Plot Synopsis

MACRO WORLDS is a one-hour documentary series that follows researchers as they travel across Europe to chronicle the insect kingdom. It's a harsh but idyllic world of strange beauty and eccentric behavior, populated by tiny bloodsuckers and micro-cannibals in the form of iridescent jewel beetles, hundreds of types of bees, and a host of otherworldly insects. Despite their small size, these tiny inhabitants play a huge role in the larger ecosystem. The series opener, "Winter Is Coming," reveals the methods with which insects prepare themselves for the annual end of the world: winter. Then, the second episode, "Meadow of Horror," dives into the world of hunters and hunted. The finale, "God's Darlings," investigates the reason why the beetle, with over 400,000 species, is the most successful order of animals on the planet. There must be something to having six legs and four wings. MACRO WORLDS had its U.S. premiere on Sunday, April 7, 2019 at 8am ET/PT on Smithsonian Channel.