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(mysterious music)
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A teeming ant colony.
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A society where worker ants labor blindly
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for the good of the colony,
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just cogs in a living machine.
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A huge collective with a single-minded purpose.
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The ultimate stuff of sci-fi movies.
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(mysterious music continues)
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Scary, ruthless, relentless.
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Truly alien.
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But look closer,
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an ant colony has the run of the whole of this house,
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giving a unique look
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at the lives of these intriguing little insects.
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These colonies are far more sophisticated than we imagine.
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Not a dystopian nightmare at all,
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but a caring society.
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(dramatic music)
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In the nurseries, workers tend huge piles of eggs,
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keeping them clean and free from infection.
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Others wait on the queen.
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The only one to breed.
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Collecting her eggs as soon as they're laid
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and taking them straight to the nursery.
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Some workers care for the pupae,
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about to emerge as fresh recruits to the vast workforce.
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This is why social insects are so distinctive.
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All these individual insects cooperate closely
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for the good of their whole society.
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It's one for all and all for one.
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Without a selfish thought in any kind of head.
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(dramatic music continues)
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Working together in large colonies like this,
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makes social insects the most successful of all insects.
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Yet only two different groups of insects
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have ever evolved such complex societies.
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We're most familiar with the ants, bees and wasps
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and they all belong to one insect group.
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Societies operating with military precision.
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They dominate their world.
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In some rainforests ants outweigh
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all the land vertebrates by four times.
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And not just in remote wild places.
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Teamwork means these insects conquer our world as well.
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But these ant colonies don't reign unchallenged.
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Termites.
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They also live in vast societies just as successful
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as those of the ants, bees and wasps.
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Working together, some termites build gigantic castles.
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They shape the whole landscape
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as much as any of the bigger animals.
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The total weight of all the termites in the world
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is about the same as that of all humans.
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How did evolution produce these bustling societies
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of insect overachievers?
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It's not just in huge colonies.
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It turns out the cooperation of one sort or another
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is surprisingly common among insects.
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In the Australian Bush, there are close knit families
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that show the beginnings of cooperation.
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(kangaroo grunts)
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Some insects really hate to be on their own.
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Spitfire bugs are the larva of sawflies
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and they stick to each other like glue.
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(mysterious music)
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When they move,
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they keep their tails wrapped around each other.
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If one does get separated, the rest drum on the plant,
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a powerful homing signal to guide the straggler home.
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(caterpillars drumming)
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They feed on the leaves of eucalyptus trees
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which are packed with pungent oils.
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Although that doesn't seem to worry the Spitfires.
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But if they feel threatened, they all rear up
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and spit drops of fluid,
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concentrated eucalyptus oil, nasty stuff.
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They even thrash their tails
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to coat their bodies in the oil.
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So anything that comes too close
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will get coated with stinking fluid.
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This show of solidarity is enough for most predators
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to leave them well alone.
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They're much safer in a group, a basic society.
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But a society where members of the same generation
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work together doesn't go much further
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than these bands of feisty caterpillars.
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It takes a different kind of community
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for evolution to really work its magic.
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A bond built across the generations
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between parents and offspring.
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Meet the world's biggest roach.
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(roach scuttling)
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These four inch rhinoceros roaches
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only live in these Australian forests
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where they feed on dried gum leaves.
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(mysterious music)
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The bulldozers of the insect world.
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They have powerful front legs to dig burrows
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in the hard-packed earth.
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Very deep burrows.
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(mysterious music continues)
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Following a winding path
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it descends below the forest floor,
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deeper and deeper.
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Eventually, more than three feet below the surface
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is her nest chamber and her family.
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The baby roaches are happy to see her, it's dinner time.
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She drags these unappetizing dried leaves all the way
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down to the nest and the young feed
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on the fragments that she chews off for them.
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But this diet is really hard to digest,
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at least without help.
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Just like cows, these roaches need guts
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packed with microbes to break down the leaves.
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The problem is the young don't have their own microbes.
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They need to get them from their mother.
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The only way to do that is to eat moms poo.
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This tough cellulose diet means that young cockroaches
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must hang around their parents
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until they have their own gut flora.
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They'll stay with their mother
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for the whole of the summer.
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But if the kids never leave home
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the family just gets bigger and bigger.
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Which is exactly how termites evolved.
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(mysterious music)
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Termites are just social roaches.
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Very, very social roaches.
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These are Darwin's termites,
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the most primitive and the largest of all termites.
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This is all one family of brothers and sisters.
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They'll never leave home and never breed themselves.
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They'll spend the rest of their lives
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helping their mother, the queen.
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Some are specialized soldiers
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with powerful jaws to defend their colony.
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But the rest just chew on wood.
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Hollowing out entire trees.
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Darwin's termites are one
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of the most destructive termites in the world.
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Termites don't care whether wood is growing as a tree
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in a forest, or has been turned into a home.
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It's all just food to them.
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Dry wood termites like these,
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are much smaller than Darwin's termites,
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but still cause millions of dollars worth of damage
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in the world's warmer regions.
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Like their roach ancestors,
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they also have guts packed with microbes,
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so termites can digest anything made of wood.
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The chewed off fragments of wood
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are pulverized further by a muscular gizzard.
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Then pass along the gut where the termite's
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own enzymes begin digestion.
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Then the fragments are handed over
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to protozoans and bacteria.
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So many, they make up nearly half the termites weight.
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This tough diet of wood and dried plants
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forces the young to stay at home for a long time
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to inherit these vital microorganisms from their parents.
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A long lasting bond between parents and young
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gave termites the opportunity to evolve
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their complex societies.
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A few billion bacteria and protozoans
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keep these vast colonies sustained
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by nothing more than dry wood.
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Although we don't usually appreciate just what
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extraordinary little creatures termites really are.
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(wood creaking)
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(wood fracturing)
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(objects clattering)
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On the other hand, everyone loves bees.
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Bee societies are just as complex as those of termites
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but came about in a very different way.
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(gentle music)
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The Sonoran Desert in the American Southwest is bee heaven.
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A thousand different kinds of bees live here.
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(bees buzzing)
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We think of bees as living in huge super colonies,
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but most kinds of bees are actually very antisocial.
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And that includes cactus bees.
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There may be thousands of bees in this one patch of desert,
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but it's every bee for herself.
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She's only focused on digging her own nest.
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(gentle music continues)
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A tunnel in the hard, dry, desert soil.
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They're all crammed into this one neighborhood
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because the soil here is easier to work than elsewhere.
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But not that easy.
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It's hard work moving boulders bigger than you are.
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And once that's done, the nest must be stopped with pollen.
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Cactus bees specialize in cactus flowers.
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She dives headlong into a sea of anthers.
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Laden with pollen.
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When she emerges, she's covered in the stuff.
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She packs it all onto her hairy hind legs
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to carry it back to her nest.
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Each nest must be filled with enough pollen and nectar
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to feed all her larvae until they're fully grown.
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But she's being watched.
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A bee fly, with a simple mission in life.
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Avoid all this effort
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and instead exploit the hardworking bees.
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(dramatic music)
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The fly is a precision bomber.
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She flicks her egg towards the bees nest.
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And it's a hole in one.
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When the fly's grub hatches, it'll eat the pollen store
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and kill and eat the bee's own larva.
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And this strange creature also has designs
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on the bee's larva.
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It's a thistledown velvet ant, another parasite.
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When the bee leaves to collect yet more pollen,
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the velvet ant slips in to lay her own egg deep in the nest.
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Parasites like these are a real problem for the bees,
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but because they're only concerned with their own nests
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they don't look out for each other.
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(bees buzzing)
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Even with thousands of them packed together,
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there's no neighborhood watch.
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Bumblebees have solved that problem by becoming social.
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A bumblebee nest is never left undefended.
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It's always humming with activity.
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Like termites, this is just one extended family.
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But bee workers are all female.
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All daughters of the queen.
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She lays her eggs into specially prepared wax pots.
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Right away, the workers move in to take care of them.
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This army of workers all cooperate to build
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and defend their nest.
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And they also nurse the growing larvae,
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their younger sisters.
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By working together, insect societies can prosper and grow.
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Though most of these colonies must begin life
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with just a single parent.
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The time of most danger.
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(thunder rumbles)
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A green tree ant, a queen, all alone.
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For most kinds of ants, a young queen starting a new colony
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hides in a crevice or a hole in the ground.
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But a green tree ant lives in trees.
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With fewer places to hide, she has no choice
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but to stand over her first batch of eggs
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and try to look intimidating.
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(tense music)
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With no help from workers or guards,
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only a tiny fraction of new queens survive
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to found a new dynasty.
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But one day, if she's lucky, she'll be head of an army
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of maybe half a million.
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Now, working as one, they're the scourge of the treetops.
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(ominous music)
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Nothing is safe up here.
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Even big insects are overwhelmed by sheer force of numbers.
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These ants really show what's possible with teamwork.
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If they come to a gap too wide to cross,
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they work together to bridge it.
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A few ants brace themselves as anchors.
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Then other ants climb over their bodies
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and take a firm hold.
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Yet more ants pile on
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until they have built the living bridge.
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Now the army can stream across,
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to lay waste to a new branch.
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Legions of ants carry the prey back to the nest.
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And their nests themselves, made of folded leaves,
267
00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:56,815
couldn't be built without even closer cooperation.
268
00:23:56,815 --> 00:23:59,815
(suspenseful music)
269
00:24:02,190 --> 00:24:04,440
Each ant grabs the edge of leaf.
270
00:24:12,140 --> 00:24:14,210
On its own, a single ant
271
00:24:14,210 --> 00:24:16,123
isn't strong enough to bend the leaf,
272
00:24:16,970 --> 00:24:21,300
but like a well trained crew of sailors hoisting a sail,
273
00:24:21,300 --> 00:24:24,193
they all heave together to fold the leaf over.
274
00:24:40,740 --> 00:24:42,020
Now all they need is a way
275
00:24:42,020 --> 00:24:44,483
to fix the leaves in place permanently.
276
00:24:49,150 --> 00:24:52,000
More ants arrive at the construction site,
277
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,207
carrying fully grown larvae.
278
00:24:59,335 --> 00:25:01,918
And these larvae can spin silk.
279
00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:12,230
The workers use them like glue guns,
280
00:25:12,230 --> 00:25:14,423
moving them between the leaf edges.
281
00:25:15,660 --> 00:25:19,400
Slowly building up more and more strands of silk
282
00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:22,323
until they're thick enough to stitch the leaves together.
283
00:25:39,070 --> 00:25:43,123
Before long, they've built a secure treetop home.
284
00:25:49,050 --> 00:25:52,393
Most other ants build their homes below ground.
285
00:25:53,230 --> 00:25:55,510
Even though they're more elaborate,
286
00:25:55,510 --> 00:25:58,543
all that shows on the surface is a tiny hole.
287
00:26:03,590 --> 00:26:05,770
But beneath the surface...
288
00:26:08,010 --> 00:26:10,593
(gentle music)
289
00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:15,110
These are aluminum casts of underground networks
290
00:26:15,110 --> 00:26:18,673
of tunnels and chambers made by different kinds of ants.
291
00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:37,190
The casts have been made by pouring molten aluminum
292
00:26:37,190 --> 00:26:40,640
into the entrance hole of an abandoned nest.
293
00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:43,550
Then digging out the solidified metal sculpture
294
00:26:44,670 --> 00:26:47,763
to reveal ant art.
295
00:26:49,086 --> 00:26:52,503
(gentle music continues)
296
00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:00,440
This is another advantage of social living.
297
00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:02,673
Working together, these insects can build
298
00:27:02,673 --> 00:27:04,990
elaborate, secure homes
299
00:27:04,990 --> 00:27:07,993
where they live and rear their extended families.
300
00:27:12,070 --> 00:27:14,390
And from the safety of this base
301
00:27:14,390 --> 00:27:16,613
they can set out to conquer the world.
302
00:27:17,930 --> 00:27:20,313
Theirs and ours.
303
00:27:22,046 --> 00:27:24,963
(traffic rumbling)
304
00:27:32,786 --> 00:27:34,440
Ants are perfectly at home
305
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:38,060
in the heart of our biggest and busiest cities.
306
00:27:38,060 --> 00:27:42,083
In fact, there are far more ants here than people.
307
00:27:48,090 --> 00:27:51,260
13 different kinds of ants thrive on the streets
308
00:27:51,260 --> 00:27:56,260
of downtown New York, where like us, they crave junk food.
309
00:28:03,070 --> 00:28:05,650
Chemical analysis of these ants has shown
310
00:28:05,650 --> 00:28:08,433
they're eating the same food as the people here.
311
00:28:12,070 --> 00:28:16,793
Like us, they are hooked on burgers, hot dogs and bagels.
312
00:28:19,630 --> 00:28:21,973
The most abundant are pavement ants.
313
00:28:22,900 --> 00:28:25,803
They're tiny, just a fraction of an inch long.
314
00:28:26,870 --> 00:28:29,080
But so efficient, they do a great job
315
00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:32,683
in keeping the sidewalks clear of all the food we waste.
316
00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:41,190
Along just Broadway and West Street, these ants dispose
317
00:28:41,190 --> 00:28:45,020
of over half a million discarded potato chips every year.
318
00:28:51,638 --> 00:28:55,160
These super societies can exploit any resource
319
00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:58,400
so efficiently because they're always
320
00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:00,163
in contact with each other.
321
00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:07,700
This means they can profit quickly
322
00:29:07,700 --> 00:29:11,083
from any opportunity wherever they find it.
323
00:29:17,070 --> 00:29:20,263
Scouts are always searching for a convenient meal.
324
00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:25,660
When these first ants find an all you can eat buffet,
325
00:29:25,660 --> 00:29:27,440
they sample what's on offer.
326
00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:29,833
Then return to the nest with the good news.
327
00:29:35,060 --> 00:29:38,603
On their way back, they lay down chemical trails.
328
00:29:43,070 --> 00:29:45,590
And now hundreds of workers can simply follow
329
00:29:45,590 --> 00:29:48,233
these sign posted ant highways to the feast.
330
00:30:08,568 --> 00:30:11,568
In no time, it's swarming with ants.
331
00:30:12,410 --> 00:30:14,790
Each playing its part in the supply chain
332
00:30:14,790 --> 00:30:16,093
back to the nest.
333
00:30:22,630 --> 00:30:25,280
These efficient bands of foragers are crucial
334
00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:28,733
to the survival of all these insect societies.
335
00:30:29,670 --> 00:30:32,143
So every new recruit counts.
336
00:30:33,484 --> 00:30:37,143
Another worker is about to join team bumblebee.
337
00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:41,943
With a little help from her sisters.
338
00:31:08,180 --> 00:31:10,220
She's a bit disheveled at first
339
00:31:10,220 --> 00:31:13,443
but it doesn't take her long to dry off and fluff up.
340
00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:24,010
And then she's ready to play her part
341
00:31:24,010 --> 00:31:26,203
in keeping the colony well stocked.
342
00:31:27,571 --> 00:31:30,071
(bee buzzing)
343
00:31:33,170 --> 00:31:35,900
It's an awfully big world out there
344
00:31:35,900 --> 00:31:37,790
and to be an effective team member
345
00:31:37,790 --> 00:31:41,003
she has a lot to learn in a short space of time.
346
00:31:43,030 --> 00:31:45,393
She'll probably only live for a month or so.
347
00:31:51,140 --> 00:31:55,020
Bumblebee societies are fueled by pollen and nectar,
348
00:31:55,020 --> 00:31:58,660
but there's a vast choice of flowers in this meadow.
349
00:31:58,660 --> 00:32:02,741
How on earth can she ever learn which ones are the best?
350
00:32:02,741 --> 00:32:05,324
(gentle music)
351
00:32:11,142 --> 00:32:15,280
A young worker learns from other more experienced bees.
352
00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:17,343
Even bees of different species.
353
00:32:21,020 --> 00:32:23,973
If a honey bee thinks this kind of flower is good,
354
00:32:25,140 --> 00:32:26,687
maybe worth checking it out.
355
00:32:39,020 --> 00:32:41,400
The young bumblebee samples any flowers
356
00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:43,623
that she sees other bees feeding on.
357
00:32:45,150 --> 00:32:47,737
So it doesn't take her long to learn for herself
358
00:32:47,737 --> 00:32:50,733
which are the best sources of nectar and pollen.
359
00:33:14,150 --> 00:33:16,553
She soon becomes an efficient forager.
360
00:33:21,090 --> 00:33:25,750
By now the pollen sacks on her back legs are bulging,
361
00:33:25,750 --> 00:33:28,443
time to get these supplies back to the nest.
362
00:33:36,090 --> 00:33:39,163
She scrapes the pollen into one of the storage pots,
363
00:33:40,070 --> 00:33:41,943
and she's ready for her next mission.
364
00:33:56,300 --> 00:33:58,430
Bumblebee colonies are small,
365
00:33:58,430 --> 00:34:01,310
rarely more than a few hundred workers,
366
00:34:01,310 --> 00:34:03,793
the bee equivalent of a small village.
367
00:34:07,770 --> 00:34:09,900
But in some places,
368
00:34:09,900 --> 00:34:12,243
bees build up much larger cities.
369
00:34:17,100 --> 00:34:20,460
In the tropics, there's a year round supply of food
370
00:34:20,460 --> 00:34:25,460
which feeds a thriving metropolis of stingless bees.
371
00:34:25,686 --> 00:34:29,050
(bees humming)
372
00:34:29,050 --> 00:34:31,030
They nest in hollow trees
373
00:34:31,030 --> 00:34:32,950
and build a narrow entrance tunnel
374
00:34:32,950 --> 00:34:35,393
which is constantly manned by guards.
375
00:34:43,010 --> 00:34:46,023
Only members of the colony are allowed to pass.
376
00:34:49,020 --> 00:34:52,523
The tunnel leads to a sophisticated, intricate nest.
377
00:35:02,060 --> 00:35:04,773
It has graceful spirals of brood cells.
378
00:35:10,153 --> 00:35:14,736
And the whole structure is braced by arches and struts.
379
00:35:23,634 --> 00:35:25,750
But the most complex structures
380
00:35:25,750 --> 00:35:28,063
are not made by bees or ants.
381
00:35:31,843 --> 00:35:35,093
(go-away bird calling)
382
00:35:36,330 --> 00:35:38,823
Not all termites tunnel through wood,
383
00:35:40,830 --> 00:35:43,083
some build skyscrapers.
384
00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:53,720
Using mud and feces mixed with saliva,
385
00:35:53,720 --> 00:35:57,233
these mounds tower 10 feet or more above the ground.
386
00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:00,970
On the termite scale, this is nearly double
387
00:36:00,970 --> 00:36:03,593
the height of the world's tallest building,
388
00:36:09,020 --> 00:36:11,223
but this isn't even their nest.
389
00:36:13,060 --> 00:36:15,750
That lies mostly underground.
390
00:36:15,750 --> 00:36:18,010
At the bottom of the tower,
391
00:36:18,010 --> 00:36:20,910
a network of galleries packed with workers
392
00:36:23,290 --> 00:36:28,290
and at the center, the queen, huge, bloated,
393
00:36:29,700 --> 00:36:32,079
just an egg-laying machine.
394
00:36:32,079 --> 00:36:34,996
(mysterious music)
395
00:36:40,530 --> 00:36:43,533
Inside the tower, there's a network of tunnels,
396
00:36:46,090 --> 00:36:47,903
but they're more or less deserted,
397
00:36:48,870 --> 00:36:52,073
just a few maintenance crews repairing any damage.
398
00:36:56,060 --> 00:36:58,500
So why have the termites made such an effort
399
00:36:58,500 --> 00:37:00,633
to build this huge structure?
400
00:37:04,090 --> 00:37:07,600
To answer that we need to see inside the tower,
401
00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:11,590
which we can, using 3D scans that are built
402
00:37:11,590 --> 00:37:14,543
up in the same way as MRI scans.
403
00:37:19,070 --> 00:37:21,820
This is a real termite's nest
404
00:37:21,820 --> 00:37:24,630
as if we could see through the mud walls
405
00:37:24,630 --> 00:37:28,083
to reveal a labyrinth of tunnels inside the mound.
406
00:37:32,307 --> 00:37:34,440
On the side facing the sun,
407
00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:36,803
the air inside the tunnels heats up.
408
00:37:40,500 --> 00:37:44,020
The warm air rises then sinks again,
409
00:37:44,020 --> 00:37:47,013
down through the cooler tunnels on the shady side.
410
00:37:51,130 --> 00:37:53,560
The sun creates a circulation of air
411
00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:55,633
around the inside of the tower.
412
00:38:01,070 --> 00:38:04,230
As the sun tracks across the sky,
413
00:38:04,230 --> 00:38:06,453
it heats different parts of the tower,
414
00:38:07,506 --> 00:38:10,173
so over time, the circulation changes.
415
00:38:17,130 --> 00:38:19,653
The tower is a giant lung.
416
00:38:20,620 --> 00:38:23,103
As the air moves through the tunnels,
417
00:38:24,250 --> 00:38:27,720
stale air leaves the mound through pores in the walls
418
00:38:27,720 --> 00:38:30,060
and fresh air flows in
419
00:38:30,060 --> 00:38:33,373
while the termites all stay safe in their fortress.
420
00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:44,543
But these castles of clay are not entirely secure.
421
00:38:50,830 --> 00:38:54,011
The termites are not alone in the landscape.
422
00:38:54,011 --> 00:38:57,344
(dramatic, tense music)
423
00:39:04,490 --> 00:39:06,630
Not far from the termite mound,
424
00:39:06,630 --> 00:39:09,260
an ancient baobab tree marks the site
425
00:39:09,260 --> 00:39:11,163
of another underground city.
426
00:39:15,170 --> 00:39:16,870
This one belongs to Matabele ants.
427
00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:22,750
And the two greatest insect societies,
428
00:39:22,750 --> 00:39:26,490
the ants and the termites, have been at war with each other
429
00:39:26,490 --> 00:39:29,143
for millions and millions of years.
430
00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:38,923
Matabele ants hunt termites.
431
00:39:39,770 --> 00:39:41,783
And this is a raiding party.
432
00:39:42,775 --> 00:39:46,108
(tense music continues)
433
00:39:54,070 --> 00:39:57,963
The column is following a trail, laid down by their scouts.
434
00:40:03,970 --> 00:40:06,383
And it's heading straight for the termite nest.
435
00:40:26,908 --> 00:40:30,241
(tense music continues)
436
00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:33,363
But this won't be an easy victory.
437
00:40:34,250 --> 00:40:36,420
Termites have well-armed soldiers
438
00:40:39,400 --> 00:40:41,463
and they fight hard to defend their home.
439
00:41:05,580 --> 00:41:07,493
But resistance is futile.
440
00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:13,427
The ants sting the termites in their heads
441
00:41:13,427 --> 00:41:16,213
to paralyze their powerful jaws.
442
00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:26,773
The termites are eventually overrun.
443
00:41:32,159 --> 00:41:35,980
The Matabele ants have also suffered heavy casualties.
444
00:41:38,030 --> 00:41:41,513
In ant colonies workers are normally expendable,
445
00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:45,083
but not in this society.
446
00:41:56,060 --> 00:41:59,383
Many of the ants aren't dead, just wounded.
447
00:42:03,090 --> 00:42:06,773
And Matabele ants practice battlefield triage.
448
00:42:10,090 --> 00:42:12,253
The fallen ants are assessed.
449
00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:17,490
The fatally injured are left to die,
450
00:42:17,490 --> 00:42:19,850
but comrades who were less badly hurt
451
00:42:19,850 --> 00:42:22,023
are medevacked back to the nest.
452
00:42:37,890 --> 00:42:40,677
Other ants bring home the spoils of war.
453
00:42:58,490 --> 00:43:00,200
Back in the nest,
454
00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:02,863
the casualties are treated by their sisters.
455
00:43:05,350 --> 00:43:08,343
And then, even more unexpected,
456
00:43:09,284 --> 00:43:11,010
(gentle music)
457
00:43:11,010 --> 00:43:14,820
these ants produce an antimicrobial secretion
458
00:43:14,820 --> 00:43:18,020
that they smear onto the wounds.
459
00:43:18,020 --> 00:43:19,503
It prevents infection.
460
00:43:22,750 --> 00:43:24,220
And ants treated like this,
461
00:43:24,220 --> 00:43:26,440
more often than not make a good recovery
462
00:43:26,440 --> 00:43:28,143
and live to fight again.
463
00:43:40,130 --> 00:43:43,130
Once insect societies reach this level
464
00:43:43,130 --> 00:43:44,833
they can take the ultimate step.
465
00:43:57,040 --> 00:44:00,950
A queen honeybee never has to face the dangerous challenge
466
00:44:00,950 --> 00:44:03,793
of starting a new colony without any help.
467
00:44:07,060 --> 00:44:09,510
When she leaves the hive,
468
00:44:09,510 --> 00:44:12,283
she's escorted by thousands of workers.
469
00:44:16,140 --> 00:44:18,950
First, they form a temporary home,
470
00:44:18,950 --> 00:44:21,653
a bivouac of living bodies.
471
00:44:21,653 --> 00:44:24,110
(bees buzzing)
472
00:44:24,110 --> 00:44:26,580
Somewhere deep in this swarm,
473
00:44:26,580 --> 00:44:30,293
the queen is protected by a blanket of stinging workers.
474
00:44:36,030 --> 00:44:40,340
Now she's safe, others set out to find a secure hole,
475
00:44:40,340 --> 00:44:42,533
big enough to house the new colony.
476
00:44:49,070 --> 00:44:50,363
A bit run down.
477
00:44:54,130 --> 00:44:55,043
Too small.
478
00:45:04,140 --> 00:45:06,313
But this looks perfect.
479
00:45:13,278 --> 00:45:16,120
The workers report back to the swarm
480
00:45:16,120 --> 00:45:18,193
and tell their sisters the good news,
481
00:45:22,510 --> 00:45:23,503
by dancing.
482
00:45:27,070 --> 00:45:30,440
The famous waggle dance is normally used by a worker
483
00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:33,120
inside the hive to guide her sisters
484
00:45:33,120 --> 00:45:35,163
to a good source of pollen or nectar.
485
00:45:39,030 --> 00:45:42,403
But now the dance gives them directions to their new home.
486
00:45:47,040 --> 00:45:50,440
The worker's dance on the vertical face of the swarm
487
00:45:50,440 --> 00:45:53,610
but their waggle walk isn't straight up or down.
488
00:45:53,610 --> 00:45:57,500
It's at a precise angle to the vertical and that's the angle
489
00:45:57,500 --> 00:46:01,133
to the sun that the other bees will need to fly.
490
00:46:06,070 --> 00:46:07,300
And the distance is given
491
00:46:07,300 --> 00:46:09,183
by the length of the waggle walk.
492
00:46:10,250 --> 00:46:12,113
GPS for bees.
493
00:46:18,080 --> 00:46:20,984
Now the bees all know where they're going.
494
00:46:20,984 --> 00:46:22,970
(bees buzzing)
495
00:46:22,970 --> 00:46:25,060
They can abandon their temporary nest
496
00:46:28,270 --> 00:46:30,660
and decamp to their new permanent home.
497
00:46:44,140 --> 00:46:46,790
But even with such enhanced security
498
00:46:46,790 --> 00:46:48,773
sometimes that's still not enough.
499
00:46:50,975 --> 00:46:53,642
(ominous music)
500
00:47:03,060 --> 00:47:06,533
Asian hornets specialize in hunting honey bees.
501
00:47:16,870 --> 00:47:18,773
Honey bees deploy guards.
502
00:47:19,970 --> 00:47:21,270
They must stop the hornet
503
00:47:21,270 --> 00:47:24,013
storming the hive and destroying the brood.
504
00:47:26,185 --> 00:47:29,685
(ominous music continues)
505
00:47:33,210 --> 00:47:37,093
Some brave souls even face down their giant attackers.
506
00:47:43,550 --> 00:47:46,500
It might look like a no fly zone out there
507
00:47:46,500 --> 00:47:48,530
but the bees have no choice.
508
00:47:48,530 --> 00:47:51,873
They have to leave the hive to find food for the colony.
509
00:47:57,890 --> 00:48:02,463
And that means a dangerous flight through hostile air space.
510
00:48:15,070 --> 00:48:17,813
Some bees are nimble enough to avoid capture.
511
00:48:24,879 --> 00:48:27,462
But many more are not so lucky.
512
00:48:39,080 --> 00:48:41,323
Alarm spreads through the colony.
513
00:48:49,740 --> 00:48:54,423
A narrow escape, but in her panic she misses her landing.
514
00:49:17,250 --> 00:49:19,613
A successful mission bringing in provisions,
515
00:49:20,488 --> 00:49:22,383
but fewer and fewer make it back.
516
00:49:37,740 --> 00:49:40,300
Asian Hornets are so ruthless
517
00:49:40,300 --> 00:49:43,043
they can soon destroy a whole hive.
518
00:49:48,070 --> 00:49:49,160
Honeybees in Europe
519
00:49:49,160 --> 00:49:53,180
didn't have to face this menace until 2004.
520
00:49:53,180 --> 00:49:57,500
When a single queen Asian hornet was accidentally carried
521
00:49:57,500 --> 00:50:01,653
to France, hidden in a shipment of plant pots from China.
522
00:50:05,790 --> 00:50:08,260
And from there, they spread rapidly
523
00:50:08,260 --> 00:50:11,303
to threaten hives across the whole continent.
524
00:50:17,891 --> 00:50:19,920
(somber music)
525
00:50:19,920 --> 00:50:22,730
Simple carelessness threatens the very existence
526
00:50:22,730 --> 00:50:25,323
of one of our oldest insect allies.
527
00:50:28,100 --> 00:50:31,173
Honeybees have been important to humans for millennia.
528
00:50:34,210 --> 00:50:36,450
Before we refined sugar,
529
00:50:36,450 --> 00:50:39,083
their honey was the sweetest thing in our lives.
530
00:50:44,060 --> 00:50:46,370
And now these industrious workers
531
00:50:46,370 --> 00:50:48,453
pollinate many of our crops.
532
00:50:52,160 --> 00:50:54,753
But they're not the only insects we depend on.
533
00:50:57,310 --> 00:50:58,263
Bumblebees.
534
00:51:04,660 --> 00:51:07,620
Hundreds of colonies of bumblebees are employed
535
00:51:07,620 --> 00:51:11,283
pollinating tomatoes in vast commercial greenhouses.
536
00:51:20,920 --> 00:51:24,450
In Queensland, stingless bees are given the job
537
00:51:24,450 --> 00:51:27,133
of pollinating macadamia nut trees.
538
00:51:34,050 --> 00:51:37,720
Even solitary bees, like these alkali bees
539
00:51:37,720 --> 00:51:40,280
can be encouraged to nest in their millions
540
00:51:40,280 --> 00:51:43,223
if farmers create the right soil conditions.
541
00:51:50,100 --> 00:51:52,060
These are bee beds.
542
00:51:52,060 --> 00:51:53,860
And in return for a home
543
00:51:53,860 --> 00:51:56,533
the bees pollinate the alfalfa crops.
544
00:52:05,030 --> 00:52:07,460
Our lives depend on these bees
545
00:52:07,460 --> 00:52:09,453
and many other insects like them.
546
00:52:12,630 --> 00:52:13,670
Around three quarters
547
00:52:13,670 --> 00:52:17,360
of all our crops are pollinated by insects
548
00:52:17,360 --> 00:52:19,840
and yet we're deliberately making their lives
549
00:52:19,840 --> 00:52:21,283
almost impossible.
550
00:52:26,040 --> 00:52:28,990
Bees along with most other insects
551
00:52:28,990 --> 00:52:32,173
are struggling to survive in the world we've created.
552
00:52:35,050 --> 00:52:37,783
Most of the flower-rich meadows have gone.
553
00:52:39,020 --> 00:52:39,853
Plowed under.
554
00:52:44,010 --> 00:52:47,353
The countryside has been drenched in insecticides.
555
00:52:52,030 --> 00:52:55,800
In many parts of the world, insect populations have dropped
556
00:52:55,800 --> 00:52:59,223
by three quarters in just the last few decades.
557
00:53:02,884 --> 00:53:07,040
Vital pollinators like bumblebees are disappearing
558
00:53:07,040 --> 00:53:08,993
across much of their range.
559
00:53:13,050 --> 00:53:15,860
Meadows rich in flowers were once common
560
00:53:15,860 --> 00:53:18,263
but now only a few remain.
561
00:53:27,640 --> 00:53:30,660
Both flowers and insects have been forced to retreat
562
00:53:30,660 --> 00:53:32,463
to the very edge of our world.
563
00:53:34,910 --> 00:53:37,473
Places like the outer Hebrides in Scotland,
564
00:53:40,650 --> 00:53:42,920
where land is still farmed traditionally
565
00:53:42,920 --> 00:53:45,543
and creates a riot of wild flowers.
566
00:53:49,060 --> 00:53:52,460
In Britain, this is now virtually the last refuge
567
00:53:52,460 --> 00:53:55,497
of the most spectacular of all bees:
568
00:53:55,497 --> 00:53:57,383
the great yellow bumblebee.
569
00:54:09,900 --> 00:54:12,750
These remote sanctuaries are the only places
570
00:54:12,750 --> 00:54:16,173
it can find the flowers it needs to feed its family.
571
00:54:27,100 --> 00:54:30,493
The same story is being told all around the world.
572
00:54:32,100 --> 00:54:36,363
Every day we lose untold billions of tiny lives.
573
00:54:43,070 --> 00:54:45,763
Yet insects are amazingly resilient.
574
00:54:47,020 --> 00:54:50,873
They've been around for well over 400 million years.
575
00:54:52,360 --> 00:54:54,580
They even survived the mass extinction
576
00:54:54,580 --> 00:54:56,563
that wiped out the dinosaurs.
577
00:55:02,260 --> 00:55:05,600
If we learn to appreciate them, to value them
578
00:55:06,977 --> 00:55:11,977
and to give them a chance, they'll always repay us.
579
00:55:16,860 --> 00:55:18,453
They are after all,
580
00:55:19,370 --> 00:55:23,875
the little creatures that run the world.
581
00:55:23,875 --> 00:55:26,625
(dramatic music)
44967
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