Wildlife
Eusocial describes species with a very highly developed social structure. Ants and termites are all eusocial, as are some species of bee and wasp and a few very unusual mammals. Eusocial animals live in colonies in a strict caste system. The queen and her consort are the only members of the colony that breed and the majority of offspring become workers and soldiers who gather food, protect the colony and raise the young on the queen's behalf.
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Last supper
Only the fertilised hornet queen will survive the silly season to hibernate in the UK winter.
Only the fertilised hornet queen will survive the silly season to hibernate in the UK winter.
Taking out litter
Infra-red footage of leaf cutter ants cleaning their nest at night.
Infra-red footage of leaf cutter ants cleaning their nest at night.
Underground society
Life in the tunnel colonies of highly organised naked mole rats.
Life in the tunnel colonies of highly organised naked mole rats.
Fast food
Anteaters leave a trail of destruction as they snack speedily on termites.
Anteaters leave a trail of destruction as they snack speedily on termites.
Waggle dance
Honey bees indicate the flight path to new nectar sources through a remarkable dance.
David Attenborough explains how honey bees are not only able to communicate new sources of nectar to others back in the hive, but how they update the information throughout the day.
Eusociality (Greek eu: "good/real" + "social") is a term used for the highest level of social organization in a hierarchical classification.
The lower levels of social organization, presociality, were classified using different terms, including presocial, subsocial, semisocial, parasocial and quasisocial. In analogy with some human societies, groups of specialized individuals are sometimes called castes.
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Damaraland mole rat
Naked mole rat
Army ant
Buff-tailed bumblebee
Bumblebees
Common wasp
European honey bee
Hairy wood ant
Hornet
Leaf-cutter ants
Scottish wood ant
Wood ants
Yellow meadow ant