This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
"Why is it that an animal that is actively trying to kill us, such as a lion, gets more respect than one that is only trying to nibble on us a little, without causing much harm?"
Biologist Piotr Naskrecki, who traveled with me to Belize last year, returned home to find himself incubating several skin parasites. Piotr is a talented photographer and a reflective thinker, so the mini-documentary that emerged in the flies' wake is, of course, both stunningly filmed and narrated with unusual depth and reverence.
Do yourself a favor and watch:
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This sort of project is, I hope, the future of nature documentaries. Mainstream programming has descended into fearmongering, clickbait, and outright fraud, but the widespread availability of video technology offers a modicum of salvation.
Rather than hoping against hope that cable television might occasionally regurgitate a worthwhile series, scientists now have the tools to tell their stories themselves. As Piotr's fly video shows, a real story about real nature, unembellished, can work.
More on bot flies:
Piotr Naskrecki's Smaller Majority blog