0:00:11 > 0:00:12The Jura Mountains
0:00:12 > 0:00:14on the French-Swiss border
0:00:14 > 0:00:16are in the grip of winter.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20The ground has been frozen solid for months.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23This is a tough place in which to live.
0:00:24 > 0:00:31I'm told that clearings like these could be the home of a real giant.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34At this time of the year, it'll be in hiding.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42But evidence of its existence - these strange mounds -
0:00:42 > 0:00:43is everywhere.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49Inside here, deep down and protected
0:00:49 > 0:00:52from the cold, the giant is asleep.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57Beneath the thatch of spruce needles
0:00:57 > 0:01:00lies a maze of tunnels and chambers -
0:01:00 > 0:01:03the home of hibernating wood ants.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05Individually, they are tiny,
0:01:05 > 0:01:09but they're members of a giant super-colony.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17When temperatures rise, over half a billion of them will emerge
0:01:17 > 0:01:19and dominate this landscape.
0:01:23 > 0:01:28Scientists are only just working out how ants manage to survive up here.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32But in fact there's a much greater and more profound mystery
0:01:32 > 0:01:35that has brought me up this mountain.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41Among ants, co-operation between colonies is very rare.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43Warfare is common.
0:01:44 > 0:01:50Yet these nests over a great area live at peace with one another.
0:01:53 > 0:01:58This may sound like an epic tale of war and peace
0:01:58 > 0:02:03but does it also contain an echo of human nature?
0:02:04 > 0:02:07These ants, in some extraordinary way,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10have exchanged war for peace.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12It's now recognised
0:02:12 > 0:02:16as one of the largest of all insect super-societies,
0:02:16 > 0:02:21and its very existence conflicts with some of the laws of evolution
0:02:21 > 0:02:23as we presently understand them.
0:02:35 > 0:02:41It's been a long, cold winter here in the Swiss Jura Mountains.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46It's hard to believe
0:02:46 > 0:02:51that any insect could survive in this frozen landscape.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53But now change is in the air.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02Soon, ant nests all over this mountain will come to life.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06Some of these mounds are independent colonies
0:03:06 > 0:03:10but others are part of one huge super-colony.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15Over the coming months, I'll be looking at the differences
0:03:15 > 0:03:18between these two wood ant societies -
0:03:18 > 0:03:20one that wages war with all its neighbours,
0:03:20 > 0:03:25and the other, which welcomes them and lives at peace.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36As the grip of winter eases,
0:03:36 > 0:03:40sentries emerge from the mounds to check on conditions.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50They detect the sign that they've been waiting for -
0:03:50 > 0:03:52the temperatures are rising.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56Spring is on the way.
0:04:05 > 0:04:11The ants survive the winter thanks to their own central-heating system,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15warmth given off by the slow decomposition of the dead vegetation
0:04:15 > 0:04:18in the nest's fabric,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21and that prevented them all from freezing.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Now, by swarming all over the surface of the nest,
0:04:27 > 0:04:29they are recharging their batteries,
0:04:29 > 0:04:33absorbing heat directly from the sun's rays.
0:04:46 > 0:04:52This behaviour only happens over one or two days in the early spring.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56The worker ants have emerged into the sunshine
0:04:56 > 0:04:58and are now clumping together.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01And they're not just sunbathing.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05It could well be that the ultraviolet rays of the sun
0:05:05 > 0:05:08cure them of any infections from viruses or fungi
0:05:08 > 0:05:12that may have happened during their long sleep underground.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19You can almost feel the enthusiasm
0:05:19 > 0:05:24with which these little creatures are enjoying their sunbathe.
0:05:32 > 0:05:38This is unusual enough but now here is something truly extraordinary.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41There is a queen.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47She's almost twice the size of her subjects.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52She's also the most important member of her family.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55And what's more, there's another.
0:05:55 > 0:06:00To see a queen exposed and vulnerable outside the nest
0:06:00 > 0:06:02is very rare indeed.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04There's one.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10And there's another...
0:06:10 > 0:06:12..shining wonderfully in the sunshine.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18A normal wood ant nest usually has just a single queen
0:06:18 > 0:06:22who lays all the eggs - but clearly this is not so here.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28There's another. There's another. Several of them.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Amazing.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41After a few moments in the sunshine -
0:06:41 > 0:06:44the only time they see daylight in the whole year -
0:06:44 > 0:06:46the queens disappear
0:06:46 > 0:06:51and make their way back to the chambers deep in the nest.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Those unwilling to go are dragged back.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06We may call them queens but there's no sovereign rule here.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08The workers govern by consensus,
0:07:08 > 0:07:12and they decide when and where the queens will go.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24There may be hundreds of queens in this single nest,
0:07:24 > 0:07:29and there over a thousand such mounds as this, all interconnected.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34So, across the super-colony
0:07:34 > 0:07:37there may be as many as a million queens.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48It's now early April.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52The queens' return below to prepare for the egg-laying
0:07:52 > 0:07:54started a race against the clock.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58They must complete their most important work below
0:07:58 > 0:08:00in the next two months.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08Using infrared light, which is invisible to the ants,
0:08:08 > 0:08:12we can watch them inside their nest without disturbing them.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20Most of the first eggs to be laid
0:08:20 > 0:08:24will produce the next generation of breeding individuals -
0:08:24 > 0:08:26the queens and the males -
0:08:26 > 0:08:29both of whom will have wings.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35Inside the thousand nests of the super-colony,
0:08:35 > 0:08:39over half a billion mostly unrelated worker ants
0:08:39 > 0:08:43co-operate to make sure that the queens and the males will be ready
0:08:43 > 0:08:46for their mating flights in mid-June.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56With all these developments on the way, it's imperative
0:08:56 > 0:09:00that the workers collect more food as soon as possible.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06But many of the mounds are still surrounded by snow...
0:09:07 > 0:09:11..so the workers can't reach their feeding grounds.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19But there's something they can collect -
0:09:19 > 0:09:20heat.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25The nest needs more heat
0:09:25 > 0:09:29than that which comes from the rotting vegetation
0:09:29 > 0:09:33if the eggs are to hatch in time for their June appointment.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42Now, however, the ants have another source of warmth.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51Using their bodies as solar panels,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53the ants harvest the sunlight.
0:09:56 > 0:10:01We have a heat-sensitive camera that detects differences in temperature.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04The nest appears black
0:10:04 > 0:10:07because it's hotter than the surrounding environment.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13It shows a similar difference in the ants.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19Those going down into the nest are black
0:10:19 > 0:10:22because they've been heated by the sun,
0:10:22 > 0:10:25whereas those coming out are white because they're cold,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29having transferred their body heat to their charges
0:10:29 > 0:10:31in the chambers below.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39It's this kind of selfless collaboration
0:10:39 > 0:10:42that is the key to success of any ant colony.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51In normal ant colonies,
0:10:51 > 0:10:56all the workers are related to one another and to the queen,
0:10:56 > 0:11:00and the theory is that that is why they all co-operate.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03But that is not the case here.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06There are hundreds of queens here.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Over one thousand have been counted in a single nest,
0:11:09 > 0:11:12so all the workers can't have the same parents -
0:11:12 > 0:11:15and genetics have confirmed that this is so.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21It's this co-operation between unrelated ants in a single colony
0:11:21 > 0:11:25that appears to be rewriting the rules of insect evolution,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28but we still don't really know how this has come about.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38Spring is now well on the way.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43The snow has disappeared,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46and colour comes to the meadows.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03By late April, there are piles of eggs in the nest
0:12:03 > 0:12:06and the first larvae are hatching.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16The workers labour unceasingly to ensure that the growing brood
0:12:16 > 0:12:19will be ready to emerge in six weeks' time,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22at the peak of the short Jura summer.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42But not every ant nest on this mountain can be so focused.
0:12:42 > 0:12:47Some will soon have to deal with threats to their very survival.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51Just a short distance away,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54on the borders of the super-colony's woodland territory,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56there are other wood ants.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04The mounds here on this side of the mountain look exactly the same
0:13:04 > 0:13:07as those of the super-colony,
0:13:07 > 0:13:09and so do the ants themselves.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16The inhabitants of each nest here are all the offspring
0:13:16 > 0:13:19of its single queen,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22and the colonies compete aggressively with one another.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31After the winter hibernation,
0:13:31 > 0:13:36the territories between that nest over there and this one here
0:13:36 > 0:13:41have become blurred, and the frontier has to be re-established.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43And in order to do that,
0:13:43 > 0:13:47workers from both nests are now scouring the ground,
0:13:47 > 0:13:50and that brings neighbouring ants
0:13:50 > 0:13:53into contact for the first time this season.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01When foragers from the different nests meet,
0:14:01 > 0:14:05they immediately recognise that they're from rival families.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11They then dash back to their nests and within minutes both colonies
0:14:11 > 0:14:15know that territory on their frontier is being disputed.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20Armies assemble.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46This...is war.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49And the weapons being used are chemical.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Formic acid.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53I can smell it in the air.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57They're squirting it from the ends of their abdomen,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00and if they can bite their opponents
0:15:00 > 0:15:05so that the formic acid gets beneath the outer shell of an ant,
0:15:05 > 0:15:08it will dissolve its internal organs.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19As they grapple, each tries to restrain its opponent
0:15:19 > 0:15:23by clamping its jaws around a leg or an antenna.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34Soldiers from both sides tug at their opponents' limbs.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48It can take seven ants to subdue a single enemy.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55One holds each leg,
0:15:55 > 0:15:57and the seventh uses its mandibles
0:15:57 > 0:16:01to cut open sections of their opponent's exoskeleton,
0:16:01 > 0:16:03exposing the insides.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08An attacker brings forward its abdomen under its body
0:16:08 > 0:16:11and squirts acid onto its victim.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Battles are going on everywhere.
0:16:25 > 0:16:30Each colony carries its own chemical badge, invisible to our eyes
0:16:30 > 0:16:33but clear to the ants' sensitive antennae.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36Fighters touch each other to confirm whose side they're on.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48Here and there, individuals clamber up the vegetation.
0:16:52 > 0:16:53Are they having a rest,
0:16:53 > 0:16:57or are they surveying progress to see where help is needed?
0:17:12 > 0:17:15The smell of formic acid reaches the colony,
0:17:15 > 0:17:20and more ants from both sides run to join the battle.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39These wars can continue for over a week.
0:17:39 > 0:17:44At their peak, many thousands are fighting and thousands are killed.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10The victors will certainly have enlarged their territory...
0:18:11 > 0:18:15..but some say they have also gained other rewards.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21They're taking off the bodies of their victims
0:18:21 > 0:18:25and carrying them back to the nest over there to feast upon them.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37Both sides have suffered heavy losses.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45For the ants in the meadow, it has been a costly start to the year.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Higher up the mountain, in the territory of the super-colony,
0:18:59 > 0:19:04the inhabitants of different nests are also meeting.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07But here, things are very different.
0:19:08 > 0:19:14These ants come from a mound about half a mile away.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18If that mound was a separate, independent colony,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21then these, when they land there,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24would be savagely attacked.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26But let's see what happens.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43At first, the resident ant makes an aggressive gesture.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53But then the other strokes the first's antennae.
0:19:53 > 0:19:58That gesture is a request for food, and the other obligingly feeds her.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05This behaviour - known as trophallaxis -
0:20:05 > 0:20:07is in itself not unusual.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Most ants do it at times.
0:20:10 > 0:20:15What is unique is that these ants are almost certainly unrelated,
0:20:15 > 0:20:18yet they treat each other as if they were from the same nest.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25They do this because they share the super-colony scent,
0:20:25 > 0:20:29a chemical signature that is transferred together with the food.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40In one experiment, scientists fed a distinctive chemical to a nest
0:20:40 > 0:20:42on one side of the super-colony,
0:20:42 > 0:20:46and eight weeks later that same chemical appeared
0:20:46 > 0:20:49far away on the other side.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58It's this sharing of food between over half a billion individuals
0:20:58 > 0:21:03that makes this super-society so truly remarkable.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17Because of this, super-colony ants can move freely between mounds,
0:21:17 > 0:21:19and they have, as a result,
0:21:19 > 0:21:22created over 100km of trails
0:21:22 > 0:21:25that link over 1,000 nests.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33These trails not only allow the ants to make new nests
0:21:33 > 0:21:34deep in the forest,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37they also give all the members of the super-colony
0:21:37 > 0:21:40access to resources of great value to them.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49It comes from the spruce trees.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11The ants don't feed directly on the spruce trees.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13They become farmers.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16And these...are their flocks.
0:22:16 > 0:22:17Aphids.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23The presence of the ants keeps insect predators at bay
0:22:23 > 0:22:27so the aphids can feed unmolested.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29They drink the tree's sap
0:22:29 > 0:22:35and excrete what they don't need as a sugary liquid called honeydew.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37And the ants love it.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49Just as human farmers milk their cows,
0:22:49 > 0:22:52so the ants stroke the aphids with their antennae
0:22:52 > 0:22:55to persuade them to release their honeydew.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07Once the aphids are milked
0:23:07 > 0:23:11and the ants have drunk as much honeydew as they can carry,
0:23:11 > 0:23:17they head down the tree, abdomens bulging, and return to the nest.
0:23:24 > 0:23:29The honeydew is not only food with which to sustain themselves.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33Some use it to raise the heat of their bodies well above normal,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36and so warm the atmosphere within the nest -
0:23:36 > 0:23:40a valuable ability in the fickle climate of the Jura.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45The spruce trees themselves also produce a substance
0:23:45 > 0:23:48that the ants can use directly.
0:23:52 > 0:23:58These ants have collected little flakes of resin.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01That's a sort of gum that oozes from the broken twig
0:24:01 > 0:24:04of a coniferous tree.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08The tree uses it to seal off an injury.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11But what are the ants using it for?
0:24:14 > 0:24:19Inside the nest, the extra warmth produced by honeydew
0:24:19 > 0:24:21helps the queens to keep laying
0:24:21 > 0:24:23and the larvae to keep growing.
0:24:29 > 0:24:34However, constant warmth can create problems.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38Despite regular cleaning, diseases can thrive.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45The ants have a remarkable solution to that problem.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54They cover the surface of the mounds with tiny nuggets of resin,
0:24:54 > 0:24:58and also take it into the chambers below.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02One nest contained over four kilos of it.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05It is, in fact, ant medicine.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12The ants combine acid from their bodies with the resin
0:25:12 > 0:25:15and so produce a very effective antibiotic.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19This is one of the most sophisticated animal pharmacologies
0:25:19 > 0:25:21known to science.
0:25:23 > 0:25:28It's been shown that wood ants living in nests that contain resin
0:25:28 > 0:25:33are better able to survive diseases than those that don't,
0:25:33 > 0:25:37and their eggs are far less likely to be infected by fungi.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49This immense, peaceful super-colony has few enemies.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53But now, at the end of May, a new threat has arrived.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58BELL JANGLES
0:25:58 > 0:26:00COW MOOS
0:26:03 > 0:26:08The Jura is famous for producing some of Europe's finest cheese.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17For generations, farmers have made small clearings in the woods
0:26:17 > 0:26:20to create meadows where cattle can graze.
0:26:25 > 0:26:26Only now is it warm enough
0:26:26 > 0:26:31for cows to be brought up to these high pastures.
0:26:37 > 0:26:42Somehow, the ants need to make sure that they're left alone,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45and that nothing damages their nests.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49And that's a considerable challenge, even for a super-colony.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05But these ants are very determined.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09When one squirts its acid, others follow suit.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21The result is a co-ordinated barrage.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36The cows are not harmed, but they do get a dose of acid in the nose -
0:27:36 > 0:27:38which they don't like -
0:27:38 > 0:27:42and they tend thereafter to avoid these mounds.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07By now, in June, the larvae have become big and greedy.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10They must be given special care
0:28:10 > 0:28:13because they will produce the next generation of royalty,
0:28:13 > 0:28:16so the workers labour hard to meet their demands.
0:28:18 > 0:28:23In summer, hundreds of thousands of eggs are hatching every day,
0:28:23 > 0:28:26and honeydew is not enough.
0:28:26 > 0:28:31The ants go in search of something else. A supplement.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33Fresh meat.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40The lush green hills and mountains of the Jura
0:28:40 > 0:28:42are now teeming with all sorts of life,
0:28:42 > 0:28:46and nearly all of it is potential food.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08The ants spread out from the nest,
0:29:08 > 0:29:12scouring every square inch of ground in search of prey.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27As the hunters approach, those that can, take flight.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42The ants' vision is not very acute.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44They can only see a target if it moves.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53A wolf spider, however, can see the ants clearly.
0:29:53 > 0:29:58But as long as she doesn't move, they won't know that she's here.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12She's carrying a little sack full of eggs.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34She decides to run for it, and her sudden movement alerts the hunters.
0:30:54 > 0:30:59That first fleeting touch by an ant left a faint scent mark,
0:30:59 > 0:31:03and now fellow hunters can home in on their target.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11The spider has a venomous bite, but that is no use now.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14Eight powerful legs are her only hope,
0:31:14 > 0:31:18but her speed is the very thing that enables the ants to follow her.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29Slow motion reveals the basic ant-hunting technique -
0:31:29 > 0:31:33lunge with jaws open and hope for the best.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49At last, an ant manages to grab her.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58Like a pride of lions taking down a buffalo, the ants surround her.
0:31:58 > 0:32:00Two restrain their catch,
0:32:00 > 0:32:03while another delivers the flesh-dissolving acid.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22The wolf spider is just one of many victims.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37Alone, an ant can take only the smallest prey.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40But by working as a team,
0:32:40 > 0:32:43they can capture creatures many times their size.
0:33:00 > 0:33:06A super-colony can make hundreds of millions of kills every year.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11Beetles, caterpillars, worms, flies -
0:33:11 > 0:33:14they will tackle almost any living thing.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40Whatever the prey, it's first cut up and eaten by the workers,
0:33:40 > 0:33:43who then regurgitate it to feed to the larvae.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56Once they have grown to full size,
0:33:56 > 0:34:00the larvae spin silk cocoons for themselves.
0:34:08 > 0:34:13Inside each, a featureless larva is changing into an adult.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16Their time in the sun is approaching.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37Wood ants live in one of the most highly organised
0:34:37 > 0:34:40and complex of insect societies.
0:34:40 > 0:34:42They fight wars over territory,
0:34:42 > 0:34:46they hunt in packs, and farm other species.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49They build complex homes with central heating,
0:34:49 > 0:34:52they produce their own medicine,
0:34:52 > 0:34:58and one group of them, we now know, has made another advance.
0:34:58 > 0:35:03The super-colony has extended this collaboration beyond the frontiers
0:35:03 > 0:35:08of the family to form a super-society of such dimensions
0:35:08 > 0:35:11that we can perhaps begin to compare it with that other
0:35:11 > 0:35:16great social creature on this planet - ourselves.
0:35:16 > 0:35:21People studying the origins of human culture suggest that shared myths
0:35:21 > 0:35:26were one of the factors that bound early human societies together.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28But what about ants?
0:35:28 > 0:35:32Well, in many species it is certainly the case
0:35:32 > 0:35:37that all the individuals are very closely related to one another.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41But that is not so in the super-colony,
0:35:41 > 0:35:44and in some days in June,
0:35:44 > 0:35:48such colonies continue to break the rules.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56As midsummer approaches,
0:35:56 > 0:36:00the Jura briefly becomes a paradise of wild flowers.
0:36:04 > 0:36:10And something new appears inside each of the nests - wings.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18The royal generation, male and female,
0:36:18 > 0:36:22has finally hatched and both will be able to fly.
0:36:24 > 0:36:29Winged individuals are the only ones that are capable of breeding.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33The males are little more than animated insemination devices,
0:36:33 > 0:36:36and they will soon achieve their purpose and die.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40But the females, which are emerging just now,
0:36:40 > 0:36:45this is the beginning of a long life of servitude.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56When the weather is just right - sunny and not too windy -
0:36:56 > 0:37:00the nests suddenly become covered with winged ants.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02There's an excitement in the air.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17The males, which have matte black bodies,
0:37:17 > 0:37:21are incapable of feeding themselves.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24So once they leave the nest they only have a short time to live.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26There's no time to waste.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32The virgin queens, who are also black but splendidly shiny,
0:37:32 > 0:37:36have a rather clumsy beginning to their lives.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41They're heavy with fat reserves and swollen ovaries.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46So getting airborne is not easy for them.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52This is the most important flight of their lives -
0:37:52 > 0:37:54but it's also their first.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00Many test their wings before takeoff.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05They may need several attempts
0:38:05 > 0:38:09before they achieve complete flight control.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26Over a few days, half a million winged ants of both sexes
0:38:26 > 0:38:31take to the air and head off for new territory.
0:38:47 > 0:38:52They then all assemble here, in the heart of the super-colony.
0:38:54 > 0:39:01It's not clear how they find this meadow but, year after year,
0:39:01 > 0:39:05virgin males and females from across the super-colony
0:39:05 > 0:39:09are drawn here for their nuptial flight.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26The queens congregate in small patches of taller plants
0:39:26 > 0:39:29and begin to release sex pheromones -
0:39:29 > 0:39:32airborne chemicals that attract males.
0:39:43 > 0:39:48Detecting this scent on the wind, the males home in on the females.
0:40:01 > 0:40:05The virgin queens may only get the chance to mate once,
0:40:05 > 0:40:09and they need to obtain enough sperm to fertilise the eggs
0:40:09 > 0:40:12they will be producing for years to come.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17But with plenty of males in the meadow,
0:40:17 > 0:40:19they can afford to be choosy.
0:40:23 > 0:40:24The males are so driven,
0:40:24 > 0:40:28they even try to mate with females who are already doing so.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50Those males fortunate enough to couple quickly
0:40:50 > 0:40:54make the most of their few remaining hours of life.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02Once they've mated, their service to the colony is over,
0:41:02 > 0:41:04and they die of exhaustion.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19The queens now have no further use for their wings,
0:41:19 > 0:41:21and they try to get rid of them.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28But they are, necessarily, rather firmly fixed.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39Trying to remove a backpack with your feet,
0:41:39 > 0:41:43even if you have six of them, is clearly a frustrating process.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12Eventually, the meadow is marked
0:42:12 > 0:42:16with little drifts of discarded wings.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24Such breeding swarms are fairly typical of ants generally,
0:42:24 > 0:42:27but now the queens of the super-colony
0:42:27 > 0:42:30do something much less common.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38To understand why they behave so differently,
0:42:38 > 0:42:41we must first return to the spring battlefields
0:42:41 > 0:42:45of the ordinary wood ants outside the empire of the super-colony.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55The warring colonies on this side of the mountain
0:42:55 > 0:42:58have now accepted their frontiers,
0:42:58 > 0:43:03and summer brings a brief pause in their battles.
0:43:03 > 0:43:07The mating system they use may seem at first sight
0:43:07 > 0:43:11to be the same as that of the super-colony but, in fact,
0:43:11 > 0:43:13it's fundamentally different.
0:43:13 > 0:43:19Every decision taken by a mated female is fraught with danger.
0:43:25 > 0:43:31The colony this queen comes from is at war with all its neighbours,
0:43:31 > 0:43:34so if she meets any of them, they will try to kill her.
0:43:34 > 0:43:39She needs a home, but she can't build it without help.
0:43:41 > 0:43:46Her solution to the problem is extraordinary and radical.
0:43:54 > 0:43:59Under this rock, a different species, field ants,
0:43:59 > 0:44:01have built a nest.
0:44:03 > 0:44:08These small ants, less than a third of her size, are common,
0:44:08 > 0:44:11and live in meadows on the edge of the forest.
0:44:12 > 0:44:16The only way this wood ant queen can get her own nest
0:44:16 > 0:44:20is by taking over one of theirs.
0:44:23 > 0:44:26She will become a parasitic queen.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32She lurks near the nest,
0:44:32 > 0:44:35trying to pick up the scent of the field ants.
0:44:36 > 0:44:41She avoids groups of them, because they could overpower her.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45Instead, she tackles individuals.
0:44:45 > 0:44:49There's a brief duel, and then she retreats.
0:44:50 > 0:44:54But each time, she's left with a trace of their scent,
0:44:54 > 0:44:58so that she slowly begins to build up a chemical disguise.
0:45:01 > 0:45:05These contests go on for several days.
0:45:07 > 0:45:12Gradually, her disguise becomes more and more convincing.
0:45:20 > 0:45:24The entrance to the field ants' nest is unguarded.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28Cautiously, she enters.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37Inside, she is vastly outnumbered.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42Wood ant behaviour inside a field ant nest
0:45:42 > 0:45:46has never been observed in detail before, let alone filmed,
0:45:46 > 0:45:50so what happens next must be interpreted with caution.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03There are fights, and most wood ant queens
0:46:03 > 0:46:05are in fact killed at this stage.
0:46:10 > 0:46:14But after she has endured repeated attacks,
0:46:14 > 0:46:17some of the field ants become less aggressive towards her.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24Eventually, a confused field ant worker
0:46:24 > 0:46:28feeds the wood ant queen, and when it does that,
0:46:28 > 0:46:31the fate of the nest is sealed.
0:46:33 > 0:46:37The wood ant queen has now acquired the colony's scent.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40She oozes queenly pheromones,
0:46:40 > 0:46:45and the field ants seem entranced by their new foreign queen.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51The gamble has paid off, and she has a fully functioning nest,
0:46:51 > 0:46:55ready to receive her first batch of eggs.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04Taking over a nest of field ants
0:47:04 > 0:47:07is the way typical wood ants start a new family.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12But how about the queens from a super-colony,
0:47:12 > 0:47:15with their multi-family, communal nests?
0:47:15 > 0:47:17Have they found a more peaceful strategy?
0:47:19 > 0:47:24Each mated female has to set out on her own journey.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26If she's to become a true queen,
0:47:26 > 0:47:29she has to find a nest that will accept her,
0:47:29 > 0:47:34and that is where the tolerance of the members of the super-colony
0:47:34 > 0:47:36is tested once again.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41Being already in the heart of a super-colony,
0:47:41 > 0:47:45these newly mated queens don't have to walk far
0:47:45 > 0:47:47before encountering their own kind.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54But even for a super-colony queen,
0:47:54 > 0:47:57walking straight up to a busy trail is risky.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00If the workers she meets are not in a welcoming mood,
0:48:00 > 0:48:02they will tear her to pieces.
0:48:26 > 0:48:31Slowly, one by one, workers come to investigate her.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41Some seem uncertain whether to attack or not,
0:48:41 > 0:48:43but others lick and clean her.
0:48:54 > 0:48:59After a few tense moments, a worker starts to drag her towards the nest.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05This is a sign that she will be adopted.
0:49:11 > 0:49:15And now scientists have made a further discovery.
0:49:15 > 0:49:20Many nests in the super-colony shortcut the whole process.
0:49:22 > 0:49:27The winged males and the queen ants don't even bother to leave the nest.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29Many different families live here,
0:49:29 > 0:49:33so there's no need to fly away to avoid inbreeding.
0:49:39 > 0:49:41The winged queens can simply mate
0:49:41 > 0:49:43with one of the males that hatched here.
0:49:45 > 0:49:49Perhaps this unusual behaviour is the next stage
0:49:49 > 0:49:51in the evolution of the super-colony.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01With these innovative mating systems,
0:50:01 > 0:50:06the super-colony queens don't take the same risks
0:50:06 > 0:50:08as normal wood ant queens.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11They don't need to infiltrate the nest of field ants
0:50:11 > 0:50:13to start a family.
0:50:14 > 0:50:18The workers just build new nests where needed,
0:50:18 > 0:50:22enabling the super-colony to extend deep into the forest
0:50:22 > 0:50:24where there are no field ants.
0:50:27 > 0:50:29It's changes in behaviour like this
0:50:29 > 0:50:33that most likely gave rise to the super-colony in the first place,
0:50:33 > 0:50:37and colonised this new habitat with all its riches.
0:50:42 > 0:50:45It's possible that this kind of co-operation
0:50:45 > 0:50:50between different nests is becoming more common among ants.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53New super-colonies are still being discovered
0:50:53 > 0:50:56in different species across the world.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59Are we perhaps witnessing the next stage of
0:50:59 > 0:51:01the social conquest of the Earth?
0:51:04 > 0:51:08The super-colony consists of literally thousands of
0:51:08 > 0:51:13different families, all working in co-operation.
0:51:13 > 0:51:17It's a development that mankind achieved a very long time ago,
0:51:17 > 0:51:20and could be seen as one of the reasons why
0:51:20 > 0:51:24we have come to dominate so many parts of the planet.
0:51:24 > 0:51:28Could it be that peace is the winning strategy
0:51:28 > 0:51:30on this ant mountain too?
0:51:55 > 0:51:58Much about the super-colony remains unknown,
0:51:58 > 0:52:00and for good reason.
0:52:01 > 0:52:05These ants move incredibly quickly.
0:52:05 > 0:52:10So you can see why they're so difficult to study,
0:52:10 > 0:52:12and even more difficult to film.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17At around 8mm in length,
0:52:17 > 0:52:20these are bigger than many ants but, to us,
0:52:20 > 0:52:24they're still tiny, and rarely stay still for more than an instant.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28To keep track of their frantic movements while also
0:52:28 > 0:52:30getting down to eye level with their world
0:52:30 > 0:52:32needed a very special camera...
0:52:34 > 0:52:39..the brainchild of filmmaker Martin Dohrn.
0:52:39 > 0:52:41This is Frankencam.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44It's a device for positioning tiny cameras and
0:52:44 > 0:52:47small wide-angle lenses into awkward corners
0:52:47 > 0:52:50with extreme precision.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54It's called Frankencam because
0:52:54 > 0:52:58it's got so many different bits in it.
0:52:58 > 0:53:01It has been said that it is an unholy alliance
0:53:01 > 0:53:06between other bits of equipment that should never have been put together.
0:53:06 > 0:53:08Now known by all of us as Frank...
0:53:08 > 0:53:10OK, bring Frank to me.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12..it enables us to follow tiny creatures
0:53:12 > 0:53:15as they go about their lives without disturbing them.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21I first met Frank back in 2005
0:53:21 > 0:53:25when filming for the BBC series Life In The Undergrowth.
0:53:25 > 0:53:29Back then, he wasn't quite as sophisticated as he is now,
0:53:29 > 0:53:32but he still allowed us to see ants in a new way.
0:53:33 > 0:53:3712 years on, the equipment has grown into this,
0:53:37 > 0:53:42and this enables us to enter the world of the ants
0:53:42 > 0:53:45in a way that has never been achieved before.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49Martin, there's a lot of things going on over here.
0:53:49 > 0:53:53And long cabling allows operators to take the control box
0:53:53 > 0:53:57away from the camera so that biting insects are less of a problem.
0:53:57 > 0:53:59What's going on?
0:53:59 > 0:54:02But of course, it doesn't stop the ants coming to us.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07- SHE LAUGHS - I'm covered in ants!
0:54:07 > 0:54:10I'm finding it a little hard to concentrate.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14And with Frank's fluid movements,
0:54:14 > 0:54:17keeping the action in focus is far simpler than it would be
0:54:17 > 0:54:20using a conventional close-up camera.
0:54:20 > 0:54:24It's incredibly easy to fine-focus, to go right in for the close-up
0:54:24 > 0:54:26so we can pull out for the wide shots,
0:54:26 > 0:54:29and we can see the detail, we can see the distance,
0:54:29 > 0:54:32we can put the whole scene in this meadow
0:54:32 > 0:54:34so we can see it's this meadow,
0:54:34 > 0:54:37and it makes it easier to feel as if you're there.
0:54:37 > 0:54:39And now, for the first time,
0:54:39 > 0:54:42the ants are in focus no matter where they're moving,
0:54:42 > 0:54:44and even I am too!
0:54:46 > 0:54:50However, while Frank's body parts cost many thousands,
0:54:50 > 0:54:53and its construction needed the help of a mathematician
0:54:53 > 0:54:56and an engineer, ironically,
0:54:56 > 0:54:59the lens used for many of the most spectacular images
0:54:59 > 0:55:03cost just £8 on the internet.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06This wasn't a cost-cutting measure.
0:55:06 > 0:55:10This lens has an amazing abilities, and it's perfect for the job,
0:55:10 > 0:55:12but it's only so cheap because lenses like it are made
0:55:12 > 0:55:17in their many millions for the cameras on your mobile phone.
0:55:21 > 0:55:25One of the clever ways Frank's lenses takes us into the ants' world
0:55:25 > 0:55:28is by changing the way we see distances.
0:55:28 > 0:55:32To an ant, five feet might as well be half a mile.
0:55:35 > 0:55:40VOICEOVER: This behind-the-scenes image, recorded on a normal camera,
0:55:40 > 0:55:44shows just how close I'm sitting to the nest.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47But if we view the same scene using Frankencam,
0:55:47 > 0:55:49it appears as though I'm much farther away.
0:55:49 > 0:55:52..which are emerging just now.
0:55:52 > 0:55:56It's this magnifying of distances that allows the operator to steer
0:55:56 > 0:55:59so precisely between every blade of grass
0:55:59 > 0:56:03and enables us to appreciate the world on ant scale.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09But even with Frank, there's one factor
0:56:09 > 0:56:12which affected every aspect of the ants' behaviour
0:56:12 > 0:56:14that we couldn't control.
0:56:16 > 0:56:20The weather up here is extraordinarily unpredictable.
0:56:20 > 0:56:22You never know what's going to happen.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26This morning, there was lovely sunshine. Look at it now!
0:56:26 > 0:56:29Difficult to believe, but yesterday,
0:56:29 > 0:56:32these meadows were under three inches of snow.
0:56:32 > 0:56:36So you have to be prepared for anything,
0:56:36 > 0:56:40whether you're an ant or, indeed, a naturalist!
0:56:42 > 0:56:45The ants have worked out how to survive here.
0:56:45 > 0:56:47We're novices.
0:56:47 > 0:56:49It was meant to be spring now,
0:56:49 > 0:56:52and this was meant to be the shoot we did six weeks ago.
0:56:54 > 0:56:56With the weather so variable,
0:56:56 > 0:56:59predicting the ants' behaviours was difficult.
0:56:59 > 0:57:03We've just arrived and found the nest covered in winged ants,
0:57:03 > 0:57:06which we weren't expecting at all.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09We were kind of expecting them to come out in about
0:57:09 > 0:57:11a week or two weeks' time.
0:57:11 > 0:57:13Even the scientists are pretty surprised.
0:57:13 > 0:57:18Matters aren't helped by Frank being just as fickle as the weather is.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21Unfortunately, Frank is temperamental, and sometimes,
0:57:21 > 0:57:24he's brilliant, and then as soon as you admit that he's brilliant,
0:57:24 > 0:57:26he decides to stop working,
0:57:26 > 0:57:28which is exactly what happened this morning.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31The focus box has received a knock, or it's been, you know...
0:57:31 > 0:57:34..it's decided to stop working, anyway.
0:57:34 > 0:57:36Kit failure is always a concern,
0:57:36 > 0:57:39but when there's only one of your camera in the world,
0:57:39 > 0:57:41you just need to find a way to carry on,
0:57:41 > 0:57:44and doing so enabled us to record behaviour
0:57:44 > 0:57:47scientists can't normally observe in such detail.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52Like the intricacies of antenna movements
0:57:52 > 0:57:53when ants interact.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00Or following a parasitic queen through the undergrowth
0:58:00 > 0:58:03as she slowly builds her chemical disguise.
0:58:05 > 0:58:08To obtain new observations leading to a new understanding
0:58:08 > 0:58:12of the ants, the team filmed for over 100 days,
0:58:12 > 0:58:14spread over a year.
0:58:14 > 0:58:16And the ants love it!
0:58:16 > 0:58:19Thank you. I'm happy. Great. Lovely. Thank you, guys.
0:58:19 > 0:58:22With the help of Frankencam,
0:58:22 > 0:58:26they took us into the world of the super-colony
0:58:26 > 0:58:28and, remarkably,
0:58:28 > 0:58:32using a tiny lens just like the one on the phone in your pocket.