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This photographic field guide covers every species of ant found in Britain and Europe. More than 400 species of ant can be found in the region and Ants of Britain and Europe covers them all, describing 150 species in detail. The accounts include information on field characteristics, confusion species, habitat and biology, and distribution maps. The book also features a comprehensive introduction to ant ecology and guidance on where to look for ants, a glossary, an overview of families suitable for beginners to entomology, and a detailed, illustrated identification key. Nearly 600 photos are included, showing species close-up and in their natural habitats.
'Brilliant, Fantastic and Significant' - Dr George McGavin Ants are seemingly everywhere, and this familiarity has led to some contemptuous and less than helpful stereotypes. In this compelling insight into the natural and cultural history of ants, Richard Jones helps to unravel some of the myths and misunderstanding surrounding their remarkable behaviours. Ant aggregations in large (often mind-bogglingly huge) nests are 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. Beginning the book with a straightforward look at ant morphology, 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. Alongside this, he explores the complex relationship between humans and ants, and how ants went from being the subject of fables and moral storytelling to become popular research tools. Drawing on up-to-date science and featuring striking colour photographs throughout, this book presents a convincing case for why ants are worth our greater recognition and respect.
'Brilliant, Fantastic and Significant' - Dr George McGavin Ants are seemingly everywhere, and this familiarity has led to some contemptuous and less than helpful stereotypes. In this compelling insight into the natural and cultural history of ants, Richard Jones helps to unravel some of the myths and misunderstanding surrounding their remarkable behaviours. Ant aggregations in large (often mind-bogglingly huge) nests are 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. Beginning the book with a straightforward look at ant morphology, 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. Alongside this, he explores the complex relationship between humans and ants, and how ants went from being the subject of fables and moral storytelling to become popular research tools. Drawing on up-to-date science and featuring striking colour photographs throughout, this book presents a convincing case for why ants are worth our greater recognition and respect.
One of the earliest New World naturalists, José Celestino Mutis began his professional life as a physician in Spain and ended it as a scientist and natural philosopher in modern-day Colombia. Drawing on new translations of Mutis's nearly forgotten writings, this fascinating story of scientific adventure in eighteenth-century South America retrieves Mutis's contributions from obscurity. In 1760, the 28-year-old Mutis—newly appointed as the personal physician of the Viceroy of the New Kingdom of Granada—embarked on a 48-year exploration of the natural world of northern South America. His thirst for knowledge led Mutis to study the region's flora, become a professor of mathematics, construct the first astronomical observatory in the Western Hemisphere, and amass one of the largest scientific libraries in the world. He translated Newton's writings and penned essays about Copernicus; lectured extensively on astronomy, geography, and meteorology; and eventually became a priest. But, as two-time Pulitzer Prize–winner Edward O. Wilson and Spanish natural history scholar José M. Gómez Durán reveal in this enjoyable and illustrative account, one of Mutis's most magnificent accomplishments involved ants. Acting at the urging of Carl Linnaeus—the father of taxonomy—shortly after he arrived in the New Kingdom of Granada, Mutis began studying the ants that swarmed everywhere. Though he lacked any entomological training, Mutis built his own classification for the species he found and named at a time when New World entomology was largely nonexistent. His unorthodox catalog of army ants, leafcutters, and other six-legged creatures found along the banks of the Magdalena provided a starting point for future study. Wilson and Durán weave a compelling, fast-paced story of ants on the march and the eighteenth-century scientist who followed them. A unique glance into the early world of science exploration, Kingdom of Ants is a delight to read and filled with intriguing information.
From the Arctic to South Africa - one finds them everywhere: Ants. Making up nearly 15% of the entire terrestrial animal biomass, ants are impressive not only in quantitative terms, they also fascinate by their highly organized and complex social system. Their caste system, the division of labor, the origin of altruistic behavior and the complex forms of chemical communication makes them the most interesting group of social organisms and the main subject for sociobiologists. Not least is their ecological importance: Ants are the premier soil turners, channelers of energy and dominatrices of the insect fauna. TOC:The importance of ants.- Classification and origins.- The colony life cycle.- Altruism and the origin of the worker caste.- Colony odor and kin recognition.- Queen numbers and domination.- Communication.- Caste and division of labor.- Social homeostasis and flexibility.- Foraging and territorial strategies.- The organization of species communities.- Symbioses among ant species.- Symbioses with other animals.- Interaction with plants.- The specialized predators.- The army ants.- The fungus growers.- The harvesters.- The weaver ants.- Collecting and culturing ants.- Glossary.- Bibliography.- Index.
Reprint of the original, first published in 1883.
The ant fauna of the Fijian archipelago is a diverse assemblage of endemic radiations, pan-Pacific species, and exotics introduced from around the world. The Ants of Fiji describes the entire Fijian ant fauna, and includes the results of a recently completed archipelago-wide biodiversity inventory. A total of 187 ant species representing 43 genera are recognized here with an illustrated key to genera, synopses of each species, keys to species of all genera, and a species list. The work is heavily illustrated with specimen images, distribution maps, and habitat elevation charts.