Planet Ant: Life Inside the Colony • 2013

Category: Nature

A fascinating look at the secret, underground world of the ant colony in a way that has never been seen before. At its heart is a massive, full-scale ant nest, specially-designed and built to allow cameras to see its inner workings. The nest is a new home for a million-strong colony of leafcutter ants from Trinidad. For a month, entomologist Dr George McGavin and leafcutter expert Professor Adam Hart capture every aspect of the life of the colony, using time-lapse cameras, microscopes, microphones and radio tracking technology. The ants instantly begin to forage, farm, mine and build. Within weeks, the colony has established everything from nurseries to gardens to graveyards. The programme explores how these tiny insects can achieve such spectacular feats of collective organisation. This unique project reveals the workings of one of the most complex and mysterious societies in the natural world and shows the surprising ways in which ants are helping us solve global problems.

Make a donation

Buy a brother a hot coffee? Or a cold beer?

Hope you're finding these documentaries fascinating and eye-opening. It's just me, working hard behind the scenes to bring you this enriching content.

Running and maintaining a website like this takes time and resources. That's why I'm reaching out to you. If you appreciate what I do and would like to support my efforts, would you consider "buying me a coffee"?

Donation addresses

BTC: bc1q8ldskxh4x9qnddhcrgcun8rtvddeldm2a07r2v

ETH: 0x5CCAAA1afc5c5D814129d99277dDb5A979672116

With your donation through , you can show your appreciation and help me keep this project going. Every contribution, no matter how small, makes a significant impact. It goes directly towards covering server costs.

You might also like

Rise of the Mammals

Rise of the Mammals

This instalment is the first of several to concentrate on mammals. The platypus and the echidna are the only mammals that lay eggs (in much the same manner of reptiles), and it is from such animals that others in the group evolved. Since mammals have warm blood and most have dense fur, they can hunt at night when temperatures drop. It is for this reason that they became more successful than their reptile ancestors, who needed to heat themselves externally. Much of the programme is devoted to marsupials (whose young are partially formed at birth) of which fossils have been found in the Americas dating back 60 million years.

9/13 • Life on Earth • 1979 • Nature

Grasslands: In Plain Sight

Grasslands: In Plain Sight

The grasslands of our planet are some of the most challenging habitats for playing the Mating Game. They are an open stage where potential partners and jealous rivals can witness your every move… and every failure.

S1E1 • The Mating Game • 2021 • Nature

Age of Humankind

Age of Humankind

Shortly after humans appear, they become the dominant species on Earth, but face threats from both above and below—including super volcanic eruptions and falling asteroids. Today, scientists around the world use the latest technology to mitigate future catastrophes.

S1E5 • Fateful Planet • 2024 • Nature

Forest and Woodlands

Forest and Woodlands

The program introduces the European wilderness and its rich life.

S1E4 • Wildest Europe • 2016 • Nature

Namib Skeleton Coast and Beyond

Namib Skeleton Coast and Beyond

The Namib Desert is one of the oldest of all. It’s also one of the most diverse. With 50-degree temperatures and half a millimetre of rainfall annually, how is this possible?

S1E2 • Eden Untamed Planet • 2021 • Nature

Fall on the Tundra

Fall on the Tundra

As the days shorten and the temperature drops, the inhabitants of Nunavik, Quebec prepare to face the approaching arctic winter. Watch as muskoxen fatten up, ptarmigans hunt for berries, and Inuit make use of the last warm days of the year.

S1E4 • Arctic Secrets • 2015 • Nature