# Monster Bug Wars

Monster Bug Wars is a nature documentary program, created and distributed by Beyond Television Productions, and televised on the Science Channel in the United States, and SBS in Australia. The monster movie format features two kinds of insects, arachnids, myriapods, and other invertebrates in gladiator style combat in a simulated natural environment. In intermittent breaks, entomologists educate the viewer about the strengths and weaknesses of the dueling arthropods.
The opening narration is "In nature's fight pit, a host of ruthless bugs as bizarre as they are lethal slug it out in real-life battles to the death. Witness epic encounters between swarms of marauding assassins, and vicious one-on-one clashes where only one bug survives. The world of monster bugs is a jungle, where there's just one law: eat or be eaten."

## Premise

The program highlights The Law of the Jungle involving two arthropods of different species, both usually being carnivorous. They are shown fighting to the death with the victor devouring the victim in graphic detail. The program is noted for its use of dramatic theme music and unusual sound editing—during combat, the sounds of growling, screaming, war cries, and shrieks of agony, to name but a few, are heard. In addition, other military and ringside sound effects such as bells, bugles, whistles and alarms are occasionally added. Of course, none of these sounds are natural and are only added to enhance the dramatic effect. However, some viewers have stated these sound effects are silly and do nothing but make a good documentary program into something rather comical. It has been noted that season two has much less sound effects than season one. Despite the odd sound effects, the invertebrate specialists managing the animals for the series took great care to ensure all the interactions were those between species that naturally interact and prey upon one another in the wild. This was the result of hundreds of hours of field observation and years of experience with the various species. Like the vast majority of macro productions, this was filmed in a studio situation to allow for controlled lighting and camera operation. It utilized large natural sets which enabled the animals to behave as they would in nature. Between shots of the fight, the two entomologist hosts of the program narrate the action. Dr. Linda Rayor of Cornell University and Associate Professor Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry of University of Queensland describe each arthropod's abilities that give it an advantage over the other. The entomologists often try to predict the winner of the two. The program is narrated by Henry Strozier.
In Australia, the program began airing on SBS on November 14, 2012. It features re-voiced narration by Dr. Paul Willis of RIAUS, as well as a longer running time due to additional narrated footage. Eden began airing the series on February 29, 2016 in the United Kingdom.

## Production

The series premiered in 2009. The first season started in 2011 and had a run of six episodes. The series was renewed for 2012 with another six episodes produced.

## Episodes
### Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| Pilot | Pilot | Pilot | October 7, 2009 (2009-10-07) | October 7, 2009 (2009-10-07) |
| 1 | 6 | 6 | March 29, 2011 (2011-03-29) | May 3, 2011 (2011-05-03) |
| 2 | 6 | 6 | January 24, 2012 (2012-01-24) | February 28, 2012 (2012-02-28) |
| Special | Special | Special | July 2012 (2012-07) | July 2012 (2012-07) |
In the following episode listings, winners are in bold.

### Pilot (2009)

| No. overall | Title | Original release date |
| 1 | "Pilot" | October 7, 2009 (2009-10-07) |
| Rounds: – King cricket vs. Centipede – Saint Andrew Cross Spider vs. Portia spider – Desert scorpion vs. Wolf spider – Redback Spider vs. Huntsman spider – Tiger beetle vs. Raspy cricket – Giant rainforest mantis vs. Spiky katydid – Bull ant vs. Black ant |||

### Season 1 (2011)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 2 | 1 | "Death at Midnight" | March 29, 2011 (2011-03-29) |
| Rounds: – Giant rainforest mantis vs. Spiny leaf insect – Bull ant vs. Redback spider – Water spider vs. Water strider – White-tailed spider vs. Black house spider – Sydney funnel-web spider vs. Garden wolf spider ||||
| 3 | 2 | "Enemy Empire" | April 5, 2011 (2011-04-05) |
| Rounds: – Tree scorpion vs. Green ants – Cellar spider vs. White-tailed spider – Trap-jaw ant vs. Antlion – Brown house spider vs. Redback spider – Desert centipede vs. Desert trapdoor spider ||||
| 4 | 3 | "Quick and the Deadly" | April 12, 2011 (2011-04-12) |
| Rounds: – Ogre-faced spider vs. Assassin bug – Bulldog raspy cricket vs. Whistling tarantula – House centipede vs. Swift tree mantis – Marbled scorpion vs. Trap-jaw ants – Metallic green jumping spider vs. Spitting spider ||||
| 5 | 4 | "Shape-Shifters" | April 19, 2011 (2011-04-19) |
| Rounds: – Lichen huntsman spider vs. Grey tree runner mantis – Tent spider vs. Destructive katydid – Rhinoceros beetle vs. Meat ants – Green jumping spider vs. Long-jawed jumping spider – Giant banded huntsman spider vs. Jungle huntsman spider ||||
| 6 | 5 | "When Tribes Go To War" | April 26, 2011 (2011-04-26) |
| Rounds: – Green ants vs. Paper wasps – Portia spider vs. Long-jawed orb weaver – Balloon-winged katydid vs. Tree centipede – Badge huntsman spider vs. Spider hunting scorpion – Tiger leech vs. Freshwater crab ||||
| 7 | 6 | "Rainforest Rampage" | May 3, 2011 (2011-05-03) |
| Rounds: – Jumping jack ant vs. Green-bellied huntsman spider – Green praying mantis vs. Predatory katydid – Spiny tree cricket vs. Golden orb-weaver – Desert centipede vs. Desert scorpion – Bee killer assassin bug vs. Earwig ||||

### Season 2 (2012)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 8 | 1 | "Deadly Duels" | January 24, 2012 (2012-01-24) |
| Rounds: – Jungle tiger beetle vs. Moss mantis – Horned katydid vs. Owl butterfly (caterpillar) – Ogre-faced spider vs. Army ant (Soldier) – Red-thighed wandering spider vs. Black-tailed Scorpion – Longicorn beetle vs. Flame bellied orb-weaver ||||
| 9 | 2 | "Blood on the Forest Floor" | January 31, 2012 (2012-01-31) |
| Rounds: – Hooded mantis vs. Brazilian wandering spider – Rainforest land crab vs. Army ant – Harvestman vs. Velvetworm – Black jungle stalker vs. Black faced katydid – Amblypygid vs. Red forest scorpion ||||
| 10 | 3 | "Ultra Violence" | February 7, 2012 (2012-02-07) |
| Rounds: – Giant cockroach vs. Mexican red-rump tarantula – Stripe-tailed centipede vs. Vinegaroon – Banana spider vs. Orange horned katydid – Golden carpenter ant vs. Flag-tailed assassin bug – Slender necked mantis vs. Bronzed huntsman spider ||||
| 11 | 4 | "Mother of All Wars" | February 14, 2012 (2012-02-14) |
| Rounds: – Black-tailed scorpion (baby) vs. Pirate spider – Lichen bark mantis vs. Rock spider – Bug-eyed katydid vs. Candy-cane katydid – Rufus comb-footed spider vs. Spitting spider – Tiger assassin bug vs. Silverback cross spider ||||
| 12 | 5 | "Murderous Intent" | February 21, 2012 (2012-02-21) |
| Rounds: – Speckled house spider vs. Leafcutter ant (soldier) – Tiger jumping spider vs. Yellow jumping spider – Geophilid centipede vs. Costa Rican cellar spider – Orange-mouthed tarantula vs. Red Mouth Conehead katydid – Dinosaur ants vs. Trap-jaw ants ||||
| 13 | 6 | "Super Slayers" | February 28, 2012 (2012-02-28) |
| Rounds: – Leaf-tailed mantis vs. Sunburst raspy cricket – Spiny orb-weaver vs. Crab spider – Water bug vs. Mudeye – Domino beetle vs. Crimson-legged assassin bug – Mangrove tree crab vs. Leopard spider ||||

### Special (2012)

Monster Bug Wars Top 10 is a second season compilation episode released in July 2012. This episode included 10 already released bug fights that have been shortened. The following battles are listed below:
| No. overall | Title | Original release date |
| 14 | "Monster Bug Wars Top 10" | July 2012 (2012-07) |
| Rounds: 10. – Slender necked mantis vs. Bronzed huntsman spider 9. – Tiger beetle vs. Raspy cricket 8. – Green ant vs. Paper wasp 7. – Tiger leeches vs.Freshwater crab 6. – Trap-jaw ant vs. Antlion 5. – Assassin bug vs. Ogre-faced spider 4. – Desert centipede vs. Desert trapdoor spider 3. – Giant rainforest mantis vs. Spiny leaf insect 2. – Green jumping spider vs. Long-jawed jumping spider 1. – Tree scorpion vs. Green ant |||