Link to Life in the undergrowth: 5- Supersocieties documentary
Documentary Description
The final programme looks at the superorganisms formed by bees, ants and
termites. Attenborough reveals that their colonies, whose individuals
were once considered purely servile, are "full of conflict, power
struggles and mutinies." They evolved when such creatures moved away
from a solitary existence and started building nests side-by-side, which
led to a collective approach to caring for their young. There are about
20,000 species of bee, and a queen bumblebee is shown starting a new
nest. As it grows, the inhabitants all help to maintain it and bring
nectar and pollen. However, anarchy erupts when the queen starts to
destroy eggs laid by her workers: she is stung to death and the colony
ends. Ants live in bigger societies, which can make them vulnerable, but
Attenborough goads a nest of wood ants into demonstrating their
defence: formic acid. In Australia, a nest in a mangrove swamp has to be
continuously rearranged to escape the tides. Meanwhile, desert-dwelling
harvester ants block up nearby nests in an effort to maximise their
food pickings. A bivouac of army ants is explored: they prove to be one
of those most regimented organisms, where the action of each individual
is for the good of the million-strong colony. Attenborough investigates
magnetic termites, whose slab-like mounds are all aligned to account for
the movement of the sun. Finally, a full-scale battle between termites
and matabele ants is depicted in close-up.