TV wildlife presenter Iolo Williams left Winterwatch fans open-mouthed as he explained how the "world's loudest insect" makes its mating call. The nature veteran even pulled out a wooden percussion instrument to explain the water boatman's bizarre method for attracting the opposite sex with a process known as stridulation.
The 60-year-old ornithologist from Builth Wells began by asking Gillan Burke, his co-presenter on the popular BBC show: "Did you know that for its size the water boatman is the loudest creature in the whole world? It can emit a sound of up to 99.2 decibels.
"That's like you and me sitting in front row of a theatre listening to a full orchestra. We'd be blasted away."
