0:00:21 > 0:00:27Like all good stories, this one has a dark and stormy beginning.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30THUNDER RUMBLES
0:00:33 > 0:00:38Arizona's blistering summer has come to an earth-shattering end.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44This is the first rain to fall here in six months.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48It heralds the birth of a new empire.
0:00:52 > 0:00:57Imagine a world deep underground, ruled by a ruthless queen.
0:00:57 > 0:01:02Over eight years, she and her armies will unleash a reign of terror.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Building an empire of epic proportions.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Eliminating rivals with brutal efficiency.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Thousands will perish in defence of her realm.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28This is the story of her rise to power.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50The morning after the storm,
0:01:50 > 0:01:54a lone honey ant queen wanders the still-damp desert.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Triggered by the rain, she emerged from a distant underground nest
0:02:00 > 0:02:02just a few hours ago.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Chance has carried her to Horseshoe Canyon,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10a dramatic backdrop for her first, faltering steps.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19The rain has softened the hard-packed soil
0:02:19 > 0:02:22just enough for her to begin digging a nest.
0:02:23 > 0:02:28Where she digs is perhaps the most crucial decision of her life.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33If she picks a good spot, these excavations will become
0:02:33 > 0:02:37the foundations of a great empire, but if she makes a bad choice,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40she won't last for long.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44With the odds stacked against her, she needs help.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52It comes in the shape of another newly-emerged ant queen.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02She is inspected with the formality her regal status requires.
0:03:07 > 0:03:08The new recruit is allowed to join.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Usually aggressive towards one another,
0:03:14 > 0:03:19co-operation like this is very unusual for most ant species.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26More recruits are drawn to the scene,
0:03:26 > 0:03:28perhaps attracted by pheromones.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37In just a few hours, the queens have sealed themselves into their bunker
0:03:37 > 0:03:40and a life of perpetual darkness.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44For the founding queen,
0:03:44 > 0:03:49sharing her nest with all these rivals seems like madness.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55But the economics of desert survival is a numbers game.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00And for the moment at least,
0:04:00 > 0:04:05this communal life is the key to her future.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11Each queen now lays her first batch of tiny eggs,
0:04:11 > 0:04:12each no bigger than a pinhead.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23Many new nests contain two or three queens,
0:04:23 > 0:04:27limiting the initial brood to less than 100 eggs.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33But these ten queens have produced well over 300 eggs.
0:04:34 > 0:04:40And when they hatch, the colony will become an instant superpower.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46For the founding queen, this is the main advantage to taking in lodgers.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55If the eggs are not kept clean and coated with antibiotic saliva,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58they would quickly be smothered by fungi and rot away.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15The eggs soon hatch.
0:05:17 > 0:05:23Fed by the queens, the voracious larvae grow quickly and then pupate.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29A few weeks after the eggs were laid,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33the first tiny, pale workers emerge from these silky cocoons.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42All ant workers are female and sterile.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46Unable to reproduce themselves,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49their sole purpose in life is to serve the queens.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56They darken as their bodies become harder
0:05:56 > 0:05:59and then, they are ready to take up their duties.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Some stay underground,
0:06:03 > 0:06:07tending to the queens and to the remaining brood.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Others head for the surface,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15for a first look at their strange new world.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51Their entire kingdom encompasses just a few square metres.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56They must get everything they need to survive from this territory.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14In the darkness, the queens are slowly starving to death.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20They have been breaking down their own muscles to stay alive.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28So, any food the tiny workers can bring home is crucial.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40They struggle with huge loads.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00These meagre supplies allow the queens
0:08:00 > 0:08:03to regain some of their strength and to start laying more eggs.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08By pooling their resources,
0:08:08 > 0:08:12the queens have survived their first major challenge,
0:08:12 > 0:08:14but this coalition can't last.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19Tensions are already on the rise
0:08:19 > 0:08:22as the queens jostle for position within the royal court.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28The weaker crouch submissively before the more dominant,
0:08:28 > 0:08:30including the founding queen.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36So begins the delicate manoeuvring
0:08:36 > 0:08:39that will soon take on a deadly significance.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44Those at the bottom of the hierarchy
0:08:44 > 0:08:47have little chance of surviving the coming trials.
0:08:52 > 0:08:57Another struggle for control is also beginning, above ground.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02The Corral nest is not the only one in Horseshoe Canyon.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08The desert floor is littered with similar sized colonies
0:09:08 > 0:09:12and there's not enough room for all of them.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15Now, the darker side of the honey ants emerges.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23It's time for the Corral colony to mount a pre-emptive strike
0:09:23 > 0:09:25on its nearest neighbours.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43Flush with victory, they're ready to take on all comers.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53Harvester ants are big and heavy-jawed.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57But honey ants punch well above their weight.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02Their weapons of choice?
0:10:02 > 0:10:06Nipping jaws and formic acid, sprayed in fine droplets
0:10:06 > 0:10:08from the tips of their abdomens.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16This has a devastating effect on anything it touches.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Still only a few hundred strong,
0:10:24 > 0:10:30the Corral colony is starting to flex its muscles.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34For the queens, the real benefits of joining the coalition are clear.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36There's strength in numbers
0:10:36 > 0:10:40and the nest with the most firepower always wins.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45Soon, the Corral colony has destroyed
0:10:45 > 0:10:48all the other honey ant nests in the neighbourhood.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53The foundations of the empire have been laid.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01Underground too, events have taken a darker turn.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06One of the queens lies dead in the royal chamber.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11It's not clear why, but the workers
0:11:11 > 0:11:15have started singling out the weaker queens for special attention.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20At first, it's all very subtle -
0:11:20 > 0:11:24one isn't fed so often, or cleaned as diligently.
0:11:27 > 0:11:33But then, the workers start bullying and harassing their chosen victim.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41Finally, it spills over into direct attack,
0:11:41 > 0:11:45and the workers tear the chosen queen to pieces.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56Nothing can go to waste, even a royal carcass.
0:11:59 > 0:12:04Workers carry hungry larvae over to feast on the dead queen,
0:12:04 > 0:12:08including many that must have been her own offspring.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20As the weeks pass, the revolution continues.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26Only the most dominant royals seem immune to attack.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30They just watch and wait,
0:12:30 > 0:12:33as the workers go about their gruesome business.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Winter means hard times for all the canyon's inhabitants.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00To conserve energy, the colony has more or less shut down.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05No-one ventures above ground to gather food,
0:13:05 > 0:13:10few eggs are being laid and the workers go onto reduced shifts.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16They could be down here for six months or more,
0:13:16 > 0:13:20eking out a living on the most meagre of supplies.
0:13:24 > 0:13:29By winter's end, only the two strongest queens are left standing.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49In some honey ant nests,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52multiple queens can work in coalition for years.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56But not in this one.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02It's time for the final reckoning.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08Perhaps sensing some weakness in one of the queens,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11the workers move in for the kill.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Compared with the slow, lingering death
0:14:16 > 0:14:19of the queens purged earlier in the winter,
0:14:19 > 0:14:23this is a swift and brutal assassination.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33The founding queen now has complete control of the nest
0:14:33 > 0:14:37she began to dig all those months ago.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41All the workers, no matter who they are descended from,
0:14:41 > 0:14:43must be loyal to her.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49But to be absolute ruler is not enough.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52She needs to produce heirs,
0:14:52 > 0:14:57and to do that, she first needs to build up her empire.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09The spring rains have transformed Horseshoe Canyon.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21It's time for the Corral colony to resurface
0:15:21 > 0:15:23after their winter of deprivation.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32The swelling ranks of workers leave the nest each day to gather food.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42They now range over an area the size of a tennis court,
0:15:42 > 0:15:44and nectar is their main food.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51Honey ant workers have expandable abdomens,
0:15:51 > 0:15:56reservoirs that allow them to carry liquid food back to the nest.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02It's crucial they gather as much as they can
0:16:02 > 0:16:04during this brief period of plenty.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10All this activity around the nest
0:16:10 > 0:16:13has attracted some very unwelcome attention.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20A horned lizard has taken up temporary residence
0:16:20 > 0:16:22on their doorstep.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28It can eat hundreds of ants in a single sitting.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37It will only move on when the sun gets too hot,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39or it's eaten its fill.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49But for the queen, these losses are more than offset
0:16:49 > 0:16:52by the production of new workers, deep underground.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59And now, she's starting a new strategy.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02The queen is putting together an army of specialists
0:17:02 > 0:17:06that will form the backbone of her growing empire.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11Pumping out an egg every hour, the colony now numbers over a thousand.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17Her kingdom is co-ordinated largely by pheromones,
0:17:17 > 0:17:22cocktails of complex chemicals passed from mouth to mouth.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26They are used to direct every activity within the nest.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Under the influence of these royal commands, some larger workers
0:17:34 > 0:17:37are about to take on a very special role in the colony.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42Returning foragers seek them out
0:17:42 > 0:17:46and force-feed them load after load of nectar.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52Their abdomens become distended,
0:17:52 > 0:17:56until they are the size of garden peas.
0:17:58 > 0:18:03As they fill, these super-sized ants, called repletes,
0:18:03 > 0:18:07haul themselves onto the chamber roof, to avoid being damaged.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16They become prisoners in their own nests.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19Once hanging, they refine the nectar,
0:18:19 > 0:18:23removing water, concentrating it into a thick honey.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44Then, when supplies run low
0:18:44 > 0:18:47during the long winter, or in drought years,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50these living larders regurgitate their contents
0:18:50 > 0:18:52to feed the hungry colony.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57It's the honey ant's elegant solution to desert survival.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06The queen now heads a formidable and efficient machine.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13But as the riches of spring dwindle away,
0:19:13 > 0:19:15this machine is stalling.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23This time of year can be ferociously hot in southern Arizona.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37Despite the intense heat, the topside workers must keep foraging,
0:19:37 > 0:19:40to feed the queen's soaring ambitions.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46With the flowers gone, there are few easy meals left.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58The oak trees near the nest now become the focus of activity.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06Gall wasps have infected the oak's acorn crop.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Their larvae use the plant's own tissues
0:20:09 > 0:20:13to create for themselves a protective nodule, a gall.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18The growing galls secrete a sugary liquid
0:20:18 > 0:20:20that the worker ants can't resist.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29By attracting the ants in this way,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33the gall wasp larvae gain a degree of protection
0:20:33 > 0:20:37from predators and parasites.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40But these few, precious drops will never be enough
0:20:40 > 0:20:43to satisfy the colony's spiralling demands.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52The Corral colony workers need to look further afield.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59Casting the net wider means taking bigger risks,
0:20:59 > 0:21:02but holds out the possibility of huge rewards.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08The gatherers are about to become hunters.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Scouts soon stumble upon another honey ant colony.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25The Corral colony sends in a raiding party.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32It's a fast, co-ordinated attack.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43The smaller colony doesn't stand a chance.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02The spoils of war are dragged out into the sunlight.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Not everyone gives up without a struggle.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21But resistance is futile in the face of such overwhelming odds.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25Nothing is left behind.
0:22:26 > 0:22:33Eggs, larvae, workers, pupae are all carried back to the Corral nest.
0:22:46 > 0:22:52Loaded with honey, the repletes are the most valuable plunder of all.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56Some are dismembered and drained underground.
0:22:56 > 0:22:57Others are dragged to the surface
0:22:57 > 0:23:00and hauled back to the victors' nest.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07But they can be a real challenge to manoeuvre across no-man's land.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43This is how most clashes between honey ant colonies are played out.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Invariably, the winner is the one that has the superior numbers.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59The raid couldn't have come at a better time.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02It's filled the Corral colony's larders,
0:24:02 > 0:24:04ensuring its 2,000 inhabitants
0:24:04 > 0:24:07will be well-fed through the approaching winter.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12But just as importantly,
0:24:12 > 0:24:15a rival nest that could have threatened the queen's reign
0:24:15 > 0:24:17has been eliminated.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23For the next few years,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26life in the canyon follows its own particular course.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39The seasons ebb and flow.
0:24:58 > 0:25:03But through it all, the Corral queen continues to build her empire.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26The queen now reigns over a formidable force
0:25:26 > 0:25:29that dominates this part of Horseshoe Canyon.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38Together, they have built a complex underground city.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47Just beneath the surface
0:25:47 > 0:25:50is a network of chambers and linking tunnels.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54From these, a single, vertical chimney extends two metres
0:25:54 > 0:25:59down into the concrete-hard earth to reach the colony's nerve-centre.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05This deep, the soil is still moist,
0:26:05 > 0:26:08the air cool, despite the soaring surface temperatures.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14This is the very heart of the queen's empire.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22This year, the colony has reached a tipping point.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30For the first time in its six-year history,
0:26:30 > 0:26:34there are male as well as female ants in the nest.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42The Corral queen has finally succeeded
0:26:42 > 0:26:47in producing her first generation of winged princes and princesses.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55All the work of the queen and her army over the last few years
0:26:55 > 0:26:59has been to reach this one, pivotal moment.
0:27:01 > 0:27:06Soon, these winged royals will fan out across the desert
0:27:06 > 0:27:09to establish new colonies.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16They have already been packed in down here for weeks.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24Workers keep them fuelled up
0:27:24 > 0:27:27and their wings in prime condition for their maiden flight.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36All they need now is a trigger, to send them on their way.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42And that trigger is brewing high in the desert sky.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49THUNDER RUMBLES
0:28:07 > 0:28:11Around here, it's called the monsoon season.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19These torrential downpours can dump several centimetres of rain
0:28:19 > 0:28:21in just a few hours.
0:28:23 > 0:28:27The normally hard ground is softened by the deluge.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33Over 180 ant species are found here
0:28:33 > 0:28:37and this is the moment most of them have been waiting for.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45The air is filled with millions of flying insects...
0:28:50 > 0:28:53..as virgin queens and male consorts
0:28:53 > 0:28:55seek each other out.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01The mass emergence continues throughout the afternoon.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07As the day begins to cool, the time has finally come
0:29:07 > 0:29:10for the Corral honey ants to put in an appearance.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17Workers pour out to secure the perimeter of the nest-hole,
0:29:17 > 0:29:19creating a protected launchpad.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27The queens and much smaller males move up through the tunnels
0:29:27 > 0:29:31towards the surface and out into the light.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48Still deep underground,
0:29:48 > 0:29:52the queen won't witness these momentous events,
0:29:52 > 0:29:57but her winged sons and daughters are about to spread the royal line
0:29:57 > 0:29:59far across the desert.
0:30:05 > 0:30:10In a few frenetic minutes, hundreds take to the skies...
0:30:12 > 0:30:14..mate with the other honey ants
0:30:14 > 0:30:17emerging from nests along the canyon...
0:30:19 > 0:30:21..and then tumble back to earth.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35Most will perish within a few hours.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42They can meet their end in many different ways.
0:30:48 > 0:30:53The massive rate of attrition is why the Corral queen
0:30:53 > 0:30:56must produce so many winged offspring.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01Like so much else in honey ant life,
0:31:01 > 0:31:04starting new colonies is all about numbers.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10Some even get picked off by other ants.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23The weak and the injured are quickly recycled.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37Despite such heavy losses,
0:31:37 > 0:31:41hundreds of new honey ant nests will be excavated along the canyon.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46These queens are the lucky ones,
0:31:46 > 0:31:49retracing the steps the Corral queen took six years earlier,
0:31:49 > 0:31:51when she first landed here.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56But few will last as long, or be as successful.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02For now, their main concern is to get themselves underground,
0:32:02 > 0:32:05before the soil dries and becomes unworkable.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14By the next morning, the emergence in Horseshoe Canyon is over.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19There won't be another until it rains again next year.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24This summer,
0:32:24 > 0:32:29the Corral queen has played the numbers game to perfection.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32There's a good chance some of her daughters will have survived
0:32:32 > 0:32:35long enough to start their own colonies,
0:32:35 > 0:32:38and her reign is far from over.
0:32:38 > 0:32:43With luck, she could live for another 15 years.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46But after this year's triumph,
0:32:46 > 0:32:50the Corral queen's luck is about to change.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04By the eighth year, the colony's fortunes have plummeted.
0:33:07 > 0:33:09The rains have been sporadic and light.
0:33:11 > 0:33:12The streams have run dry.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16The vegetation parched.
0:33:18 > 0:33:22The canyon is held tight in the grip of drought.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26The intense heat is making life
0:33:26 > 0:33:29almost impossible for the Corral colony.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34The workers run the risk of being cooked alive,
0:33:34 > 0:33:37if they stay out foraging for too long.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40The only way to survive is to take repeated time-outs
0:33:40 > 0:33:43from the lethal heat.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47Temperatures a few centimetres above ground
0:33:47 > 0:33:51can be several degrees cooler than at the surface.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55So, the ants must climb or die.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01A few minutes up here,
0:34:01 > 0:34:03and they've cooled enough to risk venturing back down
0:34:03 > 0:34:06to resume their search for food.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16Even the wind brings no respite to the hard-pressed colony.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28As the scorching air swirls around the canyon, getting back
0:34:28 > 0:34:32to the sanctuary of the nest can become a life or death struggle.
0:34:45 > 0:34:50With so little rain, the food supply has dwindled to almost nothing.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56The canyon is slowly turning into a dustbowl.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01After enjoying years of success,
0:35:01 > 0:35:05the queen is now facing her most severe challenge.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10No winged ants have been produced this summer.
0:35:12 > 0:35:14Egg-laying has slowed to a trickle.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19Under the intolerable stress,
0:35:19 > 0:35:22even the precious larders are being drained.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29The Corral colony is no longer the force it was
0:35:29 > 0:35:32and for the first time, the queen is vulnerable.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40By late summer, the Corral tanks
0:35:40 > 0:35:43contain the only standing water for miles around.
0:35:47 > 0:35:52The canyon's more mobile insects are drawn to this one, last oasis.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02For those able to travel, this water is a life-saver.
0:36:17 > 0:36:24Bees and wasps can carry the water back to their distant nests.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26But this tiny pool of water
0:36:26 > 0:36:30lies just beyond the boundary of the Corral colony's territory.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35With no end in sight,
0:36:35 > 0:36:38such desperate times call for desperate measures.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45As the search widens, a small group of Corral workers
0:36:45 > 0:36:47head towards the trough.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52This is unfamiliar ground for them
0:36:52 > 0:36:56and they are heading toward disaster.
0:36:56 > 0:37:02Near the trough, they stumble across other honey ants
0:37:02 > 0:37:04and then, a nest entrance.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10It's only 40 metres from the Corral colony,
0:37:10 > 0:37:14but that's been enough to keep the two nests in mutual ignorance
0:37:14 > 0:37:16for all these years.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23These new honey ants are unlike any the Corral workers
0:37:23 > 0:37:25have encountered before.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27They are big and aggressive.
0:37:28 > 0:37:33Instead of backing down, they meet the challenge head-on
0:37:33 > 0:37:35and the encounter begins to escalate.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39They begin the delicate posturing
0:37:39 > 0:37:43that allows them to assess each other's strengths and weaknesses.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50It soon becomes clear
0:37:50 > 0:37:53that this Trough colony is the stronger.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00Perhaps living close to permanent water
0:38:00 > 0:38:02has given them a crucial advantage.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06For the first time in its history,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09the Corral colony may have met its match.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15This is not good news.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26Increasingly excited,
0:38:26 > 0:38:29one of the Corral workers fires poisonous spray at the nest.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34But this only galvanizes the Trough ants
0:38:34 > 0:38:37into launching an all-out counter attack.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56Sensing the worst,
0:38:56 > 0:38:59the Corral workers begin to fall back towards their own nest.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03The Trough workers go on the offensive.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11The retreat quickly turns into a rout.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15Stragglers are picked off.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21The fight is carried right to the entrance of the Corral colony.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35Even here, on their own doorstep, they can't hold their ground.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43The attacking Trough workers drive on into the nest.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51As news of the attack reaches the Corral queen,
0:39:51 > 0:39:54she withdraws to the deepest chambers,
0:39:54 > 0:39:58her entourage of nurses in tow, carrying the valuable brood.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13The battle spreads down into the tunnels.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30Slowly, inexorably,
0:40:30 > 0:40:32it spreads down through the shafts,
0:40:32 > 0:40:35towards the deeper part of the nest.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55The repletes are slaughtered...
0:40:59 > 0:41:01..or dragged away to be eaten later.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13Some dead workers are carried off for processing.
0:41:20 > 0:41:25The invaders take everything, from eggs to newborns.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33They empty chamber after chamber.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00Finally, the invaders overcome the last resistance
0:42:00 > 0:42:03and break through into the royal bunker.
0:42:07 > 0:42:09The Corral queen and her broods
0:42:09 > 0:42:13are trapped and completely helpless.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Held by each leg, the queen is on the rack.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27First stretched,
0:42:27 > 0:42:29then dismembered.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36It is a gruesome and ignominious end
0:42:36 > 0:42:38for this once-great ruler.
0:42:43 > 0:42:48In just a few hours, the Corral colony has been annihilated.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53The nest, emptied.
0:43:03 > 0:43:08Too late for the Corral colony, the drought finally breaks.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10THUNDER RUMBLES
0:43:20 > 0:43:24A great storm heralded the start of the Corral queen's story
0:43:24 > 0:43:27and now, eight years later,
0:43:27 > 0:43:29another marks its brutal end.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33But somewhere out in the desert,
0:43:33 > 0:43:36the queen's royal daughters are fighting their own battles,
0:43:36 > 0:43:39continuing her dynasty.
0:43:39 > 0:43:44The queen may be dead, but her empire lives on.