0:00:02 > 0:00:06# Marauding mice and walls of ice and sharks on a golfing spree
0:00:06 > 0:00:09# Cicada swarms and Martian storms and fish walking out of the sea... #
0:00:09 > 0:00:10Really?
0:00:10 > 0:00:14# Elks in trees and foaming seas and giant mayfly mobs... #
0:00:14 > 0:00:15Huh?
0:00:15 > 0:00:18# Zombie snails and friendly whales and completely frozen frogs... #
0:00:18 > 0:00:19You what?
0:00:19 > 0:00:21# They're wild and weird, wild and weird
0:00:21 > 0:00:23# Really, really wild and really, really weird
0:00:23 > 0:00:25# They're wild and weird Wild and weird
0:00:25 > 0:00:27# They're really, really wild
0:00:27 > 0:00:29# They're really, really wild and weird. #
0:00:29 > 0:00:30Coming up on today's show -
0:00:30 > 0:00:33a horde of invading armies,
0:00:33 > 0:00:35bugs that like a bit of DIY,
0:00:35 > 0:00:38some plants taking a tumble
0:00:38 > 0:00:41and the worst holiday destination ever.
0:00:56 > 0:00:57- HE WHISPERS:- Naomi. Naomi.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01- What is it?- Get down.
0:01:01 > 0:01:02What's wrong?
0:01:02 > 0:01:05I think we've been invaded by an army of body-snatching aliens.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07- What?- Yeah.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11I was in the bathroom earlier on and I saw a full-sized replica of myself
0:01:11 > 0:01:12right next to the shower.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15- In the bathroom upstairs?- Yeah.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19The one with the full-length mirror next to the shower?
0:01:19 > 0:01:21Yeah, that's the one.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23Is it...? Oh.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26- It's my reflection again, isn't it?- Yes, Tim.- Yeah.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28- Feel a bit embarrassed now.- Hm.
0:01:28 > 0:01:29Hey, I'll tell you what,
0:01:29 > 0:01:32I've got a clip of a real-life invading army we could watch.
0:01:32 > 0:01:33OK.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37- Morning.- Morning, Tim.- Morning.
0:01:37 > 0:01:38HE GASPS
0:01:40 > 0:01:44We start on the other side of the Atlantic, in Nashville, Tennessee.
0:01:44 > 0:01:49Where, in 2011, an invasion of truly epic proportions took place.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Please don't be bugs, please don't be bugs.
0:01:52 > 0:01:58Emerging eerily from the ground were millions upon millions of mysterious
0:01:58 > 0:01:59bugs.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01Why is it always bugs?!
0:02:01 > 0:02:05The town was under siege from a plague of insects
0:02:05 > 0:02:07attacking the locals from all directions.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10And, oddly, anyone using a power tool outside
0:02:10 > 0:02:12was being completely mobbed.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Talk about DIY SOS.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19Residents like John G Brittle Jr got out their video cameras
0:02:19 > 0:02:21to record the invasion.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25But if you think you've got bugs, let me tell you something,
0:02:25 > 0:02:26you ain't got bugs like these.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30We got them by the million.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32HE CHUCKLES
0:02:32 > 0:02:35They're literally flying around, you're batting them away
0:02:35 > 0:02:37and trying to get them out of your hair.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39I have friends who didn't leave their house.
0:02:39 > 0:02:40SCREAMING AND LAUGHTER
0:02:40 > 0:02:43There are people who don't like bugs.
0:02:43 > 0:02:44Who does like bugs?
0:02:44 > 0:02:46I quite like bugs, yeah.
0:02:46 > 0:02:47He does.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49SHE SHRIEKS
0:02:49 > 0:02:50She doesn't.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53Well, there's no reason to be scared, Naomi,
0:02:53 > 0:02:56because the bugs in question are cicadas.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00A relation of the aphid and they are completely harmless.
0:03:00 > 0:03:01I'll take your word for it.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05And they've been invading this town, regular as clockwork,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08every 13 years.
0:03:08 > 0:03:1013?! Unlucky for some.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Well, actually, unlucky everyone.
0:03:12 > 0:03:13Except maybe John.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15I quite like bugs, yeah.
0:03:15 > 0:03:16He likes bugs.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22In total, around 10 million cicadas had crawled out off the ground,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25forming a ghostly red-eyed army.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28One by one, they moulted out of their old skins
0:03:28 > 0:03:31and unfurled a set of wings
0:03:31 > 0:03:33before taking to the skies to mate.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36But why so many?
0:03:36 > 0:03:40One or two cicada I could handle, why 10 million?
0:03:40 > 0:03:43Let's ask insect guru Dr Gene Kritsky.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48First few that come out and transform into the adults
0:03:48 > 0:03:51usually get eaten by birds and squirrels and raccoons.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55But, eventually, the predators become so tired of eating them
0:03:55 > 0:03:56they just stop.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00To use an illustration, if you were to go outside
0:04:00 > 0:04:04and see the place being riddled with hundreds of chocolate candies,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08you might eat as many as you can but eventually you'd get tired of it.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10You know, Tim, in science,
0:04:10 > 0:04:14it's very important to thoroughly test all theories.
0:04:14 > 0:04:15Just to ensure their accuracy.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20And that allows the second wave, as they continue to emerge,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23to have enough individuals around to survive, to reproduce.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27He's right about the chocolate thing.
0:04:27 > 0:04:28No, thanks.
0:04:28 > 0:04:29SHE SIGHS
0:04:30 > 0:04:32So, if they only come out every 13 years,
0:04:32 > 0:04:34what are they doing the rest of the time?
0:04:34 > 0:04:36Sleeping?
0:04:36 > 0:04:39No, the cicada nymphs are simply waiting underground -
0:04:39 > 0:04:41digging, feeding and growing -
0:04:41 > 0:04:44until the big day when they can emerge,
0:04:44 > 0:04:46take to the air and sing.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Wait. Did you say sing?
0:04:49 > 0:04:50- Mm, yeah.- What, as in,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53# La la la la-aa-aa? #
0:04:53 > 0:04:54Ooh.
0:04:54 > 0:04:55Oh.
0:04:55 > 0:04:56No, it's more like this.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58CHIRPING
0:04:58 > 0:05:00- HE SHOUTS:- This is the mating song of the male cicada
0:05:00 > 0:05:02and it's loud, really loud!
0:05:02 > 0:05:04It can peak at about
0:05:04 > 0:05:06- HE STOPS SHOUTING:- 100 decibels which is the same
0:05:06 > 0:05:07as a typical rock concert.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10It's a bit like me trying to win your heart by doing this -
0:05:10 > 0:05:14MM-MM-MM-MM-MM...
0:05:14 > 0:05:17Is it making me attractive? MM-MM-MM...
0:05:17 > 0:05:19No. You sound like a drill.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Well, funny you should say that, Naomi,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25because that explains why these amorous cicadas were so attracted
0:05:25 > 0:05:28to the town's DIY enthusiasts.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Because the male song vibrates at much the same frequency
0:05:31 > 0:05:33as your average power tool.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39Luckily, there are some slightly more melodic cicada tunes.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44# Cicada
0:05:44 > 0:05:46# Run out of your hole. #
0:05:46 > 0:05:48# Cicadas
0:05:48 > 0:05:52# Why can't you leave us all alone and vacate to Vegas?
0:05:54 > 0:05:57# And say farewell to this time zone
0:05:57 > 0:05:58# Oh, cicadas. #
0:05:59 > 0:06:00I'm speechless.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03I'm literally speechless.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05Well, you're not, are you?
0:06:05 > 0:06:07If you were speechless you wouldn't be able to say,
0:06:07 > 0:06:09"I'm speechless," you'd literally just go...
0:06:10 > 0:06:12- Shall we move on?- Yeah.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14For our next story we're staying in America.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18This time in the hot and hazy state of California where for a few days
0:06:18 > 0:06:23every year the town of Bakersfield is invaded by an army
0:06:23 > 0:06:24of plants.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27A plant? That's the best you can do?
0:06:27 > 0:06:30- Well...- Plants are rubbish.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34"Ooh, I'm a plant. I don't do anything, I just sit there.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37- "I can't invade anything."- Sssh.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41Don't say bad things about Johnny, he has ferns in high places.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44- Ferns, don't you mean FRIENDS in high places?- No, ferns.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Anyway, I wasn't talking about Johnny,
0:06:46 > 0:06:48I was talking about this kind of plant.
0:06:50 > 0:06:51The tumbleweed.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55Lonesome wanderer of the American Wild West.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04Unlike other plants, this High Plains drifter likes to get out and about.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07OK, so it can roll a bit, big deal!
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Nobody's going to be scared of that if it invades their town, are they?
0:07:12 > 0:07:14SHE SHRIEKS
0:07:14 > 0:07:15LAUGHTER
0:07:16 > 0:07:18OK, she might have been a little bit scared
0:07:18 > 0:07:21but you could hardly call that an invading army, can you?
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Maybe but sometimes these wandering weeds aren't so lonesome.
0:07:25 > 0:07:26Check this out.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28For a few days every year,
0:07:28 > 0:07:32thousands upon thousands of tumbleweeds roll through Bakersfield.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34This is the attack of the tumbleweed!
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Clogging up back yards and gardens for miles around.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42We have a long fence and they were just covered down the whole side,
0:07:42 > 0:07:47almost an eighth of a mile of just fence of nothing but tumbleweeds.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49When I drove in thought, "Oh, my."
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Tumbleweeds were everywhere.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53Some sort of hedge trimmer will sort that out.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56SHE GASPS Don't listen to him, Johnny.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59And as for Bakersfield's streets and highways,
0:07:59 > 0:08:00they're temporarily converted
0:08:00 > 0:08:03into the world's most dangerous game of dodgems.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05It's almost like a fog that's come through,
0:08:05 > 0:08:07so you've got the dust in the air,
0:08:07 > 0:08:09so all of a sudden you see cars appear out of nowhere.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12They hit a car and they just seem to scatter and smash.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15All of a sudden, it just goes, "Pew!" And it just disintegrates.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17Traffic gets a bit crazy because they'll end up,
0:08:17 > 0:08:19breaking and letting the tumbleweed cross
0:08:19 > 0:08:22and it's, like, so all of a sudden you're slamming on the brakes.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24Looks a bit more like an invading army now,
0:08:24 > 0:08:28- doesn't it, Mr Smarty-Pants?- A little but it still wouldn't scare me.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31What, even if you were right out in the middle of it?
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Argh!
0:08:37 > 0:08:40OK, it's mildly scary.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42So, where do they come from?
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Well, tumbleweeds start out like many other plants.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Just unassuming green shrubs stuck in the ground.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51But when winter arrives, the plant dries out
0:08:51 > 0:08:55and curls up into a ball, waiting for a gust of wind.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58When the Santa Ana winds come, they rock the tumbleweeds
0:08:58 > 0:09:02and they snap off their bases and then they start tumbling.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05And this last year we had a lot of tumbleweeds.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07Thousands and thousands.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Right. So, why are there so many of them in Bakersfield, then?
0:09:10 > 0:09:13Well, Bakersfield is set in miles of open land
0:09:13 > 0:09:17and trapped between two mountain ranges so the prevailing winds funnel
0:09:17 > 0:09:22the tumbleweeds straight towards the town at speeds of up to 50mph.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26But why do they do it? Do they just like being dizzy?
0:09:26 > 0:09:31No. Each tumbleweed has around 200,000 seeds and as they roll
0:09:31 > 0:09:35they scatter, ready to take root and turn into the next generation.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37And this method is so successful,
0:09:37 > 0:09:41tumbleweed is now growing out of control right across North America.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45So, Bakersfield can expect even more tumbling invaders in future years.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Is it's getting dark in here or is it...?
0:09:51 > 0:09:54I think some of Johnny's friends might have overheard
0:09:54 > 0:09:55what you said about him.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57- RUSTLING - Ooh!
0:09:57 > 0:09:58Wa-aa-aa-aa...
0:09:58 > 0:10:00SCUFFLING
0:10:00 > 0:10:04So, next time you think plants are just plain, boring stick-in-the-muds
0:10:04 > 0:10:08you might want to remember the poor old residents of Bakersfield.
0:10:08 > 0:10:09TIM WHIMPERS
0:10:09 > 0:10:10CRASHING
0:10:12 > 0:10:13HE PANTS
0:10:15 > 0:10:19OK, I admit it. Plants can be a terrifying invading army.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Told you.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24- What's that? - Oh, it's a holiday brochure.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26Just booked a three-week holiday to Guam.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28Guam the island?
0:10:28 > 0:10:32Yes, the beautiful, remote, tropical island
0:10:32 > 0:10:35nestled in the crystal blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38You do know the story about Guam, don't you?
0:10:39 > 0:10:41What story?
0:10:42 > 0:10:44This story.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49The tiny island of Guam in the Western Pacific.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Beach towel, check.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56Home to a range of colourful and quirky native wildlife.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00Binoculars, little bit of bird spotting, check.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04Er, that is until the 1950s when one by one the native bird species
0:11:04 > 0:11:06began to systematically vanish
0:11:06 > 0:11:10until the once raucous rainforest was completely empty
0:11:10 > 0:11:11and silent.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Oh. No bird spotting, then.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18But I can still go for long walks in the rainforest, can't I?
0:11:18 > 0:11:21You could but I should point out next
0:11:21 > 0:11:24the silent forest filled with spiders.
0:11:25 > 0:11:30Their webs continually expanding, covering every available space.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33- Oh. well, maybe I'll give the rainforest a miss.- Yeah.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36So, what had stunned the island into silence
0:11:36 > 0:11:39and given rise to an army of spiders?
0:11:39 > 0:11:42Queue the black and white archive.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Occupying a strategic position in the Western Pacific,
0:11:45 > 0:11:50Guam was used by the Americans as a military base during WWII.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54But the US soldiers left behind a very different invading army.
0:11:55 > 0:11:56The spiders.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59- No, snakes.- Snakes?!- Mm-mm.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02- I thought you said the island was full of spiders?- It is.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04It's full of snakes, as well.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06Great.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09The Papua New Guinean brown tree snake, to be precise.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12They arrived as stowaways on the US ships.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Having never seen a predator like this before,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17the native birds simply didn't know how to respond.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19They were easy pickings.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22The snakes gradually spread out across the island,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25chomping down all our feathery friends as they went.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28But one species' loss was another species' gain.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33With no birds around to eat them, the spider population exploded.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37Guam now has 40 times more spiders than its neighbouring islands.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44So, basically, it's just an island filled with snakes and spiders?
0:12:44 > 0:12:46Venomous snakes and spiders, yeah.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51Well, that's OK. I mean, I can stay at the hotel.
0:12:51 > 0:12:52I could have a barbecue or two.
0:12:54 > 0:12:55I'd be careful having a barbecue.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Because brown snakes are not fussy eaters,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01they'll happily scavenge our food, as well.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04So, they'll probably be hanging out at the hotel, too.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08- I'll just stay in my room. I could lock myself in the bathroom.- Yeah.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12Watch yourself in the shower, though.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16I've just remembered, actually,
0:13:16 > 0:13:18Tim, I need to reorganise my stamp collection.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20I'm going to have to cancel this holiday.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22- That's a shame.- Mm.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25But there is hope because the US government have now begun
0:13:25 > 0:13:29hunting the snakes down to try and control their numbers on the island.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32But for the time being, it looks like both the spiders and snakes
0:13:32 > 0:13:35of Guam are here to stay.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41- Shall I help you put your suitcase away, then?- Oh, thanks, Tim.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43- That's unexpectedly kind of you. - It's the least I can do.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46HE WHISTLES
0:13:47 > 0:13:49- Thanks, Tim.- You're welcome, Tim.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52I know, yeah, he's handsome, isn't he?
0:13:55 > 0:13:57# Wild and weird, wild and weird
0:13:57 > 0:13:59# Really, really wild and really, really weird
0:13:59 > 0:14:02# They're wild and weird wild and weird
0:14:02 > 0:14:03# They're really, really wild
0:14:03 > 0:14:07# They're really, really wild and weird. #
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Wild and weird!