500,000 to 1 is a live action and animated educational film about the overpopulation of insects and the techniques used to curb this growth. It provides an overview of insects and their impressive evolutionary capacities. It was presented by Sinclair Refining Company and produced by Atlas Film Corporation in 1956.

(01:45) A man sitting on a chair in his backyard is annoyed by an insect.

(02:03) A child tries to swat a bug in the kitchen with a fly swatter.

(02:17) A swarm of insects in the sky. Insects out-number humans 500,000 to 1.

(02:25) A man uses a insect trap.

(02:36) Footage of a forest destroyed by bark beetles.

(02:49) A beekeeper with his hive, bees are an insect that are useful to humans.

(03:05) Two house flies are shown on-screen. The descendants of a pair of two flies during the course of six months would number 191,000,000,000,000 if all lived and reproduced normally, however only a small portion will survive.

(04:19) A man plows his field with a tractor. This is an example of a man-made environmental change that has contributed to insect over-population.

(05:02) A roach is seen on a tree, it is an example of how insects can adapt and survive.

(05:46) A man sprays insecticide. Many insects have adapted to resist insecticides.

(06:11) Close-up of a silver fish, one of the most primitive species in North America.

(07:37) Footage of insects around the planet.

(08:35) Insects attack a cow and other aspects of human life.

(09:12) A bee pollinates a plant. A wasp moves inside its mud house.

(09:51) Parasitic insects lay eggs on or in the larvae of other insects. The parasites feed on the hosts.

(10:15) A parasite insect penetrates wood to access larvae.

(10:53) Farming clears natural growth which leads to an imbalanced ecosystem, leading to increased insect populations.

(11:56) Helicopter footage of an American city. Urban growth exacerbates insect over-population as well.

(12:29) The headquarters of the Bureau of Entomology at the U.S. Department of Agriculture is seen. It works at developing new techniques to curb insect overpopulation.

(13:18) A pilot gets in a crop duster airplane to spray insecticides.

(13:33) Electronics and even atomic radiation are also used to combat insects.

(13:46) Fly paper. In addition to classic traps and more modern traps, including electrical traps.

(14:01) A man installs an insect barrier.(14:08) Draining swamps to eliminate stagnant water.

(14:18) In a city, sanitation workers dispose of garbage.

(15:02) A man sprays chemicals to fight insects.

(15:52) A woman sprays chemicals on her garden.

(16:00) A truck sprays insecticides.

(16:13) Footage of a plane spraying insecticides.(16:28) The Sinclair Research headquarters, where researchers work on developing new insecticides.

(17:28) A scientist examines a plant at a table.

(17:52) Incoming ships, trucks, and planes are inspected and fumigated at the border to prevent insect migration..

(18:25) Another long-range strategy is biological warfare. This involves importing diseases that will kill insects but will not harm humans.

(19:20) One other technique is increasing the population of parasites that harm insects.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com