Soh Kam Yung reviewed Empire of Ants by Susanne Foitzik
A great book on the lives of ants.
4 stars
A fascinating book about ants. A good introduction to the biology and ecology of ants and what makes them such amazing social creatures that are able to take over the world and our homes, if we let them.
Chapter one gives an introduction to ant biology and society, asking with an entertaining account of life in the field for ant researchers.
Chapter two looks at the queen ants, who grow up on very nourishing food to get ready to (mostly) fly off to make and produce new colonies. But other kinds of behaviour, like multiple queens in a nest, staying in the old nest and even forcibly taking over the nest of another queen are also covered.
Chapter three looks at the organization of an ant colony and shows that our usual perception that the queen ant controls the colony is wrong. Using the idea of genetic kinship, the authors …
A fascinating book about ants. A good introduction to the biology and ecology of ants and what makes them such amazing social creatures that are able to take over the world and our homes, if we let them.
Chapter one gives an introduction to ant biology and society, asking with an entertaining account of life in the field for ant researchers.
Chapter two looks at the queen ants, who grow up on very nourishing food to get ready to (mostly) fly off to make and produce new colonies. But other kinds of behaviour, like multiple queens in a nest, staying in the old nest and even forcibly taking over the nest of another queen are also covered.
Chapter three looks at the organization of an ant colony and shows that our usual perception that the queen ant controls the colony is wrong. Using the idea of genetic kinship, the authors show that the workers are in control, and have individuality. The chapter closes with a look at how the ants' eusocial system may have come about.
Chapter four gives a look at how ants recognize and communicate with each other, mainly through scent and sometimes through touch. The ants can produce a large array of scents and are sensitive to very small amounts, which is used to identify each other and to lead others to food sources or new nest locations.
Chapter five looks at how ants navigate their environment and find their way back to their nest, using scent trails and sun. Through experiments, it has been shown that ants can sense polarized light, measure their strides and remember visual markers as they forage for food and make their way back.
Chapter six looks at army ants and shows their reputation for ferocity and for being mostly unstoppable to be well deserved. Their life on the move is described as well as what is known about them, although much is not known about some species of army ants.
Chapter seven looks at leaf cutter ants and their close relationship to a fungus. The ants feed the fungus with cut up and pulped leaves and in return, the fungus provides food for the ants. The huge size of their nests is described, and their food gathering method.
Chapter eight looks at other relationships between ants and plants. From living in a pitcher plant to housing provided by plants, ants return the favour by providing nutrients and protecting the plants. Weaver ants, meanwhile, use their young to produce silk to bind leaves together to build their homes.
Chapter nine looks at ants as farmers. Among the 'livestock' they take care of are aphids, which proved the ants with honeydew. Other relationships with mealybugs, caterpillars and other creatures that sneak into ant nests are shown, sometimes benefiting the ants, sometimes benefiting the creatures.
Chapter ten looks at various kinds of slave ants and the strategies used by then to raid the nest is other ants, and what other ants do to try to fight back against the raids. Differences in behaviour and make up of the colonies of slave ants and other kinds are also mentioned.
Chapter eleven looks at the pathogens that affects ants. Among them include mites, parasitic tapeworms and mind controlling fungus. The methods ants use to fight back include keeping each other clean, antibiotics and, when all else fails, self-sacrifice by leaving their colonies to die alone.
Chapter twelve looks at invasive ants that have spread all over the world and looks at what makes them so successful at invading new territories. One factor is that the invasive ants tend to form huge supercolonies because they start from a few related or a single queen, so they are all related to each other. A brief look at ways to fight back are given, but much work remains to be done.
Chapter thirteen takes a look at some more unusual ants. From ants that can glide back towards the tree they fell from, trapjaw ants, ants that can block entrances with their heads, and ants that explode to fight their enemies, it's clear that there are many ants with unusual abilities to be found.
