Termite World | Life In The Undergrowth | BBC

David Attenborough narrates life in the termite world.
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[@rabbabba]

Does anyone remember the movie "Antz"? The whole time I thought the termites were the bad "insects" and the ants were the peaceful ones, but it seems like I was lied to as a child... :/

[@smitty1647]

well in antz the bad general guy lies to start a war with the termites to weaken the queen's forces and take control. they termites were just defending the colony.

[@salmonsaladsandwich8161]

They even sing the words "we slaughter termites just for fun"

[@malcolmtyler1622]

I don't really remember antz.... A bugs life was way better

[@jhibbitt1]

i was thinking that too

[@theprophecy3732]

Yeah but the termites were hella scary.

[@kenanchin9198]

Its like watching 300 but the spartans get killed instantly

[@bioniclegoblin6495]

Kenan Chin ... and outnumber the Persians. [1 year laterrr, Ik]

[@hiranya17]

But nature always maintains a balance, they took only how much they needed. Unlike humans greedy nature, humans would have emptied the entire mound.

[@nhanisn]

I also thought of 300!

[@avinotion]

@@hiranya17 5:24 He literally used farmers (of the human genome) as an example for sensibly not killing their entire livestock for meat.

[@oreooreo1998]

Not exactly, the termites are a defensive and strictly vegetarian/non carnivore species. Ants on the the other hand are offensive and are carnivores, And termites don’t like being in the light so it is more likely for the ants to mobilize a raid against the termites for nutrition for their larvae and colony, Its just the balance of nature. No animals are considered bad, they do what they need too do to survive

[@GregoryTheGr8ster]

I love insect wars because the soldiers really put their hearts into the battle.

[@banishedfromthedwarfplanet530]

They put their LIVES into the battle.

[@brazilpaes]

heads*

[@giantbloopthetitan8553]

Me like queen

[@Pepperoni_Cheese]

Fun fact: most ant species perform slavery

[@danwade3597]

-_- 144p, we meet again.

[@jasperj-d7106]

Unwatchable

[@luvdot5919]

Do you remember this comment?

[@thegray0]

Long time no see

[@damienholland9244]

To be fair it was uploaded in 2008.

[@blackfoxy4711]

-.-

[@tinonhamburo]

3:52 A was stung by these ant at my grandmother's place. They are disguised bees!!!

[@bubblesthemonkey6615]

"The ants, the termites ancient enemy." Not gonna lie, that got me hyped.

[@earthbeing9877]

I do not knew about Respectful Termites & Respectful Ants Hostility, I am dearly Apologising & Asking Forgiveness, They are Most Beautiful Beings on Earth, I thought they were An Ally Being of Insectia Clan of Animalia Kingdom. Loving Greetings & Salutations.

[@Defender78]

Hope the ants didn't build that mound for nothing, too bad they got defeated I was hoping to see them defeat the ait's, but if termites were raided & defeated so easily, makes you wonder how they prevail as a species at all if Ants can attack and overrun them in 15 minutes

[@btyc]

Sir David Attenborough, you're a legend and an inspiration

[@ryanchuabowen2045]

So is ze_frank

[@Twistedsmirk111]

He could be talking about paint drying on a house and I would still watch him

[@Vergil4093]

Not really

[@Cinthia1111-Cinth]

Termite relationship goals 20 years!!

[@hehitmeinthekneegur1551]

Wtf, most animal kingdoms have the male mate get eaten or leave.

[@mamargaritalumague5572]

👍👍👍

[@informationyes]

Live to together and have sex for the rest of your life while your offspring give you everything you need

[@_HimanshuMehra]

@@informationyes ROFL....

[@tropanghayop1728]

@@hehitmeinthekneegur1551 ikr they dont call them mate but Meal :)

[@benb3316]

"So, we are going to fight termintes, huh, termites are wimpy...right?" "Well, their soldiers are a lot bigger. Have jaws almost as big as us. And spray acid." "Uh, how do we win, then?" "Superior numbers, pal, superior Numbers..." From the movie "Antz"

[@Mthammere2010]

Every Any Spices aren't equal in size.

[@Kyle_Schaff]

I'm watching this to procrastinate and avoid doing homework, lol

[@angelj.delarosa5131]

Same

[@redknight344]

same

[@rennyalpha2147]

This is my homework 🤦‍♀️

[@nigelft]

@@rennyalpha2147 Exactly ... I have been watch Sir David Attenborough since 1980 (yes, I am ancient ...), and learnt way more about natural history than most of my school education; only when I started my degree then I learnt more. So, yes ... his programmes should be homework, so long as you take notes as you watch ...

[@user-df5yt6mf5e]

Sameeeeee

[@PatrickByrne-t4c]

Respect for that termite at 5:39, he's surrounded on the surface and still holding them off ✊

[@wetigaz]

How on earth do they film this? Incredible. What a time to be alive that we can see something like this with such clarity

[@AccidentalNinja]

It seems vaguely weird that termite queens get so big yet ant queens remain relatively close to the same size as the workers, despite both being prodigious egg-layers.

[@dash_147]

Who came from Twitter today 😅

[@Danish_Mansouri]

Me 😂

[@auzz-2526]

Meeeee

[@terrencemandidewa2785]

Twitter

[@ShehuAisha-er4wg]

Meeee!!!!!!!😂I couldn't resist!

[@moskishub1423]

Me bro😂😂😂

[@b.hagedash7973]

I've always been fascinated by social insects like bees and termites but unlike bees, who everyone loves, termites have done remarkably well in the PR department considering they're actually just highly specialised wood-eating cockroaches.

[@Garl_Vinland]

“Shhh we rebranded as “termites”

[@Blue_Azure101]

Love how randomly he just wanders out of no where like he got lost going to the deli

[@tommos1]

this man is a national or even a world treasure.

[@afrosamuri05]

I'm pretty sure every home owner who has had their house damaged by termites is happy to see this and cheering on.

[@cosmojg]

When you're the only person watching a video out of interest rather than assignment.

[@SuperAdnan117]

I know that feel, bro

[@kellywilson-lawson1857]

Same

[@cyborglion4179]

ITs interesting

[@kymberlee3211]

guilty as well ;)

[@MaZEEZaM]

It can be both.

[@tacticalchunder1207]

Ants, termites and bees are by far the most fascinating, ingenious animals on the planet.

[@jauleanimations5404]

Hey hornets build things too☹

[@locodude12]

war never changes...

[@robertmatuszewskyj642]

If anyone cares... the fast flowing cold air that generates suction uses a principle called the venturi effect.

[@iamnoone348]

I read somewhere that they discovered a termite mound in Africa that was at least over 2000 years old...Ants and Termites are intelligent little critters.

[@PatrickByrne-t4c]

There's a part that they don't show in this. As the ants take the termites back to their nest, one of them still has a dead ant in its jaws. Those guys go down swinging.

[@dwightanderson8331]

As a formal pest control tech this is simply amazing about the workings of the mounds.

[@101Grunt]

@5:20 Anyone hear the background song the Termites had playing?? “Do you come from a land down under? Where women glow and men plunder?”

[@henry7696]

I too have special scanning technology that allows me to look inside termite mounds. I refer to it as a "baseball bat"

[@videogameguy9093]

Isn't that destroying?

[@justusgrimm2127]

+Videogameguy909 congratulations you got the joke

[@temirlanadilbek8795]

Feel sorry if you laughed at that joke.

[@starsfalldown1234567]

You're disgusting, you probably peed on anthills when you were little

[@theprophecy3732]

Videogameguy909 we actually call that HAKAI

[@breakingthefourthwall4945]

That moment when Termites have better family dynamics than you do with your extended relatives.

[@cresswalrus29]

i love watching ants vs termites its just like an epic battle :D

[@AmuscariaMods]

It's usually a slaughter of Termites, though. It's like watching a pack of Lions fighting a bunch of cows.

[@LJdaentertainer]

Amuscaria Mushrooms lmao, I would to see that fight

[@vatiwah5646]

Attenborough... no one can beat him with it comes to narration, except maybe Morgan Freeman.

[@ninthusiva7546]

Nope.. noone can beat Attenborough, especially not an american actor turned wannabe nature narrator. SMH

[@firstlast2268]

when*

[@lydianjoki4725]

They all have their niches and they're excellent in them.

[@WutManintu]

congrats on 20th years of ant marriage.

[@sacrore9]

Haha. *4 years ago* Oh.

[@OddSauce]

CONGRATS ON 24 YEARS OF TERMITE MARRIAGE

[@delavalmilker]

It would be so cool to go on a one-day field trip with David Attenborough.

[@benmasta5814]

using the latest scanning techniques of 10+ years ago. I remember when something that was 10 years old was ancient. Thats the 90s for u.

[@jonathanharbin6333]

This is amazing. The termites look like they are in an defensive formation that humans would use. Its incredible to think of, that they actually think about how to fight off the ants and defend themselves. Damn nature is amazing

[@olenaerhardt7725]

May I know what particular the latest scanning techniques (mentioned at @0:40) were used to see inside of the termite mount? Are any of those are used to check the walls of the house on any termite presence? I found some termite mud tubes on one 2x4 rail behind the wall, when cut out an access door (~24x19) to check, since observed a swarming coming from that part of the wall. It is only one rail which is affected and will be treated w/Termidor. But obviously I want to know what is going on behind other walls. Companies are using thermal cameras, which are very expensive already, so that equipment which is used to make this film probably is of very high cost. But just for general knowledge would be good to know about those methods. Thank you for the informative film. It is just amazing how Nature works.

[@ravineshsingh3033]

Maybe smoke was used and then later detected , older times the termites mount was understood by pouring molten alumunium in it and them was extracted to see it.

[@kamallagar5949]

termites are really amazing i love there society how they respect their queen and king and take care of their queen and king and also eggs lays by queen which later become more termite they are really wonderful creatures of this beautiful world.

[@Mthammere2010]

Until they get into and eat your home.

[@xNocturnalKnightx]

@@Mthammere2010 Depends on the genus and species. From what I understand, the majority actually aren't interested in the dry-wood in your house. Some actually exclusively forage dead leaves.

[@interbeing-3-6-9]

The tubes might have been too small to fit a camera and take a long time, but it would be interesting to see how they get those shots underground.

[@WHITELIONNYC]

I learned a lot by watching this blurry video. I felt like a blind man being guided by Attenborough's voice... 👋🏿😵👍🏿🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜

[@SKKEarth]

Wow amazing footage and information.fantastic work.

[@rivades]

Soo good video-quality!

[@Shadoweye12]

@rax7 if your talking about the Terminte queen she's just fine, as David said, it's in the ants best interest to leave the colony thriving so they can keep coming back for a constant supply of food. The only type of ants I know of that would completely kill off a colony of termintes are Army ants and Driver ants (if they aren't the same thing). Since Army and Driver ants are nomadic and by extension have to carry a lot of food to feed themselves they care little of what they destroy to get it.

[@kamlong7358]

some live termites: Kill me ants: Later

[@MaZEEZaM]

Would love to see this in decent resolution, imagine this in 4K resolution, would be awesome.

[@lcbreezyl]

How does the air circulate below ground? I didn't know that the queen mates everyday do ant queens have to do this too? Also I think its so cool that other animals know how to farm.

[@alexeeeee3801]

I have watched this 10 years ago on tv , now I found it again

[@dankerine]

This is such high definition, I can see all of the three pixels of each termite

[@ServallPestControl]

Thanks for sharing, very interesting. The total weight of all of the termites in the world is greater than the weight of all the humans in the world.

[@HercadosP]

Then ants will be the double weight and mass of all the termites together...

[@AndyBluebear-fi9om]

It's almost like a termite buffet for the ants. "You feel like eating a soldier termite today?" "Nah, I feel like eating light today, I'll just settle for a worker".

[@Isiah_N]

"Are now being piled in dumps outside the nest" my good sir Attenborough did you mean to say dumped in piles outside the nest? lol 6:14

[@santibanquito]

As pointed out by Turner, S and Soar, R (2008) the "called ventilation system" of the termite mound does not work as described in this video. This BBC episode lead to the construction of a "biomimetic" building (Eastgate complex) in Harare, Zimbabwe that is believed to "imitate" such natural concept which therefore renders invalid the "biomimetic" status of the building.

[@AyeeMarauder]

Ant: **walks into the mound** Termite: Ahhh welcome to hell.

[@incrediblezorro4592]

It seems more like we are devolving. Evolution i presume is adapting to the natural environment. As humans we are intent on adapting the environment to us. Imagine how much power a 50-storey building consumes in air-conditioning alone. These termites are far ahead of us in harnessing the power of green energy imo.

[@Apple-mg6jr]

This may be a little late but you can’t devolve as that’s not how natural selection works but we have probably stopped evolving as we have no natural predators

[@ulalaFrugilega]

Please, oh prettypretty please, dear BBC, where or how can I see whole episodes of these wonderful documentaries?!?

[@StrawberryCelebi]

2:40 Never would have thought termites to be monogamous :O

[@tenebrousnova636]

Incredibly late reply I know, but not all termites are monogamous. Some have one or two kings and a group of queens that they share.

[@Joshpl]

I love these videos, lol. Its like a real life RTS being played out in front of you. And you don't have to worry about humans being killed.

[@MCWren]

At 4:30 the termite soldiers remind me of that scene in The Princess Bride where the main characters scare the guards into opening the castle gate. Those termites look like they're about to shot their little termite pants.

[@suki3275]

@Terrakinetic actually they dont use cameras. it was all a computer generated image created by a scanner (i dont know what kind)

[@1.4142]

David Attenborough teaching me about termite mound air conditioning made me forget that this was 144p.

[@madmanrunaway666]

I could listen to this dude all day

[@johnmclovington420]

Antz movie brought me here , RIP Barbados I will never forget you "The ants go marching one by one, (hoorah, hoorah) We slaughter termites just for fun, (hoorah, hoorah) The ants go marching two by two, (hoorah, hoorah) We'll all be dead before we're through, (hoorah, hoorah) The ants go marching three by three, (hoorah, hoorah) We're off to face our destiny"

[@johnmclovington420]

Dude you're so cool :)

[@DirtyAzathoth]

Super advanced camera that allows you to see inside this termite mound but is in 144p

[@vdubb20]

Crazy to think that we're so different yet so much alike. War/Conflict/Violence isn't just a human event. Even insects fight wars.

[@MattGodzilla2000]

I'm sure they even have religions,

[@MlSTERSANDMAN]

lel

[@Bucketheadhead]

Congratulations to us. We have the diplomatic capabilities of an ant.

[@TheClaybones]

I'm not sure it counts as war once the winner eats the loser.

[@halowaffle25]

Clay Bones I mean... why wouldn't it?

[@M0odez]

"Hey guys welcome to another Antcraft video and today we're going to be building a simple semi automatic termite farm"

[@samizzillo6532]

1. what are termites 2. where do termites live 3. why are termites known as 'nature's architect's'

[@Krakenmon300]

+samizzillo I had the same questions xD

[@finaldivinity9642]

So do i...

[@mrblockster8517]

omg same

[@hannahb2428]

i have just been given those exact same questions for science homework

[@lillypitman1820]

I have just been given the exact same questions

[@TermitesAsia]

Thank you for this!

[@Shadoweye12]

@MrDigitalRob I think it's mostly due to terms of fighting numbers, to my knowledge the vast majority of termites are workers, and by usually aren't fighters. The soldiers on the other hand are usually larger than the ants and are more dangerous to the ants, but however the ratio to workers and soldiers born is so vast that the soldiers tend to be a large minority in the termite population. Ants on the other hand, eveny single ant is a capable fighter and thus out numbers the termites vastly.

[@Blestyr]

That termite soldier at 5:37 is my hero. For a moment I pictured it as a lone spartan against the persians.

[@jonathanharbin6333]

I meant the information passing as a metaphor to better explain what i was saying. If something isnt working, the living termites need to adapt, and they can learn. they arent mindless or hive mind driven. They communicate with each other to build and defend the hive. If they didnt learn from their first attack from the ants then why would they bother defending themselves? The very first attack must have caused them to try and stop another one, hence the soldiers at the entrances to the hive

[@EndlessCreationsENT1]

was at work, working on some lumber and found a few termites. now I'm here watching how they work.

[@no1pestcontrolbrisbane536]

Would love to see this in decent resolution, imagine this in 8K resolution, would be awesome.

[@bartonez123]

The siege of termite mound. This is more epic than Game of Thrones.

[@sebbeking1]

It's like Alien vs Predator haha!

[@chrispresnell1209]

Kurdishwarrior1 yeah LOL

[@shadowman9081]

A fight between Matabele ants and kamikaze termites sure would be an interesting match up

[@ronch550]

Wow isn't he the guy the narrator for this channel's other videos? Good to see you, sir! 😊

[@SamTheFisherMan100]

Its here that you actually see how sophisticated even instects are. Termites literally have crops and the queen has like servants.

[@MattGodzilla2000]

I can imagine the sounds of gun fire, screams, yelling and helicopters..and sword clashing. Ahh I'm hit man I'm hit, Oohhhh KABOOM, Call in Air saport, oohhh powpowpow.

[@nevilleprinsloo]

Incredible footage!

[@TheParalellWorld]

how the hell'd they get that footage inside?

[@bannanafarmer6563]

Or a fiber camera like in surgery, or babbe drone cam

[@C4TNIPZ]

Well ya know basically Ant Man is the Behind the scenes to this video.

[@12dollarsand78cents]

*BBC Studios uploads a 144p video in 2008?* *okay, still interesting while hard to see.*

[@squiddydii7020]

I was going to be upset that the resolution was so low and I couldn't change it, but the video is 10 years old now so it's fine lol

[@aug91974]

That resolution. It's like this video was uploaded during the great depression.

[@theAntilli]

the BBC camera team continues to amaze me

[@Ronald-iu2cb]

The best ant or termite documentary, I've ever watched

[@andrefilipe9080]

"Whats my purpose?" "To test termite defenses" "Yeah, we make a memo and then, we go back right?" "LOL"

[@laughernine4320]

I wonder if there’s a living entity out there that documents us while we don’t even know it

[@bethbearmacethatguy]

So the ants use the mounds as a sack city for loot and exp?

[@WankersCramp69]

Those termites need to learn better strategies and techniques. Set up some traps and take advantage of their position with a moat and drawbridge.

[@simtexa]

Gotta love that authentic 2008 144p quality.

[@Jiraiya500]

LOL Did anyone else notice from 5:00-5:02 the ant did a ninja roll to get away from the termite.

[@man6080]

brilliant presentation.

[@MasterSoki]

Not going to lie, when the termites and ants were about to rush each other, all I could think was HOLD THE LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE

[@chayew4660]

I love his voice. I could watch him talking about toilet paper and it would be fun

[@firegator6853]

damn these ants know how attack on titan feels

[@DrJ4Y]

has someone just uploaded their memory of this, looks a little fuzzy

[@dewberry1226]

DrJ4Y 144p

[@seanwilliam3853]

I'm the only one whose watching this without any assignments at all

[@terrybuckley2850]

No your not

[@emojiface1518]

Nope ur not the only one......

[@explodingsquares9095]

Nope

[@w12ath040211]

im 33 and work in a factory

[@IRAKIllen]

wat

[@BestOfAnimalss]

Wow 😳 termites build this? Incredible

[@jonathanharbin6333]

True, but still they would have had to earn from previous attacks so they had to adapt some form of defense. Like passing information down to new soldiers just like we would as humans. I just find it fascinating either way

[@JonatasAdoM]

I can't even select the video's quality.

[@yursamali4990]

i dont believe its official account and uploaded a 144p video lol...

[@rageraptor7127]

Just wait till termites invent defensive gun turrets. And the ants invent siege cannons and artillery...