The Queen of Trees | About | Nature

NATURE reveals the importance of an unlikely partnership between a regal tree and a tiny wasp in The Queen of Trees.

It may be one of nature’s oddest couples: a tiny wasp that can barely be seen, and a giant fig tree, the sycomore, which shelters a remarkable menagerie of wildlife among its limbs. The wasp and the fig depend on each other for survival. Without the wasp, the tree could not pollinate its flowers and produce seeds. Without the fig, the wasp would have nowhere to lay its eggs.

The Queen of Trees shows this delicate dance of survival in exquisite detail, including spectacular close-ups of the wasp’s remarkable life inside a ripening fig. To capture such incredible images, filmmakers Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble spent two years camped out near a giant sycomore fig in Kenya’s outback, documenting the tree’s pivotal role as a source of food and shelter for everything from gray hornbills, Africa’s largest bird, to swarms of invading insects searching for food. In a surprising turn, some insects come to the tree’s aid — sparking a battle you won’t want to miss.

Production Credits

Television Credits

Filmed, Directed, Written and Produced by
MARK DEEBLE & VICTORIA STONE

Film Editor
DAVID DICKIE

Production Coordinators, Additional Photography and Location Sound Recording
LUCY BATEMAN AND ETIENNE OLIFF

Music
GUY MICHELMORE

Vocals
JOHN BOLAJI

Dubbing Editors
TIM OWENS
MAX BYGRAVE

Dubbing Mixer
JANE HANCOCK

HD On-line and Grading
SHIHO FUKAYA
KAZUYA FUJINO

Scientific Advisor
STEPHEN COMPTON

Field Support
MAHEMBA SHABANI
SOLOMON KAMAU
JACKSON CHEPKOWKY
JANE WANGU WARUI

Produced in Association With
KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE

The Producers Wish to Thank
ALEC WILDENSTEIN
BAOBAB TRUST
BORANA
GICHEHA FARMS
CAROLE WOOD
FRANK HOWITT AND DOLCIE SPENCER
GILL SHAW
GLENN AND PHIL MATTHEWS
KILAGUNI LODGE
MARTIN SETH SMITH
MARK REYNOLDS
RUSINGA ISLAND LODGE, LAKE VICTORIA
SHOMPOLE COMMUNITY GROUP RANCH
SHOMPOLE LODGE
STEPHEN WARMAN
VIEWFINDERS

Associate Producer
MASARU IKEO

Executive Producer
ALAN ROOT

For NATURE

Series Editor
JANET HESS

Supervising Producer
JANICE YOUNG

Producers
PATTY JACOBSON
JILL CLARKE

Associate Producer
IRENE TEJARATCHI

Production Secretary
RACHAEL TEEL

Manager
EILEEN FRAHER

Production Manager
JULIE SCHAPIRO THORMAN

On-line Editor
DAVID NOLING
BRUNO PELLEGRINI

Sound Mixer
ED CAMPBELL

Series Producer
BILL MURPHY

Executive in Charge
WILLIAM GRANT

Executive Producer
FRED KAUFMAN

A Co-Production of Deeble & Stone Productions, Thirteen/WNET New York, NHK, Granada International, BBC and ZDF

This program was produced by Thirteen/WNET New York, which is solely responsible for its content.

Web Credits

Producer
DANIEL B. GREENBERG
MARY HOPE GARCIA

Art Director
SABINA DALEY

Designer
MICHAEL DIMAURO
RADIK SHVARTS

Pagebuilding
BRIAN SANTALONE

Writer
DAVID MALAKOFF

Production Artist
YING ZHOU-HUDSON

Production Assistant
DIANA COFRESÍ-TERRERO

Technical Director
BRIAN LEE

Photos

Courtesy of Deeble and Stone

About the Writer

David Malakoff is a journalist covering research discoveries and the politics of science for SCIENCE MAGAZINE in Washington, D.C. His writing has appeared in a wide range of venues, including THE ECONOMIST, THE WASHINGTON POST, and ABCNews.com.

Thirteen Online is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York’s Kravis Multimedia Education Center in New York City. Dan Goldman, Executive Director, thirteen.org. Bob Adleman, Business Manager.

The Queen of the Trees

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