Sky Nature TV Guide — Sunday, 28 June 2026

Tracking the black rhino's evolution through adaptation and conservation, discovering the powerful senses and survival traits of this armoured giant

David Attenborough employs the latest technologies to explore the violence, rivalries and deadly weaponry existing within the world of bugs. This first episode examines the survival tactics of its terrifying residents including killer ants, trap-setting spiders and beetles with the ability to shoot boiling chemicals at their enemies

The broadcaster continues his bug-eyed view of the world of creepy-crawlies, revealing how predators defuse the defences of their prey. Highlights include the cockroach wasp, busy preparing a tasty - and very live - treat for its young, the whirligig beetle, which employs a water-based radar system, and the jumping portia spider, which feeds on other arachnids

A further selection of creepy-crawly close-ups, focusing on courtship in the bug world. Highlights include scorpions shaking their booty, the perfume-wearing nasonia wasp and the tropical cricket, for whom romance goes out of the window as it uses bribery to seal the deal with would-be partners. One potential partner to steer well clear of, however, is the praying mantis, the female of which is notorious for eating the male just after - or even during - mating. Narrated by David Attenborough

A close-up view of sex, bug-style, as David Attenborough talks viewers through the different ways in which creepy-crawlies reproduce. Size matters for the minuscule male orb spider, creepily sneaking up on its intended and trying to mate without her noticing, while there's no rest for the lothario-like butterfly, which has plenty of notches on its proverbial bedpost. However, the harvestman spider has no use for sex at all, and reproduces by cloning itself

David Attenborough shifts the focus to bugs that prefer co-operation rather than conflict. They include burrowing cockroaches, the suitably named social spiders - which share a 30-metre web - the queen bee and her happy hive of workers and green ants pulling together to build a nest

The broadcaster concludes his close-up examination of the creepy-crawly world, shifting focus to the bugs' ultimate invention - the colony. Key residents of these minuscule mega-cities include honey bees, termites, leafcutter ants - who have a knack for farming - and their Argentine cousins, members of a community so vast it spans an entire continent

Arguably more beautiful than butterflies, better fliers than hummingbirds and with intriguing and complex behavioural patterns - dragonflies and damselflies are marvels of the insect kingdom. This documentary uses the latest camera technology to show their manoeuvres, mating strategies, territorial behaviour and flight dynamics, revealing them to be the ultimate insect

Tracking the black rhino's evolution through adaptation and conservation, discovering the powerful senses and survival traits of this armoured giant