Termites vs Ants: Who’s King of the Hill? | Wild to Know

This orange earth mound is a fortress. Behind its sturdy walls millions of termites have barricaded themselves against an ancient foe - Ants! They have set their facette eyes on the termite castle. The queen's eggs within are a treasure worth taking. The walls of the mound are strong, and so are the termite soldiers. But today, fate doesn't seem to be on the side of this colony. An anteater is approaching. She could breach the termite stronghold with just one big swing. And then the ants would have an easy game. Will the fortress prevail against the menacing invaders? Can the termites protect their castle and their royals? And what chance are they left with when the next threat already looms on the horizon? The wild grassland of Brazil's Central Highlands. A wide open, almost endless plain, sprinkled with towers of bright red dirt, termite mounds. Over 100 per hectare. Homes of millions of insects. Deep within the corridors and tunnels of the termite stronghold. The insects live following a clear social structure. Termite colonies can only survive because they all work together. The eusocial insects have different castes, each responsible for different tasks within the Queens realm. The workers construct and care for the Queen and her eggs. The soldiers are born to fight and protect. But they are united in one mission: Ensure the safety of the Queen and the survival of the termite kingdom. Reigning over their millions of literally blind followers of the royal pair. The termite king and his enormous queen. They are mates for life. Forever at each other's side. Forever in this mound. The Queen can lay as many as a thousand eggs a day once she has reached her full size. And the queen lives long in some species of termites reaching ten years or even older is not impossible. As the queen lays egg after egg after egg, workers make room and transport the kingdom's future to hidden chambers in the mound where they are protected by mighty knights. But the soldiers are not the only defense in the colony. The mound itself is a fortress. A hard outer layer shields the precious insides. There is not much that can breach this defense Except a big battering ram! Otherwise known as a giant anteater. A female is approaching. She is in need of an increased amount of nutrition. Recently, she gave birth to a pup. With her powerful front legs, armed with impressively large claws she strikes! The termites bulwark crumbles! With her 60 centimeter long sticky tongue, the anteater mother starts feasting on workers and knights far in the depths of the fortress. Each sweep slurps up dozens of termites. Anteaters need as many as 30,000 termites a day to sustain themselves. But the termites strike back! Well-armed, they go for the attacker's tongue. After a few thousand bites, the anteater retreats and leaves destruction behind. The termite workers rush to repair the damaged outer walls, filling the gaps with a mixture of saliva and mud. They must work fast. The fortress has been torn down. The kingdom lies vulnerable. Sadly, this time they are too slow. A roaming party of marauders discover the wounded fort. Immediately the ants start an offense. The ants overrun the termites. They flood into the insides of the mound, stealing eggs and grubs. The termite soldiers bravely fight against the attackers. They can't let them get deeper into their fort. At worst, they could reach the Queen! Every second, more termite soldiers fall and eggs are stolen. All seems lost. But then the cavalry arrives! Termite soldiers have a duty to defend the colony and even give their lives for the Queen. The ants are overwhelmed by the sheer number of termites and call for retreat, but not with empty mandibles. The battle, as ancient as ants and termites themselves, has been terrible. Casualties are high, but the colony will endure. The termite workers redouble their efforts. Another failure could be the end of the colony. They close the cracks in the walls and soon peace is restored. When the sun sets and the moon rises. Peasants and knights set out together. The queens empire needs fuel. Termites are frugal insects. They can thrive on food with low nutritional value, like dead grasses or wood. The workers collect the food and carry it back to the mound while the soldiers are keeping watch. Something is brewing in the dark skies above them! [Thunder !] Heralds of wildfires! The fire leaves a deadly trail, but the termites are safe behind their well-insulated mud walls. Their foraging behavior keeps the surroundings of their castle free of flammable material, which also keeps the flames from spreading directly onto the fort. Other inhabitants of the wide plains had no such protection. The anteater mother has lost her most precious thing. Her baby fell prey to the hungry flames. After fire comes water, new life starts to bloom. This is the time for the termites to form new kingdoms. Millions of termites fill the air during that time. A delicious feast and time of plenty for other inhabitants of the Cerrado. The termite kings and queens meet during their maiden flight. Together they will find a suitable spot to build a new colony. and once found they mate. The royal termite pair will stay together until death does them part. Thank you for watching. Please subscribe and like this video. And if you want to see more interesting stories like these, check out our playlist. Until next time.

Channel: Terra Mater

Views: 76,366

Keywords: terramater, brazil, wild animals, awesome animals, Anteater Giant anteater, Anteater attack, wildlife education, education, Animals, ''Giant, Anteater'', Termites, wildlife, nature, facts, animals, smart, ants, animalsfacts, weird, ant-man, tongue, giant, terramatters, cute animals, world's weirdest animals, long tongue, termite, termite queen, nature documentary, wildlife documentary, wildlife battle, termite mound, Termites vs ants, termite va anteater, sticky tongue, empire of the undergrowth

Id: nESFGpQH6-U

Length: 6min 16sec (376 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 19 2023