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Sunny side up

There are some creatures that are incredibly numerous but very easy to overlook. Bill Oddie is in a birch wood in Speyside. He finds what look like piles of earth dug up by workmen, but they are in fact enormous wood ant nests. The nests are thatched so the are lovely and warm inside and they're waterproof. On the shady side, there is the odd ant or two wandering about. However on the side where the sun hits, it is seething with ants. Bill picks up a few for a closer look. Will they bite? The general rule with ants is that if they're black they won't, if they're red, they will. These ones are red and black - and they do bite Bill. They can do serious damage to their prey. Their jaws can chop a caterpillar up into pieces to carry back to their nest. A wildlife watching tip - don't just carry binoculars, take a magnifying glass to see some amazing views, and never assume there is nothing to see.

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3 minutes

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