Ants
Chris Packham explores what makes animal groups successful. He looks at how the globe's 100 trillion ants have colonised the planet like no other.
The 100 trillion ants in the world weigh as much as all the people on earth and have colonised the planet like no other animal.
Chris Packham explores the ingenious ways in which ants have collaborated to achieve their global success - natural air-conditioning systems keep ants cool in their nests, shelters made from their own bodies protect nomadic ants from the elements and a sense of smell five times more powerful than other insects allows them to overpower animals hundreds of times larger than themselves.
Remarkably, new research reveals how ant colonies are capable of immunising themselves against diseases.
On TV
Clip
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Ants: fungus farmers
Duration: 02:00
Music Played
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Four Tet
This Unfolds
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Portico Quartet
Prickly Pair
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Arcane
Yodel 3
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Four Tet
Twenty Three
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Four Tet
This Unfolds
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Chris Packham |
| Executive Producer | Jonny Keeling |
| Director | Francis Welch |
| Producer | Francis Welch |
| Series Producer | Aaron Paul |
Broadcasts
Wed 3 Sep 2014 20:00- Thu 4 Sep 2014 01:00
- Tue 9 Sep 2014 01:30
- Sat 28 Feb 2015 17:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except Scotland
- Thu 5 Nov 2015 16:45
- Wed 13 Jul 2016 19:30
- Sat 3 Feb 2018 06:10
- Thu 10 Jan 2019 16:45
- Mon 29 Jul 2019 15:45
- Thu 2 Apr 2020 19:30
- Fri 3 Apr 2020 02:30
- Thu 11 Mar 2021 16:45Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except Scotland
- Tue 28 Jun 2022 01:00
- Thu 3 Nov 2022 00:10Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two Wales & Wales HD only
- Wed 18 Jan 2023 16:45Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except Scotland
- Sat 4 May 2024 16:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except Northern Ireland & Scotland
- Today 19:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two Wales HD & Wales only
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Wonder facts: The animals
Fact files on the animals featured in the series.