Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Ants: The Ultimate Social Insects

Ants: The Ultimate Social Insects

Jones, Richard

Hardcover

Series: British Wildlife Collection

Environmental StudiesInsects & SpidersZoology

Currently unavailable to order

ISBN10: 1472964861
ISBN13: 9781472964861
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: Jun 14 2022
Pages: 368
Weight: 2.49
Height: 1.16 Width: 6.82 Depth: 9.76
Language: English

A clear introduction for the novice naturalist to all things ant.

Ants are everywhere, though they are small, secretive, easily overlooked and usually misunderstood. But these seemingly puny insects have a superpower that makes them amongst the most important organisms on the planet - what they lack in size and individual strength, they more than make up for in sheer numbers and sophisticated, coordinated activity.

In this book, impassioned entomologist Richard Jones reveals the bizarre and sometimes poorly studied behaviours of ants. Their aggregation in large (often mind-bogglingly huge) nests is a complex mix of genetics, chemistry, geography and higher social interaction. Their forage trails, usually to aphid colonies but occasionally into the larder, are maintained by a wondrous alchemy of molecular scents and markers. Their social colony structure confused natural philosophers of old and still taxes the modern biologist today. And flying ant days regularly make national news as airborne swarms interfere with international tennis matches. Despite being tiny, ants are special because they and their complex colonies are amenable to scientific interrogation beyond that offered by most other insect groups.

Starting with a straightforward look at ant body structure, Jones then explores the ant species found in the British Isles and parts of nearby mainland Europe, their foraging, nesting, navigating and battle instincts, how ants interact with the landscape, their evolution, and their place in our understanding of how life on earth works.

Clear, concise and thoroughly entertaining, this is an extraordinary insight into all things ant.

Also in

Insects & Spiders

View All