms inflict poisonous wounds by actively biting, stinging or scratching...

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