Text reads, “tvo kids + Fifth Ground Entertainment Original”

A kid says, WEE!

(Giggling)

A bee flies over dandelions in a field.

Text reads, “Leo’s Pollinators.”

Leo says, IT'S ME, LEO!
THE EXPLORER CLUB
IS ON A NEW MISSION.
WE'RE HELPING THE POLLINATORS,
THOSE AMAZING CREATURES
WHO MOVE POLLEN
FROM ONE PLANT TO ANOTHER.
POLLEN IS THE STUFF
THAT HELPS MAKE OUR FRUITS,
VEGETABLES, AND FLOWERS.

A bee pollinates a pink flower.

Text reads, “‘Nator Navigator”

Leo continues, WITHOUT OUR POLLINATORS,
FLYING, BUZZING,
SLITHERING AROUND,
WE'D ALL BE GOING HUNGRY.
EVEN ME!
HOUSTEN AND CHLOE ARE IN THE
FIELDS HELPING THE EXPERTS.
SO GRAB YOUR BOOTS
AND YOUR NET,
AND YOU CAN BE A POLLINHEAD TOO.

Text reads, “Leo’s Pollinators Explorer Club”

Leo, a red and blue fish, swims at the bottom of a lake. Two monitors sit on the floor of the lake behind her.

Leo says, WELCOME, POLLINHEADS!
TODAY I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU
A VERY IMPORTANT POLLINATOR.
IT'S A BEE!

(Buzzer buzzes)

Leo says, OOH, SORRY,
THIS IS A PICTURE OF A BEE.

(Buzzer buzzes)

Leo says, OH, NO, WRONG AGAIN.
THAT IS ACTUALLY THE SPILOMYIA,
OR HORNET FLY.

A black and yellow hornet fly sits on a white flower.

Leo continues, IT IS A TYPE OF FLOWER FLY
AND THESE CLEVER MIMICS
ARE AT THE TOP
OF THE 'NATOR NAVIGATOR TODAY.

Text reads, Spilomyia Saltuum.

Leo continues, YOU CAN'T BLAME ME FOR GETTING
THEM WRONG, POLLINHEADS.
THESE FLOWER FLIES HAVE EVOLVED
SO THEY LOOK JUST LIKE BEES
AND HORNETS!

A drone fly and a honey bee are shown side by side.

Leo says, THEY'RE SUCH GOOD MIMICS.
AND WHAT'S A MIMIC, YOU ASK.
WELL, A MIMIC IS A CREATURE
THAT LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER
CREATURE
OR AS SCIENTISTS REFER TO IT,
A MODEL.

A black and yellow fly and a nearly identical-looking wasp are show side by side.

Leo continues, AND NATURE HAS DONE THIS
SO THE MIMIC CAN AVOID
PREDATORS.
THE SPILOMYIA FLOWER FLY
IMITATES THE BEE
BECAUSE WHAT DOES A BEE
DO TO A PREDATOR,
GIVES THEM A BIG, NASTY STING.

A leafcutter bee on a pink flower and a spilomyia on a yellow flower are shown side by side.

Leo continues, BUT NOT ALL FLOWER FLIES
MIMIC BEES.
SOME LOOK LIKE WASPS
OR HORNETS.
OTHER NASTY STINGERS.
IF POTENTIAL PREDATORS THINK
FLOWERS FLIES MIGHT STING 'EM,
THEY WON'T EAT 'EM.
AH, ISN'T NATURE CLEVER?
TODAY'S MISSION IS ALL TO SEE
IF THE POLLINHEADS
WILL BE AS CLEVER
IN FINDING THESE MIMICS
IN THE FIELD.
THEY'RE MEETING UP
WITH AMANDA STEFAN,
FROM CARLETON UNIVERSITY
TO LEARN THE DIFFERENCES
AND TEST THEIR
OBSERVATION SKILLS.

Ottawa is highlighted with an orange flag on an animated map of Ontario.

Housten and Chloe sit at a picnic table with Amanda, who has long brown hair braided over her left shoulder.
She wears dark-rimmed glasses and a blue plaid shirt. A laptop computer sits on the table, which is in front of an area of bushes and wildflowers.

Amanda asks, ARE YOU GUYS READY TO TAKE
THE MIMICRY EXPERIMENT SURVEY?

Housten says, WE'RE GREAT AT SURVEYS.

Text reads, Amanda Stefan. Carleton University.

Amanda says, THAT'S GOOD. WE'RE GOING
TO SHOW YOU TWO PICTURES
AND YOU NEED TO RATE
HOW SIMILAR THEY ARE.
SO, 10 BEING THEY'RE
EXACTLY THE SAME,
AND 1 BEING THEY'RE
NOT ALIKE, AT ALL.

Housten says, LET'S DO THIS.

Amanda says, OKAY! SO, HOW SIMILAR
WOULD YOU SAY THESE TWO ARE?

A black and yellow hoverfly is shown beside a black, white, and yellow wasp on the laptop screen.
A scale from one to ten sits underneath with a bee-shaped pointer sliding back and forth.

Housten says, I'M GONNA
GIVE IT A 7.5.

(Ding)

Chloe says, I'M GONNA KIND OF GO
THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION
AND GIVE IT A 1.5.

(Ding)

Amanda says, OKAY.
YOU GUYS SAW THE SAME BUG AS BEING VERY DIFFERENT.
BUT THE AVERAGE
WAS ACTUALLY 2.04.
THIS ONE IS SYRITTA PIPIENS.

(Buzzer buzzes)

Amanda asks, HOW ABOUT THESE TWO?

A black and yellow Syrphid fly is shown next to the wasp.

Chloe says, I'D SAY...
A 7 OUT OF 10.

(Ding)

Housten says, I'M GONNA
GIVE IT A 8.5.

(Ding)

Amanda says, THE AVERAGE
FOR THIS ONE IS...
7.83.
THIS IS A SPILOMYIA
LONGICORNIS.

(Ding)

Chloe asks, HOW DO BIRDS EVEN SEE
THESE LITTLE DIFFERENCES?

Amanda says, WELL, BIRDS ACTUALLY HAVE
REALLY GOOD EYESIGHT,
BUT WHEN THE BUG
IS REALLY SMALL,
BIRDS CAN'T ALWAYS SEE
THE DIFFERENCES,
WHICH IS WHY THE SMALLER
MIMICS TEND TO BE...
NOT AS GOOD.

(Buzzing)

A bee fly hovers over a small purple flower.

Amanda continues, BUT WHEN YOU'RE A BIGGER BUG,
YOU SHOULD TRY TO BE AS GOOD
OF A MIMIC AS YOU CAN,
BECAUSE OTHERWISE,
THE BIRDS ARE GONNA FIGURE OUT
YOUR RUSE, REAL QUICKLY.

(Chloe chuckles)

Amanda says, NOW, BEFORE WE GO OUT
TO CATCH THEM IN THE WILD,
LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN TELL
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
THESE SPECIMENS I BROUGHT.

Housten says, OKAY, WE GOT THIS.

Vicky sits on a patch of grass under a tree between Housten and Chloe. She holds a rectangular white box on her lap.

Amanda says, ALL RIGHT, SO,
NEXT STEP UP,
THESE ARE SOME SPECIMENS
OF MIMICS AND MODELS.

The box contains approximately 100 similar-looking winged insects of varying sizes.

Housten says, THESE ALL
LOOK THE SAME.

Chloe says, THEY REALLY DO.
ARE THERE MORE MODELS
THAN MIMICS HERE?

Amanda says, THIS IS ABOUT AN EVEN
SPLIT, BUT THIS IS A SAMPLE.
IN THE WILD, THERE ARE ALMOST
ALWAYS MORE MODELS
THAN THERE ARE MIMICS,
AND THAT'S BECAUSE WHEN A BIRD
IS LEARNING WHAT HURTS TO EAT
AND WHAT MIGHT STING THEM,
THEY HAVE TO ACTUALLY GET STUNG
MOST OF THE TIME.
OTHERWISE, THEY'LL
SEE SOMETHING
WITH BLACK AND YELLOW STRIPES
AND THINK,
"THAT'S USUALLY PRETTY GOOD
TO EAT."
AND THEN IT WOULDN'T BE VERY
USEFUL TO LOOK LIKE A WASP.

Housten asks, IS THAT A FLOWER FLY?

Housten points at an insect in the box.

Amanda says, YEP, THAT'S A SYRPHINI
FLY.

Chloe points inside the box.

Chloe asks, WHAT ABOUT THIS ONE?

Amanda says, NOPE, THAT ONE'S
A PAPER WASP.
SO, THIS ONE IS A SPILOMYIA.
IT'S PROBABLY THE BEST MIMIC
IN THIS WHOLE BOX.
SO, IT HAS THE BLACK AND YELLOW
STRIPES, JUST LIKE A WASP,
AND THEN, IT ALSO HAS
SOME SHADING ON THE WINGS,
TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE
IT HAS FOUR WINGS
BECAUSE WASPS HAVE FOUR WINGS
BUT FLIES ONLY HAVE TWO.
SO, IT'S A BIT OF AN OPTICAL
ILLUSION.

A wasp and Spilomyia are shown side by side. The number of wings on each is highlighted.

Amanda continues, PLUS, THEY HAVE PRETTY LONG
ANTENNAE FOR A FLY,
BUT EVEN THEN, IT'S NOT NEARLY
AS LONG AS A WASP'S.
SO, THEY ALSO HAVE BLACK
FRONT LEGS, AND SOMETIMES,
IF THEY THINK THERE'S
A PREDATOR RIGHT NEAR THEM
THEY'LL STICK THEIR LEGS OUT
AND WAVE THEM AROUND
JUST LIKE THEIR ANTENNA.
SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK,
POLLINHEADS?
HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH PRACTICE?
DO YOU THINK YOU COULD IDENTIFY
SOME OF THESE GUYS IN THE WILD?

Housten says, OH YEAH.

Text reads, What’s the Buzz. With Leo.

Leo says, YOU'RE HANGING OUT WITH LEO.
AND I'VE GOT ALL THE HOT GOSSIP
ON SOME OF THE BIGGEST
AND BEST POLLINATORS OUT THERE.
TODAY WE'RE DISHING
ON FLOWER FLIES.
AND LET ME TELL YOU, THESE
ARE VERY IMPORTANT POLLINATORS
AND SUPER IMPORTANT
TO OUR ECOLOGIES.
AND OUR BELLIES.

A yellow and black flower fly pollinates a blue, white, and purple flower.

Leo continues, FLOWER FLIES VISIT A WIDE RANGE
OF WILD PLANTS
AND AGRICULTURAL CROPS.
LOTS OF SCIENTISTS THINK
THEY'RE THE SECOND-MOST
IMPORTANT GROUP OF POLLINATORS
AFTER WILD BEES.
ARE YOU HEARING THAT HOT TIP?
THE SECOND-MOST!
IF A BEE MISSES A FLOWER
AND FAILS TO DO ITS DUTY
A FLOWER FLY IS RIGHT
BEHIND THEM.
BUT HOW DO THEY POLLINATE?
THE ADULTS VISIT THE FLOWERS
TO DRINK NECTAR
AND WHEN THEIR BODIES BRUSH
AGAINST THE FLOWER'S STAMEN
POLLEN IS TRANSFERRED BETWEEN
THE FLY AND THE FLOWER.

A black and yellow flower fly sits on a yellow daisy. The fly is covered in yellow pollen.

(Buzzing)

Leo continues, JUST LIKE HOW A LOT
OF BEES POLLINATE.
BUT THESE POLLINATOR STARS
ARE ALSO SUPER IMPORTANT
IN CONTROLLING PESTS
LIKE APHIDS.
IS THERE ANYTHING THESE LITTLE
INSECTS CAN'T DO?
THESE POLLINATING
SUPERSTAR MIMICS
ARE CERTAINLY BUZZWORTHY.

Amanda, Chloe, and Housten carry butterfly nets through a field of yellow wildflowers.

Chloe asks, WHAT KIND OF FLOWERS
DO THEY LIKE?

Amanda says, WELL, GENERALLY FLOWER FLIES
LIKE ANY FLOWER
THAT HAS A LOT OF NECTAR
AND A LOT OF POLLEN.

Housten points at purple wildflowers.

Housten asks, WHAT ABOUT THIS ONE?

Amanda says, YEAH, THAT ONE'S PURPLE ASTER
AND IT'S PRETTY POPULAR
WITH FLOWER FLIES.

Chloe points at yellow wildflowers.

Chloe asks, AND WHAT ABOUT THIS ONE?

Amanda says, THIS ONE'S GOLDENROD
AND THIS ONE'S PROBABLY
THE MOST POPULAR.
IT'S PRETTY COMMON
TO SEE SPILOMYIA
ON THIS TYPE OF FLOWER.
SO, LET'S SEE IF WE CAN
CATCH A SPILOMYIA,
OR SOME OTHER TYPE
OF FLOWER FLY MIMIC.

Chloe says, ALL RIGHT!

(Playful upbeat music)

Chloe and Housten swing their nets.

(Nets swooshing)

Amanda says, HOLD ON, YOU CAN'T JUST
SWIPE IN THE AIR!
THERE'S TECHNIQUE TO CATCHING
THESE FLOWER FLIES.
THEY CAN BE AS SMALL
AS TWO MILLIMETRES
AND THEY'RE SUPER FAST.

A flower fly is shown alongside an orange animated ruler.

Amanda continues,
SO, THEY CAN BE PRETTY TOUGH
TO CATCH. HERE.
WHAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO
IS YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO SWIPE
REALLY FAST
AND THEN FLIP IT OVER
SO THAT THE FLY CAN'T FLY OUT
AT THE END. OKAY?

Chloe asks, HOW BIG IS YOUR NET?

Amanda says, WELL, I'M A PROFESSIONAL
SO MINE CAN EXTEND ABOUT...
2.5 METRES.

Housten says, FLOWER FLIES, HERE WE COME!

Amanda, Chloe, and Housten walks through the wildflowers, swinging their nets. They lean against a fallen tree.

Chloe says, WE FOUND SOME!

Amanda says, AND YOU PUT THEM IN VIALS.
I'M IMPRESSED, POLLINHEADS.
HERE, CAN I SEE THIS ONE?

Chloe says, YEAH, IT'S LIKE A LITTLE ONE.

Amanda examines an insect inside a glass vial.

Amanda says, YEAH, IT'S PRETTY SMALL.
SO, THIS ONE IS A FLOWER FLY
CALLED A SEDGESITTER.
AND IT'S NOT A VERY GOOD MIMIC,
BUT IT'S SO SMALL AND SO FAST
THAT IT DOESN'T EVEN MATTER
'CAUSE THE BIRDS ONLY SEE IT
FOR HALF A SECOND.

(Housten giggles)

Amanda continues, THEY'RE PRETTY HARD TO CATCH
THOUGH, 'CAUSE THEY'RE SO FAST.
I'M PRETTY IMPRESSED
THAT YOU GOT IT.

Chloe gazes at an insect in a vial.

Chloe says, MINE'S SO CUTE!
WHAT DID I GET?

Amanda examines the vial.

Amanda says, OKAY, SO THIS ONE
IS A FLOWER FLY
THAT I CALL ERISTALIS TENAX,
BUT MOST PEOPLE CALL THEM
DRONE FLIES
BECAUSE THESE GUYS
MIMIC HONEYBEES.

A drone fly and a honeybee are shown side by side.

Amanda continues, THEY'RE REALLY BIG
AND REALLY FLUFFY
AND EXCELLENT POLLINATORS.
AND WHEN THEY'RE FLYING,
IT'S REALLY HARD TO TELL
THEM APART FROM HONEYBEES.
OH, AND THEY'RE SO CUTE
'CAUSE THEY'RE SO FLUFFY.
HERE YOU GO.
YOU GUYS WANNA SEE WHAT I GOT?

Chloe and Housten say, YEAH!

Amanda says, ALL RIGHT.
SO, THIS IS A SPILOMYIA.

Chloe and Housten examine a vial in Amanda’s hands.

Chloe says, WHAT? IT LOOKS LIKE A WASP.

Amanda says, BUT IT'S A FLOWER FLY.
IT'S A REALLY,
REALLY GOOD MIMIC.

A black spilomyia with yellow stripes rubs its legs together. A spilomyia and a wasp are shown side by side.

Amanda says, IF YOU LOOK AT A WASP
THEY HAVE A REALLY THIN WAIST
BETWEEN THE THORAX
AND THE ABDOMEN,
BUT THIS GUY HAS A PRETTY
WIDE WAIST,
SO, IF YOU SEE HIM WITH HIS
HEAD IN A FLOWER,
WHICH IS USUALLY
HOW YOU SEE THEM,
AND YOU SEE THAT THE WAIST
IS PRETTY WIDE,
YOU CAN BE PRETTY SURE
THAT IT'S A SPILOMYIA.
IF YOU LOOK REALLY CLOSE,
YOU CAN SEE THESE TINY
STRUCTURES CALLED HALTERES.
RIGHT BEHIND THE WINGS,
AND ONLY FLIES HAVE THOSE.
SO, IF YOU SEE THEM,
YOU KNOW IT'S A FLY.

A yellow outline on the spilomyia’s back is highlighted.

Housten says, IT LOOKS LIKE IT HAS
A LOGO ON ITS BODY.

Amanda says, SOME WASPS
HAVE THAT SYMBOL.
SO, A LOT OF MIMICS
WILL HAVE IT, TOO.
AND THE OTHER EASY WAY TO TELL
IT, IF YOU SEE IT ON A FLOWER,
IS THOSE REALLY BIG EYES.
THEY'RE MUCH BIGGER THAN
YOU'D SEE ON A WASP.
HEY CHLOE, DO YOU
WANNA HOLD IT?

Chloe says, YEAH!

Amanda says, ALL RIGHT, SO I'M GONNA
WARN YOU,
IT WILL PRETEND TO STING YOU,
BUT I PROMISE IT DOESN'T
HAVE A STINGER,
AND IT CAN'T HURT YOU.

Chloe says, OKAY.

Amanda says, ALL RIGHT, LET ME JUST GET IT
OUT OF THE VIAL FIRST,
IN THE NET, FOR SAFETY.

Amanda covers her head with her net.

(Upbeat acoustic guitar music)

Amanda says, OKAY.
JUST GIMME YOUR HAND.
ALL RIGHT, RIGHT THERE.
ALL RIGHT.

Chloe holds the Spilomyia.

(Chloe laughs)

Amanda says, OKAY, NOT TOO TIGHT.
SO, RIGHT NOW HE'S BUZZING
AT YOU AND HE'S SAYING
"I'M A VERY SCARY WASP AND
YOU SHOULD BE AFRAID OF ME."

Chloe says, IT'S WEIRD HOLDING HIM
AND THINKING THAT
HE'S GONNA STING ME,
BUT THEN,
KNOWING THAT HE'S NOT.

(Housten giggles)

Housten says, YEAH.

Amanda asks, DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD
LET IT GO?

Chloe and Housten say, YEAH!

The spilomyia crawls on Chloe’s index finger, then flies away.

Housten says, WHOA.

Amanda says, OH, THERE HE GOES!

Chloe says, BYE!

(Chloe giggles)

Amanda says, YOU GUYS DID GREAT TODAY.
I THINK YOU'RE WELL ON YOUR WAY
TO BECOMING MIMIC MASTERS.

Housten says, THANKS FOR THE AWESOME DAY
IN THE FIELD, AMANDA.

Chloe says, AND I'LL BE SURE TO KEEP
AN EYE OUT FOR MIMICS.

Amanda says, I'M SURE YOU'LL SEE A LOT.
ONCE YOU KNOW THAT THESE
MIMICS ARE AROUND,
YOU START TO REALIZE THAT
THEY'RE ACTUALLY EVERYWHERE.

Housten says, THIS CALLS FOR A "HIGH FLY."

Everyone wiggles their fingers, then raises their hands above their heads.

Everyone says, HIGH FLY!

(Laughing)

A flower with yellow petals and a blue centre spins in front of Leo. Text reads, Pollinheads Alert!

Leo swims in front of the monitors.

Leo says, POLLINHEADS ALERT!
THESE VIPS NEED EVERYONE'S HELP
AND THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT
IS BY BEING A LAZY GARDENER.
THAT'S RIGHT, POLLINHEADS,
LEAVE YOUR LEAVES!
A LOT OF FLOWER FLIES
EAT DEAD VEGETATION
LIKE FALLEN LEAVES.

Leo watches leaves fall on one of her monitors.

Leo continues, BUT EVEN MORE SPECIES OF FLOWER
FLIES RELY ON LEAF LITTER
TO SURVIVE THE WINTER MONTHS.
THE LEAVES SERVE AS
SORT OF A BLANKET
TO PROTECT THEM FROM THE COLD
AND SNOW. BRR!
SO, SPREAD THE WORD,
LEAVE THE LEAVES!
BESIDES, PUTTING LEAVES
IN YOUR FLOWER BEDS
OR MULCHED UP ON YOUR LAWN,
NOT ONLY GIVES A COZY WINTER
HOME TO OUR FLOWER FLIES,
BUT CAN HELP PROTECT THE PLANTS
THROUGH THE COLD, TOO.
EVERYONE WINS!
LATER, POLLINATORS!

End Credits. Directed and written by Kara Harun. Created by Karen Hawes and Christopher Szarka.
Produced by Christopher Szarka and Raj Panikkar. With Naomi Melvin as “Leo” and Chloe Drayton and Housten Daghighi.
Produced in Association with tvo Kids. Fifth Ground Entertainment. tvo Kids.