Product Details
- Pub. Date: April 2009
- Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
- Format: Hardcover, 256pp
- Sales Rank: 370,920
Description
Since time immemorial, human beings have been fascinated by ants, amazed by them, intrigued and captivated by them. With numerous black-and-white images and eight pages of color plates,
The Lives of Ants provides a state-of-the-art look at what we now know about these fascinating creatures, portraying a world that is rich and full of surprises, one which, even after decades of observation, is still full of unsolved mysteries.
The authors illuminate the world of the ant, shedding light on such topics as the ant's impressive abilities in direction finding and quite amazing ingenuity when it comes to building their nests, finding supplies, or exploiting other members of the animal kingdom. They show, too, that they are capable of aggression and violence, which can disturb the apparent peace of their colonies and embroil them in fratricidal or matricidal strife. Even their sexual arrangements are at times quite strange. In this area, as in many others, they display marked originality. Readers also discover that ants are walking bundles of secretory glands (they have about forty of them), which enable them to emit between ten and twenty different pheromones, each of which has its own "meaning." Some are produced by workers for recruiting their sisters or for alerting them to danger. Others are used for marking territory, for identifying members of their colony or conversely for detecting foreigners, and for indicating the location of food. In addition, ants can also emit sound signals, made of a high-pitched squeak, and they can even dance, though not as intricately or as well as bees.
The Lives of Ants combines natural history with molecular biology, genetics, and even the latest developments in robotics, to explore the remarkable societies of ants, revealing the secrets of their mysterious lives.
Features
- Looks at many aspects of the natural history of ants, from their sophisticated social structure, to their communication using pheromones - and the genetics that drives many aspects of their lives
- Ties in natural history with molecular biology, genetics, and even cutting-edge developments in robotics
- A fascinating account of these ubiquitous and highly successful creatures
Reviews
"The Lives of Ants is superb in every way. Were it not based on facts, it could well be thought of as science fiction, but here so many of the facts of ant life are so bizarre that a fiction writer would have to work very hard to outdo the antics of ants."--Science Books and Films
Listed in Science Book News
"Illuminating, entertaining and thought-provoking."--Publishers Weekly
"In this scientific yet accessible book, Laurent Keller and his co-writer, Elisabeth Gordon, shed light on how these extraordinary complex creatures operate and what we can learn from them."--The Economist
"...the book offers readers a fascinating account of the biology of ants...The Lives of Ants offers a very strong argument for scientists to find their own voices."--Science Magazine
"...excellent layman's introduction to myrmecology."--FT.com
About the Author(s)
Laurent Keller is Professor of Ecology and Evolution, and Head of the Department of Ecology and Evolution, at the University of Lausanne. In 2005 he was awarded the E. O. Wilson Naturalist Award.
Elisabeth Gordon is a freelance journalist and writer.