Deep Look
Season 2021
Explore the mysteries of the world around you, at the very edge of visibility.
Where to Watch Season 2021
20 Episodes
- These Silk-Swinging Caterpillars Will Ruin Your Picnic
E1These Silk-Swinging Caterpillars Will Ruin Your PicnicCalifornia oak moth caterpillars eat all the leaves on an oak, leaving a brown skeleton. Then they rappel down on a strand of silk, twirling and swinging. If you were enjoying the shade, good luck getting out of their way. For the oak, the caterpillars are a bigger deal –– will the tree survive? - These Acrobatic Beach Hoppers Shred All Night LongE3
These Acrobatic Beach Hoppers Shred All Night LongAs the sun sets, hordes of tiny crustaceans called beach hoppers –– also known as sand hoppers –– emerge from underground burrows to frolic and feast. They eat so much decaying seaweed and other beach wrack that by morning all that’s left are ghostly outlines in the sand. - Firebrats and Silverfish Are Rocking Some Old-School LooksE4
Firebrats and Silverfish Are Rocking Some Old-School LooksWhat *is* that bizarre fishlike thing squirming in your sink at night? Firebrats and silverfish are pretty darn similar to some of the earliest insects on Earth. With three long filaments poking out their back, no wings and mini-me babies, they have something to teach us about survival. - Born Pregnant: Aphids Invade with an Onslaught of ClonesE5
Born Pregnant: Aphids Invade with an Onslaught of ClonesFemale aphids are the matriarchs of a successful family operation— taking over your garden. But don’t lose hope; these pests have some serious predators and creepy parasites looking to take them down. - Leaf Miner Fly Babies Scribble All Over Your Salad
E7Leaf Miner Fly Babies Scribble All Over Your SaladThis fly’s larvae tunnel inside bitter-tasting greens like arugula and kale, leaving squiggly marks behind. The plants fight back with toxic chemicals. So before laying her eggs, the fly mom digs into a leaf and slurps its sap – a taste test to find the least toxic spot for her offspring. - The Undying Hydra: A Freshwater Mini-Monster That Defies AgingE8
The Undying Hydra: A Freshwater Mini-Monster That Defies AgingCould this tiny creature, named after a mythical multiheaded monster, hold the secret to eternal youth? Related to jellyfish and anemones, the hydra has an almost otherworldly ability to heal itself and stave off aging. - Scorpions Are Predators With a Sensitive SideE9
Scorpions Are Predators With a Sensitive SideLook past their grasping claws and lightning-fast stingers, and you'll see scorpions have a delicate pair of comb-like organs on their belly called pectines. These sensory body parts help them navigate, and figure out who's a menace, a meal or a mate. - The Pipevine Caterpillar Thrives in a Toxic Love TriangleE10
The Pipevine Caterpillar Thrives in a Toxic Love TriangleThe devilish caterpillars of the pipevine swallowtail butterfly *devour* the California pipevine, never mind that the plant is trying to poison them. Their butterfly moms don’t pollinate the pipevine in return, though. So, the vine traps unlucky gnats in its labyrinthine flowers to do the job. - These Feisty Hermit Crabs Brawl Over Snail ShellsE11
These Feisty Hermit Crabs Brawl Over Snail ShellsHermit crabs are *obsessed* with snail shells. These crafty little crabs, found in California's rocky intertidal zone, are more than happy to let the snails build them a perfect home. When the crabs find a snail shell they like, they hop right into their new abode. - The Axolotl Salamander Doesn’t Wanna Grow UpE12
The Axolotl Salamander Doesn’t Wanna Grow UpNative to the lakes of Mexico City, the axolotl stays in the water its whole life, swimming with a tail fin and breathing through frilly external gills. It’s nearly extinct in the wild, but survives in research labs the world over, studied for its amazing regenerative abilities. With our help, can these beloved creatures thrive once again in their ancestral home? - This Bee Builds Sandcastles at the BeachE13
This Bee Builds Sandcastles at the BeachIt might seem peculiar to see bees at the beach. But the bumblebee-mimic digger bee (Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana) makes its home at beaches in Northern California and Oregon. Once they’ve mated, the females spend the spring digging their nests into sandy cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. - Once a Spawn a Time: Horseshoe Crabs Mob the BeachE14
Once a Spawn a Time: Horseshoe Crabs Mob the BeachHorseshoe crabs may look scary, but when it's springtime in Delaware Bay, millions of these arthropods show they're lovers, not fighters. They lay masses of blue-green eggs up on the shore. At just the right time, they pop and release the larvae within the sea. - These Rare Damselflies Find Love With a Twist in Fog CityE15
These Rare Damselflies Find Love With a Twist in Fog CityMost damselflies prefer sunny spots, but the quirky San Francisco forktail damselfly digs the fogginess of its hometown. When they hook up, they do it in style – linking their delicate bodies in a heart shape, then flying tandem for an hour or more after. - You Can’t Unsee the Assassin Bug’s Dirty WorkE16
You Can’t Unsee the Assassin Bug’s Dirty WorkUnder the bright yellow petals of a tarweed plant, an insect known as the assassin bug kills its caterpillar victim by stabbing it over and over. But does this perpetrator have an accomplice? Sticky droplets all over the plant could be a clue. - Tadpole Shrimp Are Coming For Your RiceE17
Tadpole Shrimp Are Coming For Your RiceTadpole shrimp are neither tadpoles nor shrimp. They're time-traveling crustaceans called triops. Their eggs can spend years – even decades – frozen in time, waiting to hatch. When California rice growers flood their fields, they create the perfect conditions for hordes of these ravenous creatures to awaken. - Skeleton Shrimp Use 18 Appendages to Feed, Fight and ... FrolicE18
Skeleton Shrimp Use 18 Appendages to Feed, Fight and ... FrolicOn first impression, skeleton shrimp anatomy is confusing. These crustaceans use a funky assortment of body parts to move around like inchworms, feed on bits of sea garbage, stage boxing matches, and make lots of clingy babies. - How a Kissing Bug Becomes a Balloon Full of Your BloodE19
How a Kissing Bug Becomes a Balloon Full of Your BloodA kissing bug gorges on your blood. Then it poops on you. And that poop might contain the parasite that causes Chagas disease, which can be deadly. Without knowing it, millions of people have gotten the parasite in Latin America, where these insects live in many rural homes. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the saliva of some kissing bugs in the U.S. can give you a dangerous allergic reaction. - These Swarming Locusts Are Grasshoppers Gone WrongE20
These Swarming Locusts Are Grasshoppers Gone WrongThey might look like harmless grasshoppers, but locusts have an appetite for destruction. When the conditions are right, they transform from mild-mannered loners into gregarious partiers. They swarm, causing chaos and suffering at the level of a biblical plague. So what sets them off?