Don't forget to tune in to BBC One tonight at 9pm to hear David narrating the second part of Swarm. Details of the episode are as follows:
In the first program we saw how animal swarms collide with our world. This time the intelligence behind such mass invasions is explored. When swarms gather, they generate a mysterious swarm intelligence, communicating and learning in amazing ways. Bees hold commitee meetings to discuss new nesting sites, flocks of quelea learn from each other where to find the best food, fire ants even use their own bodies to form a raft and escape when their nest is destroyed by floods. All unite as one and act like a giant organism controlled by a single brain. One newly discovered swarm may even use its united strength to save the planet from the greenhouse effect! The superorganism can accomplish far more than the sum of its parts. As in program 1, real-life footage combined with state of the art high-speed camera techniques shows the complexity of the superorganism, and how this intelligent being affects us and the planet.
In the first program we saw how animal swarms collide with our world. This time the intelligence behind such mass invasions is explored. When swarms gather, they generate a mysterious swarm intelligence, communicating and learning in amazing ways. Bees hold commitee meetings to discuss new nesting sites, flocks of quelea learn from each other where to find the best food, fire ants even use their own bodies to form a raft and escape when their nest is destroyed by floods. All unite as one and act like a giant organism controlled by a single brain. One newly discovered swarm may even use its united strength to save the planet from the greenhouse effect! The superorganism can accomplish far more than the sum of its parts. As in program 1, real-life footage combined with state of the art high-speed camera techniques shows the complexity of the superorganism, and how this intelligent being affects us and the planet.