WASP: Oof!
Get out of my way, Bee. I saw that flower first.
MOLE: Sorry about that, Wasp. Just an accident. No need to be
so aggressive about it.
WASP: This is not the time for Bee jokes. How dare you?
MOLE: I told you before. I'm not doing a Bee joke every time I
use the word Bee.
WASP: What about that Bee song you were singing earlier?
MOLE: That wasn't a Bee song. It was the A-B-C. If Wasp was a
letter in the human alphabet, you'd say it all the time too.
WASP: Ah, you're always getting in my way and making silly Bee
jokes. You bees get all the attention. Aren't they so
wonderful with all their honey? Well, I've had enough. Buzz off.
MOLE: You can't tell me to buzz off. I have just as much right
to this flower as you do.
WASP: You're taking up all the space with your big bumbly Bee
bum.
MOLE: You leave my bum out of this.
WASP: Let me have that sweet, sweet nectar.
MOLE: No, that nectar is mine.
WASP: That's it. I'm calling for help.
Awooo!
THEME TUNE VOICEOVER: Across the many majestic wild spaces of the
United Kingdom, from woods, wetlands, to mountain and heath.
Whenever help is needed, one ranger and her animal friends
always answer the call.
SINGERS: It's Ranger Rae and the Wildlifers
RANGER RAE: I can talk to animals. It's a ranger's dream.
SINGERS: It's Ranger Rae and the Wildlifers
RANGER RAE: Say hello to my animal team.
SINGERS: With Deer and Fox and Wildcat. Mole and Dragonfly and
Beaver and Bat
BEAVER: Sound the alarm and we'll come running to you.
DEER: With our animal powers, we'll know what to do.
SINGERS: It's Ranger Rae and the Wildlifers
MOLE: You know the wildlifers won't be able to understand us,
right? They can't understand insects because we're too small.
WASP: That's not true. Dragonfly will understand us. How long's
it going to take them to get to Manchester anyway?
MOLE: Ages, probably. It's not like...
RANGER RAE: Did someone call for Ranger Ray? I'm here with
Dragonfly and Mole...
ROXY: And Roxy... To save the day!
Now who is it that wanted our help?
RANGER RAE: I'm not sure. I didn't even hear the awoo this
time. I was following Dragonfly's lead.
Is that Bee buzzing at me?
ROXY: And is that Wasp buzzing at me?
It must have been them who called for help. But how are we
supposed to help a Wasp and a Bee? We can't understand
insects.
RANGER RAE: Dragonfly can understand them. Isn't that
right, Dragonfly?
ROXY: But we can't understand Dragonfly. Mole can. Can't you,
Mole?
MOLE: Oh, maybe a little, when the mood strikes. Let's see.
Could you repeat that, Dragonfly?
Ah, yes. I think Dragonfly is talking about worms.
Yes, worms. Lots and lots of worms. Dragonfly thinks we
should all go on a worm hunt right away and come back covered
in worms. Great wormy thinking, Dragonfly.
RANGER RAE: Is that really what Dragonfly is saying? Or you wish
Dragonfly was saying?
MOLE: Whatever they're saying, it's got me in the mood for
worms. I'll be back soon with lots and lots of juicy wriggly
worms. Worms for all!
ROXY: Look, Ranger Rae, we're in the City. But there are insects
everywhere.
RANGER RAE: That's right, Roxy. And it's thanks to all the
flowers you see growing in little pockets of space about
the place. Urban rewilding like this is very important when it
comes to biodiversity. And it's a real treat for the insects,
especially the bees.
ROXY: Careful, Ranger Rae. It looks like that Wasp wants to
sting you.
RANGER RAE: If I didn't know any better, I would say it was
trying to disagree with me. We need to figure out a way to
understand what they are saying.
ROXY: Why don't we get Luca? He might have a gadget that can
help us.
RANGER RAE: Great idea, Roxy. I'll send for him now.
LUCA: Hello, Ranger Rae.
RANGER RAE: Hi, Luca.
LUCA: Hello, Roxy.
RANGER RAE: Hi, Luca.
LUCA: Hello, Dragonfly.
RANGER RAE: Luca, we were wondering if you had any
invention that could help us understand what insects are
saying.
LUCA: Let me have a look in my bag and see what I have.
Let me see. Here's a hat that makes you speak French.
ROXY: Oh, let me see. Je suis Roxy et je suis un ranger.
LUCA: And here's a machine that can suck worms out of the
ground.
RANGER RAE: Better put that away before Mole comes back.
LUCA: Aha! Here it is. My insect translator.
RANGER RAE: Great! Can you try it on Dragonfly?
LUCA: Sure. Let's give it a go.
Just need to triangulate the signal a little bit more and...
There we go.
DRAGONFLY: Hello? Hello?
LUCA: Hello? Just testing one, two. Is this thing on?
ROXY: It's working. We can finally understand Dragonfly.
RANGER RAE: Dragonfly, you must have so much to say.
DRAGONFLY: Well, gee, now that you put me on the spot like
that, why don't we listen to what Wasp and Bea are arguing
about, Luca?
LUCA: Sure thing.
WASP: And another thing, you bees are always banging on about
the queen Bee. It's queen Bee this and queen Bee that. Give it
a rest for once.
BEE: Listen, Wasp, you leave our queen Bee out of this. Anyway,
wasps have a queen too.
WASP: Yeah, but we don't go on about her the whole time.
BEE: No, you're too busy repeatedly stinging anything
that gets in your way.
WASP: That's not our fault. You can only use your Sting once.
BEE: Oh, don't be such a buzzkill.
RANGER RAE: Whoa, whoa, whoa. I can see why you insects sent out
the awoo now.
ROXY: What's going on? How come you're fighting so much?
WASP: I'm tired of bees getting all the praise. We wasps have
value too.
RANGER RAE: Of course you have value. Who says wasps don't have
value?
WASP: It's just people always talk about how important bees
are. And how we need to save the bees because they contribute so
much to the ecosystem. But wasps do too. If it wasn't for us,
this place would be a mess of spiders and flies.
BEE: I think that's a bit of an exaggeration.
WASP: Oh yeah? Well, every summer, wasps in the UK catch
around 14 million kilograms of insect prey. I bet you didn't
know that.
BEE: That is quite impressive, to be fair.
ROXY: You know, Wasp does have a point. We do seem to think of
bees as friendlier, more helpful insects.
RANGER RAE: And we think of wasps as being very aggressive
when that's... really not the case
WASP: Of course it's not the case. I'm not aggressive. Sure,
I have a lot of grievances, and most of them bee-related. But
that doesn't make me aggressive. I'm just forthright in my
opinions.
LUCA: Do you think wasps are treated so differently to bees?
WASP: Put it this way. Do you think humans will ever make an
animated film about a cute little Wasp?
LUCA: Good point. I have to go now, you guys. I'm working on a
really cool new invention with my brother. You can hold on to
my insect translator.
RANGER RAE: Thanks, Luca. I'm sure we'll see you again soon.
ROXY: Bye, Luca.
RANGER RAE: What's that sound?
ROXY: It sounds like an earthquake. But it couldn't be.
RANGER RAE: Ah, it's Mole.
MOLE: Worms for all! A worm for you, and a worm for you, and a
worm for you!
DRAGONFLY: Zzzz, thanks Mole!
MOLE: Did Dragonfly just talk?
RANGER RAE: Thanks to Luca's insect translator, we can
understand what the insects are saying.
ROXY: Though it's been nothing but Wasp And Bee bickering so
far.
MOLE: What is there to argue about? You're both insects, you
both have stings, you're both black and yellow.
WASP: How dare you! I am not black and yellow. I'm yellow and
black.
MOLE: Ok, sorry. I can see that we have our work cut out for us
here.
ROXY: We were trying to figure out why bees have a much more
positive reputation than wasps.
MOLE: Oh, that's easy. It's because of the honey.
WASP: Because of the honey?
MOLE: Yes. Bees make honey. Humans like honey. So humans
like bees. Simple as.
WASP: I could make honey if I wanted to.
RANGER RAE: Yeah, right.
WASP: I could. Wasps just choose not to. We're too busy...
MOLE: Stinging people.
WASP: I was going to say too busy pollinating.
MOLE: Look, bees make honey and wasps don't. That's just the way
it is.
WASP: That's it. I challenge you to a honey bake-off.
RANGER RAE: Ooh, you're so on.
Welcome, one and all, to the Great British Honey Bake-Off.
Bakers, shake hands before we get going. Hands? But we're
insects. We will also accept some bum-wiggling. Perfect.
Ok, honey bakers, you have ten seconds remaining.
BEE: Ah, another perfect batch of honey made by your pal, Bee.
WASP: Come on. Set for goodness sakes, set! Three, two, one.
Time's up. Shall we try Bee's honey first?
BEE: A wise choice. I've gone for a classic taste and texture,
served on a tiny piece of honeycomb.
ROXY: Wonderful presentation. Let's have a taste.
That is delicious.
RANGER RAE: I agree. Beautiful consistency and the honeycomb is
a lovely touch.
MOLE: It's good, but maybe next time liven things up by serving
it with some worms.
ROXY: Mole.
RANGER RAE: Now let's try Wasp's honey. Tell us about your honey
Wasp.
WASP: Right. Well, I went for a traditional honey and...
ROXY: The texture looks a bit funny.
WASP: Yeah. I ran out of time towards the end and...
MOLE: Is it supposed to smell like that?
WASP: No. See, it wouldn't set and...
RANGER RAE: Let's have a taste.
That's...
Right.
ROXY: I'll try some too.
Er...
Interesting texture, for sure.
RANGER RAE: Sorry, Wasp, it's just different, that's all.
ROXY: Yeah, not what I was expecting. But that doesn't mean
it was bad.
MOLE: I guess I have to be the mean judge then and say it was
bad. Very bad. And not a single worm in sight.
WASP: Oh, you're right. Who am I kidding? Wasps can't make honey.
All we're good for is going around stinging people.
ROXY: Now that is not true. You said yourself, every summer
wasps in the UK catch around 14 million kilograms of insect
prey.
RANGER RAE: Exactly. This place would be crawling with spiders
and flies if it wasn't for wasps. Come on, Wasp. I want to
show you a very special place.
Wow!
ROXY: What is this place? There's so much insect activity
going on.
RANGER RAE: This is the Castlefield Viaduct, and they've
been doing lots of rewilding over the last few years. It's a
great place for nature walks and foraging, as well as observing
lots and lots of insects.
DRAGONFLY: I've already seen more dragonflies here than I see
in my home pond.
RANGER RAE: What do you think, Wasp And Bee? It's beautiful! So
many colourful flowers. I bet the Queen will be...
WASP: On about the Queen again, are we?
BEE: It is my duty to... Now, now, let's not start the
bickering again. I brought you here for a good reason.
WASP: What was that?
RANGER RAE: Look at all these insects, and then pay attention
to how many wasps are out there, doing their thing, collecting
for the Queen, keeping nature ticking along, and the ecosystem
up and running. Can you see them all?
WASP: Yeah.
RANGER RAE: Do you think nature cares if you make honey or not?
WASP: No.
RANGER RAE: Do you think the ecosystem cares if wasps have an
aggressive reputation?
WASP: No.
RANGER RAE: Exactly. Wasps are an essential part of the
environment and nothing can change that. Nature is all about
balance. And if you take wasps out of the equation, that
balance would be off. Just like with bees. You are all needed,
as much as each other.
WASP: Really?
BEE: She's right, Wasp. We bees may get a bit more publicity.
But you wasps are just as important.
WASP: Oh, shucks you guys. I feel much better now. I'm
starting to Bee-lieve my role in nature a little bit more.
BEE: And you're doing Bee jokes.
WASP: You were right. It's much easier to fit Bee into things
than Wasp.
BEE: As easy as A, B, C.
DRAGONFLY: Here comes another Wasp now. Are they a friend of
yours?
HOVERLFY: How dare you? I'm not a Wasp.
DRAGONFLY: Oh. I just thought, just, you know, you look like...
HOVERLFY: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before, mate.
DRAGONFLY: You know, with the black and yellow stripes.
WASP: Just leave it, OK?
ROXY: Excuse me, if you're not a Wasp, do you mind if I ask what
you are?
HOVERLFY: See, not so hard to ask with manners, is it? I'm not
a Wasp, I'm Hoverfly.
DRAGONFLY: You are? That is a great disguise.
MOLE: But you look exactly like a Wasp, only you...
HOVERLFY: Hover, yeah, that's my only giveaway. It's by
disguising myself as a Wasp I'm able to survive out here. Most
predators run for the hills when they see those yellow and black
stripes. Everybody's terrified of wasps.
WASP: Wasps can be just as friendly as bees.
HOVERLFY: Right you are, Wasp. A fine observation. A very smart
Wasp you are.
BEE: Do all hoverflies suck up to you like that?
WASP: Yeah, it gets annoying after a while.
HOVERLFY: I bet it does, kind Wasp.
What a keen eye for observational humour. You were
blessed with.
DRAGONFLY: Look, Hoverfly, I didn't mean to cause any
offence. I just didn't know there are insects that pretend
to be other insects.
HOVERLFY: It's not just me. Animals use disguise and
camouflage all the time. And I know just the place you can see
it in action.
RANGER RAE: Sounds like we're off on another adventure. Where
to, Hoverfly?
HOVERLFY: Come on, everyone. We're going to Marsden Moor.
ALL: Hooray!
ROXY: Wow, that sounds fun. And it sounds like it's our first
two-part adventure. How exciting! Some adventures just
can't be contained in a single episode. Join us next week for
part two of our insect odyssey, where we'll be meeting some
insects and animals who are masters of disguise. Bye bye!
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