0:00:02 > 0:00:06# Marauding mice and walls of ice and sharks on a golfing spree
0:00:06 > 0:00:10# Cicada swarms and Martian storms and fish walking out of the sea... #
0:00:10 > 0:00:11Really?
0:00:11 > 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 > 0:00:31Love is in the air on today's show including
0:00:31 > 0:00:34a strange sound that's bewitched a town...
0:00:34 > 0:00:35Neh!
0:00:35 > 0:00:40..A swarm of mayflies on an intensive speed date...
0:00:40 > 0:00:43..And the kissing bug which loves nothing more than kissing us.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Do you know what?
0:00:52 > 0:00:55You really do have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Tim, I don't know what to say...
0:00:58 > 0:01:00And those eyelashes
0:01:00 > 0:01:01get me every time.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05And as for those
0:01:05 > 0:01:08floppy ears and waggy tail,
0:01:08 > 0:01:09well...
0:01:11 > 0:01:13Oh. Oh, I see.
0:01:13 > 0:01:14Oh, I thought...
0:01:14 > 0:01:17No, no. Do you want a biscuit?
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Yeah, I suppose it's some consolation.
0:01:20 > 0:01:21- No, that one's for the...- What?
0:01:21 > 0:01:22- Oh...- Oh.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24You know, when it comes to love,
0:01:24 > 0:01:26I like to be serenaded with a beautiful song.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28It's funny you say that.
0:01:28 > 0:01:29Have a look at this.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34This is Sausalito on America's West Coast,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37an exclusive neighbourhood of houseboats
0:01:37 > 0:01:42kissed by the gently lapping waves of San Francisco Bay.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Could there be a more romantic location to find true love?
0:01:46 > 0:01:48Are you feeling all right?
0:01:48 > 0:01:50Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just go with it, go with it.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52Because when darkness falls,
0:01:52 > 0:01:57the lover's serenade of a real American beauty strikes up.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Here's a sneak preview from the local residents.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02Neh!
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Meh!
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Mmm...
0:02:06 > 0:02:11If you've ever had a sound system with a hum in it, it's that sound.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13Eh-eh!
0:02:13 > 0:02:17It sounds like a low-flying flock of B52s. It's a low hum.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20LOW HUM
0:02:20 > 0:02:21TIM HUMS
0:02:21 > 0:02:23They don't sound very happy.
0:02:23 > 0:02:24No, they don't, no.
0:02:24 > 0:02:25TIM HUMS
0:02:25 > 0:02:27Have you got any idea what's making that noise, then?
0:02:27 > 0:02:30TIM HUMS
0:02:30 > 0:02:31You?
0:02:31 > 0:02:32OK, that was me then.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Yeah, granted. However, the locals have their own theories.
0:02:37 > 0:02:38LOW HUM
0:02:38 > 0:02:43Secret navy communication systems, telephone systems run amok,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46pacemakers going off at the same time from old people's homes.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49No, I mean, you can imagine just about anything.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52We would put our hands around the light poles,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55and they would be vibrating with this sound.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59And that's why I was convinced it was electrical.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01It had to be electrical.
0:03:01 > 0:03:02LOW HUM
0:03:02 > 0:03:03RATTLE
0:03:03 > 0:03:05No.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07BUZZ
0:03:07 > 0:03:09No.
0:03:09 > 0:03:10WHOOSH
0:03:10 > 0:03:12All right, all right! Whoa, whoa, whoa!
0:03:12 > 0:03:14No! I give up.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18Don't worry, the state of California sent in the experts.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21ELECTRICAL HUM
0:03:21 > 0:03:25After spending a year and a lot of money analysing sound waves
0:03:25 > 0:03:27and testing a range of completely bonkers theories,
0:03:27 > 0:03:29the experts were spent.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32So in a last-ditch attempt to find an answer,
0:03:32 > 0:03:35they called in biologist Professor John McCosker.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37Cue eyebrow raise.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40I received a call from the head
0:03:40 > 0:03:43of the Noise Abatement Bureau in Marin County.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46The Noise Abatement Bureau?
0:03:47 > 0:03:52- IN AMERICAN ACCENT:- N-A-B! You got a problem with sound? We'll abate it.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Step away from the microphone!
0:03:55 > 0:03:57- OK, OK.- He-hey!
0:03:57 > 0:03:58Yeah, good.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Meanwhile, back to the call that John received.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03Whoo-hoo!
0:04:03 > 0:04:07He said, "You know, I can't believe I'm even wasting my time asking
0:04:07 > 0:04:10"you this question but is it possible that a fish could make
0:04:10 > 0:04:14"so much noise it would keep people awake?"
0:04:14 > 0:04:16No way!
0:04:16 > 0:04:18It's not a fish, is it?
0:04:18 > 0:04:21So I said, "Sure, play the sound over the phone."
0:04:21 > 0:04:24He did, and I said, "Oh, yeah, that's Porichthys notatus,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27the batrachoidid, it's a midshipman, they make noise.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29It's also called a humming fish."
0:04:29 > 0:04:31That is bonkers!
0:04:31 > 0:04:32I don't believe it!
0:04:32 > 0:04:37I thought this could not be a fish, they have to be out of their minds!
0:04:37 > 0:04:41She doesn't believe it either! It is not a fish!
0:04:41 > 0:04:43It's a fish! It's a fish!
0:04:44 > 0:04:48However unbelievable it might be, this is the culprit,
0:04:48 > 0:04:50the humble humming toadfish.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53RHYTHMIC HUMMING
0:04:53 > 0:04:55Let's have a look at a dead one in a jar.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59Doesn't look like much, but it could make enough noise
0:04:59 > 0:05:01to keep us awake all night.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04It spends most of its life living buried in the sand,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06buried in the mud.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Mm, not that attractive, so in order to attract a mate,
0:05:09 > 0:05:13it has to display, and in so doing, it displays vocally.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17A lot of fishes make noise and most of them
0:05:17 > 0:05:20use either the grinding of their teeth...
0:05:20 > 0:05:21GRINDING
0:05:21 > 0:05:23- Eugh, stop it, stop it!- My ears!
0:05:23 > 0:05:24No!
0:05:24 > 0:05:27..or they use their gas bladder or swim bladder.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30You'd better believe it now, Naomi.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33This fishy beauty uses its swim bladder,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35normally used to control buoyancy,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38as an amazing instrument to woo the ladies.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Toadfish spend the majority of their life in the ocean.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47They enter the bay
0:05:47 > 0:05:49at the beginning of summer
0:05:49 > 0:05:53and get into the shallow waters so that they can make their nest,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57usually against large rocks, large wooden structures,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01or against the edge of a houseboat hull.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03The water is very murky, it's dark,
0:06:03 > 0:06:07and they start trying to attract a female.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12That such a small fish is able to generate such an enormous sound
0:06:12 > 0:06:15and create such a giant ruckus as a result. I mean, how wonderful!
0:06:15 > 0:06:17That's what nature can do.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19It's an amazing fish.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Well, maybe not that one.
0:06:25 > 0:06:26It's not the only one, you know.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28- Really?- Hm.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Here's my pick of the pops, top five fishy tunes!
0:06:34 > 0:06:38Grunting his way in at number five, it's our friend the humming toadfish.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42This sound is a sure-fire way to see off potential rivals.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44RHYTHMIC HUMMING
0:06:44 > 0:06:47At number four, the unmistakable chirruping
0:06:47 > 0:06:50of a sergeant major fish defending its territory.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53GRUNTING
0:06:53 > 0:06:55New in at three!
0:06:55 > 0:06:57That is the sound of the famous pufferfish,
0:06:57 > 0:06:59the little fish with a big defence.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02CRUNCHING
0:07:02 > 0:07:05And at number two, that is the song of the cod,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08an oceanic pop star who's definitely had his chips!
0:07:08 > 0:07:10GRUNTING
0:07:10 > 0:07:12But at number one, it's Mr Love Machine again,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15keeping the neighbours awake all night,
0:07:15 > 0:07:16the one and only humming toadfish.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18LOW HUM
0:07:18 > 0:07:19Ha-ha-ha!
0:07:19 > 0:07:20Finished?
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Er, yeah, have actually. Do you want these?
0:07:23 > 0:07:24- No.- No?
0:07:24 > 0:07:26Moving on.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28There are some love stories that are the stuff
0:07:28 > 0:07:31- of nightmares!- What?
0:07:35 > 0:07:38This gas station is being attacked by...
0:07:38 > 0:07:40- Some kind of bugs.- Something.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43And that lady won't even get out of her car.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45It's like it's snowing.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Here, in Lake Erie, a swarm of...
0:07:48 > 0:07:50Hang on, hang on, hang on!
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Did you say Lake Erie?
0:07:52 > 0:07:53Yep.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55Ha! Well, what do you expect?
0:07:55 > 0:07:57If you call the place Lake Erie,
0:07:57 > 0:07:59weird stuff's going to happen, isn't it?
0:07:59 > 0:08:01No sympathy for these people.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Like I was saying, here in Lake Erie,
0:08:05 > 0:08:10a swarm of literally billions of mayflies descended on the town.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15Every surface, every inch of the air was filled with winged insects.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19That is really creepy.
0:08:20 > 0:08:21Who's that?
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Greg Stewart, a local resident who witnessed it first-hand.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28They were all over the wall of the city,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31and I didn't know if I should even get out of my car.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33It was that bad.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35Don't get out the car, that's my advice!
0:08:35 > 0:08:38And as I got out, they started crunching under my feet.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Aw, he got out the car. Don't worry about my advice.
0:08:41 > 0:08:42Then, within days,
0:08:42 > 0:08:46they spontaneously started to die in their billions.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51The drifts of dead bodies got so deep
0:08:51 > 0:08:53that the local authorities had to
0:08:53 > 0:08:56use snow ploughs to unblock the roads.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02And as they started to break down, they left another treat too.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06It smelled of motor oil and vomit.
0:09:09 > 0:09:10OK.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14- That's that bit.- Eugh!
0:09:14 > 0:09:15Here you go.
0:09:15 > 0:09:16Oh!
0:09:16 > 0:09:18What, there's not a little bit of you
0:09:18 > 0:09:20that's intrigued to know what that combo smells like?
0:09:20 > 0:09:22- Not in the slightest.- No?
0:09:22 > 0:09:24That's a shame.
0:09:24 > 0:09:25We need an expert.
0:09:25 > 0:09:26It's Don.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28What's done?
0:09:28 > 0:09:30No, Don. Look.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33He knows everything about the Lake Erie mayflies.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35Well, the big swarms are really a result
0:09:35 > 0:09:38of the life history pattern of Western Lake Erie mayflies.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44They live in the mud for about two years, and they grow and they moult.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47About the middle of May, the first of June,
0:09:47 > 0:09:49they all come out of the water at one time.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57After about two days, there's a swarm, a swirling swarm
0:09:57 > 0:10:01like a little funnel cloud that's formed by the mayflies.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05So where does love fit into all of this then, Naomi?
0:10:06 > 0:10:09Well, the females are searching the swarm for a fella.
0:10:09 > 0:10:10OK.
0:10:10 > 0:10:11And once they've hooked up,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14she heads back to the lake to lay her eggs.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17OK, and the male?
0:10:17 > 0:10:18Oh, he dies.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Sorry. Sorry, sorry. He dies?
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Yep. And when the female's laid her eggs, she dies too.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25What?
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Hang on a minute, hang on.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Right, so you spend two years of your life
0:10:29 > 0:10:32moping around a muddy lake as a grub...
0:10:32 > 0:10:33- Larva.- Yeah, same thing.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36Then you finally get old enough to flee the family nest.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38- In this case, a lake.- Yeah.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42Then you meet the girl of your dreams and you go on this whirlwind,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45insane speed dating session, and then he dies?
0:10:45 > 0:10:46Yep.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48What, and everyone's OK with this, are they?
0:10:48 > 0:10:50Except the clean-up crew.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54Getting rid of a million dead lovers is a hands-on job.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Oh, nice to see they're using a giant millipede to do it.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59That's a hose, Tim.
0:10:59 > 0:11:00Oh, OK.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02That seems like a lot of hard work to me.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05No-one said love was easy, Tim.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07It is when the kissing bug's concerned!
0:11:07 > 0:11:10The kissing bug? That sounds adorable!
0:11:10 > 0:11:11Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!
0:11:13 > 0:11:18In the backstreets of South America, millions of dark forms
0:11:18 > 0:11:21lurk in the shadows, waiting till nightfall to emerge.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23These are kissing bugs,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26and if there's one thing they like kissing more than
0:11:26 > 0:11:27anything in the world,
0:11:27 > 0:11:29it's us.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Something tells me this isn't going to be very nice, and given that,
0:11:32 > 0:11:37who is he, and why has he got one of those things on his arm?
0:11:37 > 0:11:41That's Dr Matt Yao from the London School of Tropical Medicine.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43They're really quite nasty bugs.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45If they're hungry, you can actually see them.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48They'll be attracted to the heat of my finger,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50so they're quite vicious and hungry.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53And similarly, if I breathe on them, they become very agitated,
0:11:53 > 0:11:55and that's the carbon dioxide from my breath.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57And if I breathe a bit more...
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Again, you can see them probing through the net.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Ooh! Hey, I'm just going to try something, Naomi.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Works every time!
0:12:10 > 0:12:13So these bugs are attracted to warmth and carbon dioxide
0:12:13 > 0:12:17and feed on the blood of larger animals like us humans.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20They sink their needle-like mouth parts into their victim's flesh
0:12:20 > 0:12:23and draw long and hard on their blood, whilst we sleep away,
0:12:23 > 0:12:25blissfully unaware.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Well, that doesn't explain their name.
0:12:28 > 0:12:29Over to the doc.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34One of the reasons why they are called kissing bugs
0:12:34 > 0:12:36is it's just that they tend to come out at night,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38when the lights are off,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41and your face tends to be the most exposed area.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43So they can crawl all over the face,
0:12:43 > 0:12:48but generally kiss around the mouth area or around the facial areas.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51That is disgusting!
0:12:51 > 0:12:52That's not even the half of it.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54Prepare yourself! Have a look at this.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58So if you've got a family and they're being fed on every night,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01particularly the children can actually become anaemic.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Which basically means you haven't got enough blood in your body
0:13:04 > 0:13:06and that leaves you feeling pale and weak.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09But they have another, darker legacy.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12You see, whilst kissing you on the cheek, they might well leave you with
0:13:12 > 0:13:16the life-threatening Chagas disease, a condition caused by a tiny parasite
0:13:16 > 0:13:21carried by the kissing bugs that can eventually lead to heart failure.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23Doc, take over.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26When they take a blood meal, they defecate.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28BOTH: EUGH!
0:13:28 > 0:13:32And you can scratch it into the bite wound or you can rub your eyes
0:13:32 > 0:13:35or put your fingers to your mouth, and that's how you become infected.
0:13:37 > 0:13:38Ooh!
0:13:38 > 0:13:40Yeah. You know we've actually got some of these, don't you?
0:13:40 > 0:13:42What? In here?
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Yeah! The doc send them over, little bad boys. I mean...
0:13:45 > 0:13:46GLASS SMASHES
0:13:46 > 0:13:48BUZZING
0:13:48 > 0:13:52BOTH: ARGH!