PRODUCTIONS: LIVING TOGETHER

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M. Maggioni, R. Meddi, A. D'Onofrio, F. Petretti, M. Masciocchi

SD Cinematografica

30'

16 mm

The social organization of the hymenopterons, including bees and ants, is incredibly complex.
For almost a century, from Darwin onward, zoologists have sought to discover the intermediate stages that lead to such perfection. Studies recently conducted on wasps of the Polistes genus are beginning to supply the answers. "Wild side of Europe" filmed the organization of the gallicus and dominulus wasps and observed the strategy these two species employ in founding their honeycomb. The gallicus is strictly a loner, while the dominulus is very social, even during the period when it is constructiong the colonies. The film illustrates, among other things, the battle the female founder engages in to decide who will play the role of queen and consequently inhibit the reproductive capacities of its sisters.
A formidable predator of wasps returns each year to the Tyrrhenian coeast of Italy: the rainbow-colored bee eater. Every year at the beginning of May, the bee eaters reappear among the dunes in the wild-life refuge at Orbetello. These birds with their colorful plumage arrive in Italy after a journey of almost 10,00 kilometers from the grasslands of Central Africa. A few days after their arrival they pair off and begin building their nests: tunnels several meters long, dug out with their beaks. This home protects the birds from all predators except snakes.
The documentary shows an attack by a snake and the collective defense strategy devised by the bee eaters to chase away the aggressor. The birds perform nose dives and swooping assaults with their beaks wide open and succeed in giving the snake the worst of it.