Ditto on the death to the narrow minds. If your attention span is too short for a 3 hour movie, stay home.

By what measure do you suppose humanity is the top of the food chain? Predation? No, insects and "lower" life forms kill and/or eat us regularly. Numbers? HA! Weight? Nope. Food consumption? Try again.

Ants are so similar as individuals that for all intents and purposes they are immortal. An ant colony is more sophisticated in structure and organization than a human brain so long as you realize that each ant is a small semi-autonomous nerve cluster.

They deserve respect.

That being said, I do not feel bad about the destruction of this colony for two important reasons. Firstly, the ants simply do not care. So long as some of them live somewhere, they win. Think of ants like Borg. A colony here and there means nothing. Secondly, this colony excavation demonstrates the capabilities and respect worthiness in a visceral and visual way that is far more effective than a dozen papers on the subject.

I guarantee that had the ants been given a choice with these factors in mind, they would have poured the concrete themselves.

Ants don't need our pity.