The Ants
Will be published approx. on 28. March 1990
Book
Hardback
752 pages
978-0-674-04075-5 (ISBN)
Description
This landmark work, the distillation of a lifetime of research by the world's leading myrmecologists, is a thoroughgoing survey of one of the largest and most diverse groups of animals on the planet. Bert Hoelldobler and Edward O. Wilson review in exhaustive detail virtually all topics in the anatomy, physiology, social organization, ecology, and natural history of the ants. In large format, with almost a thousand line drawings, photographs, and paintings, it is one of the most visually rich and all-encompassing views of any group of organisms on earth. It will be welcomed both as an introduction to the subject and as an encyclopedia reference for researchers in entomology, ecology, and sociobiology.
Reviews / Votes
A monumental achievement, the last word in myrmecology, the study of ants... It is likely the average adult...will be intrigued by passages about these ubiquitous and complicated creatures. -- Paul Galloway * Chicago Tribune * The Ants is a stunningly attractive volume that belongs as much on the coffee table as it does on the lab bench... The 20 chapters are organized thematically, and they are written in a clear, accessible and engaging style... Only Hoelldobler and Wilson could have written such a comprehensive and integrated treatment of ant biology. It represents a herculean labour of love, and it sets a new standard for synthetic works on major taxa... The Ants will undoubtedly remain in active service for decades, guiding both tourists and seasoned travellers through a strange and wonderful world. -- Donald H. Feener, Jr., et al. * Nature * While it is impossible to write a definitive tome and make it 100 percent transparent to the nonscientist, this volume achieves the utmost clarity... Science is rarely good literature. The Ants is an exalting exception. -- Thomas E. Lovejoy * New York Times Book Review * Hoelldobler and Wilson's mighty tome will surely take its place among the greatest of all entomology books...it will inspire many new generations of students with its blend of scholarship, enthusiasm, and unabashed delight. * Science * This magnificent and long-awaited volume is the definitive work on [ants]... Every imaginable area of interest to a biologist, a sociologist, even a curious citizen, is covered... At once remarkably exhaustive and parsimonious, the book does not stint on exhaustive detail wherever such detail is required. -- William Brown * Scientific American * The Ants is not only another milestone in a remarkable career but also a high point in crossover publishing. For the specialist, Hoelldobler and Wilson bring elegance and order to a complex subject. For the curious layman, there is a glimpse into the workings of evolution. -- R. Z. Sheppard * Time * The beauty of this heavily illustrated tome is that it conveys this message to both the lay reader and the professional entomologist with equal aplomb. For the interested but ignorant, Hoelldobler and Wilson provide a gentle introduction into the complex and bizarre reality of life as an ant... This myrmecological bible-with its 50-page key to ant classification, 60 pages of detailed anatomical drawings and hundreds of other sketches and photos-is a scientific and artistic accomplishment of historic significance. Yet it succeeds in convincing even the most casual reader of-as the first chapter is titled-the Importance of Ants. -- Rick Weiss * Washington Post *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge, Mass.
United States
Publishing group
Harvard University Press
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 305 mm
Width: 254 mm
Thickness: 46 mm
Weight
3039 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-674-04075-5 (9780674040755)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Bert Hoelldobler is the Robert A. Johnson Professor in Social Insect Research at Arizona State University. He was previously Professor of Biology and Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology at Harvard University and subsequently held the chair for Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology at the University of Wuerzburg, Germany. He is an elected member of many academies, including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the US National Academy of Sciences, and the German National Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina. He has received many awards, among them the Pulitzer Prize for The Ants, coauthored with E. O. Wilson. Edward O. Wilson was Pellegrino University Professor, Emeritus, at Harvard University. In addition to two Pulitzer Prizes (one of which he shares with Bert Hoelldobler), Wilson has won many scientific awards, including the National Medal of Science and the Crafoord Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Content
1. The Importance of Ants 2. Classification and Origins 3. The Colony Life Cycle 4. Altruism and the Origin of the Worker Caste 5. Colony Odor and Kin Recognition 6. Queen Numbers and Domination 7. Communication 8. Caste and Division of Labor 9. Social Homeostasis and Flexibility 10. Foraging Strategies, Territory, and Population Regulation 11. The Organization of Species Communities 12. Symbioses among Ant Species 13. Symbioses with Other Arthropods 14. Symbioses between Ants and Plants 15. The Specialized Predators 16.The Army Ants 17. The Fungus Growers 18. The Harvesting Ants 19. Weaver Ants 20. Collecting, Culturing, Observing Glossary Bibliography Acknowledgments Index