With winter fast approaching, a potter wasp races to complete her nursery. For her offspring, survival depends on every final detail — including the living caterpillars she captures and conceals inside the nest.
TRANSCRIPT
But her job has only just begun.
(wasp buzzing) She must also fill the pot with food, so her offspring can develop and emerge in the spring.
That will require her to collect enough caterpillars while the weather holds.
(wasp buzzing) When she finds one, she paralyzes it with her sting, and then puts it into the pot alive.
(wasp buzzing) (wind blowing) But British weather is unreliable.
(thunder clapping) (rain pitter-pattering) (insect whooshing) She can't fly when it's cold and wet.
Time is slipping by.
(birds singing) The sun returns, but now time is very short.
(wasp buzzing) (wasp skittering) (caterpillar squishing) (wasp buzzing) (caterpillar squishing) With the season on the turn, she's not the only one in a hurry.
The caterpillars are getting restless.
(caterpillar squishing) They're making their way down to the ground to find somewhere to spend the winter.
She herself is almost out of time.
(wasp buzzing) Just one more.
But maybe one that is a little smaller.
(wasp buzzing) (wasps buzzing) With her pot now fully provisioned, she seals it.
(rain pitter-pattering) Just in time.