Alternate title: Ants, Nature's Secret BAMFs

December 14, 2010 4:04 PM

Ants: Nature's Secret Power [Hulu]

This captivating hour-long documentary takes you into the not-often-seen world of ants. With stunning video, just the right amount of narration, and (just in time for Festivus!) even Feats of Strength. Guaranteed to hold the attention of even the most vehement documentary-hating people out there. Enjoy!


I saw this a few years ago and have been obsessively pushing it on friends ever since. Apologies to those of you who can't view Hulu--the video is available elsewhere online, though nowhere near as good quality.

posted by phunniemee (13 comments total)

Do you have a link for the other versions available online? Poor quality is better than nothing. Especially when it comes to ants.
posted by sandraregina at 4:36 PM on December 14, 2010 [2 favorites]

Here it is on youtube. There are also a number of google results; you may find something better on another site.
posted by phunniemee at 4:42 PM on December 14, 2010

If you happen to live in China, it appears to be on YouKu.
posted by filthy light thief at 4:47 PM on December 14, 2010

Blants.
posted by Evernix at 5:33 PM on December 14, 2010 [4 favorites]

So far this movie is awesome (pitcher plants!) but that pervasive tiny rustling sound is starting to make me itch.
posted by carsonb at 7:28 PM on December 14, 2010

If this documentary could have the narration re-written so as to substitue the "ants are terrifying alien creatures who speak a crazy moon language of chemicals!" theme with a "ants are terrifyingly awesome and boy howdy!" I would be entirely in favor of it.
posted by thusspakeparanoia at 7:59 PM on December 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

Once the igloo is complete, the ants take a well deserved rest. We'll come back to the ants later. In the mean time, thanks, ants. Thants.
posted by christopherious at 8:29 PM on December 14, 2010

Wow is this the first hulu FPP? Either way, WIN!
posted by humannaire at 9:01 PM on December 14, 2010

Oh jeez, I looked at it....30 minutes later...I should be in bed!!

DARN YOU ANTS!
posted by humannaire at 9:49 PM on December 14, 2010

I love ants.

Before moving to a more tropical rainforest-y country, ants were just this little nuisance.

In my present location, they outnumber me a kajillion to one.

Those "leafecutter" ants that seem so neat on TV when I was a kid? They're commonplace and everywhere here. Those are "good" ants. I once had them coming in under the back door and out the front door - the house was just in the way. I just let them be - they moved on. (they also conveniently chewed up and completely cleaned up the carcass of a small spider I had stepped on near their path). Good little ants.

One day, I came home in the afternoon to find the outside of my house COVERED (totally swarming) with rivers of big, black ants, most carrying big white things which I assume were ant aggs. I'm not exaggerating when I say there must have been millions of them.

As near as I can figure, they were migrating, and the house was just in the way. They didn't really come inside, just swarmed over the outside. Interestingly enough, the OTHER ants, and spikders, and other unnamed types of bugs normally in the yard (bugs tend to stay outside here unless you leave food out- there's more for them outside than inside) were taking refuge by fleeing into the house wherever they could.

I sealed myself up in the office for a few hours, played some vids, had a nap, and when I woke up, everything was back to normal.

(6 months later, it turns out there were ant eggs in every piece of electronics I owned and flying ants were all over the house inside.)

(They even had a nest under the glass in the scanner/printer combo. You'd lift the lid and they'd scurry for dark.

It still worked - but man that was gross. I threw it out eventually)

Ants are amazing.
posted by TravellingDen at 7:28 AM on December 15, 2010 [1 favorite]

When I was little, my family went to Mexicofor a time. I learned the fine art of ant observation there. I watched an ant work gang carrying a pretty big dead fly to their nest and watched as they enlarged then closed the entrance up again once the fly was in the nest. A few days later they found a dead earth-worm and put on the same amazing show.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 9:20 AM on December 15, 2010

It's a little random, but this subject made me thing of insect evolution. Do people even study that? And what would they be called? An Insecolutionist?
posted by sojournr at 9:23 PM on December 15, 2010 [1 favorite]

they *do* study insect evolution, as best they can. Ut's part of entomology. the best record is insecys that get stuck in amber. Turns out that bees, wasps and ants kind of evolved from a common ancestor (antcestress?
I own an amber bead with a bee in it. th preservation is eerie becaus the hole goes through a little of the bee's back end and if you look carefully you can see a little bit of bee innards. Amber with insects like that has been used in DNA studies and even to get yeast suitable for making mead.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 9:41 PM on December 15, 2010