Empire of the Ants

David Attenborough visits the Jura Mountains on the Swiss-French border

David Attenborough visits the Jura Mountains on the Swiss-French border

BBC2 for this absorbing comparison of two ant colonies with a key difference – one wages war with neighbouring ants, while the other welcomes them.

The latter revelation is something that’s rewriting the rules of insect evolution. Using infrared light, Sir David gets a close-up look at the colony, and finds echoes of human nature in its behaviour.