Mark Reece's Blog - Posts Tagged "ants"

The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct by Bert Hölldobler

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A wonderful book by two eminent scientists, who possess the two gifts needed for popular science writing: the ability to condense research without simplifying it too far, and good writing. The book is an expansion of a chapter from The Superorganism by the same authors, where they introduce the concept of eusociality, which they define as:

1) Cooperative care for immature individuals.
2) Overlap of at least two generations in the same society.
3) The coexistence of reproductive and non-reproductive members.

This book examines the atta genera as an exemplary case of eusociality, given the intricate caste system that pertains within those species of ants. The head width of the leaf cutter workers varies from between 0.7 to 5 millimeters, with the interactions between them described as a production line, consisting of the workers of different sizes carrying out a variety of tasks, including cutting leaves from plants, breaking them into smaller parts, carrying them to the nest, then carrying out the variety of tasks necessary to incorporate them into the colony's fungal garden.

The book has a series of wonderful pictures, many of which were taken by Holldobler, which are not only beautiful, but add a lot to the text. This include pictures of ants themselves, and also excavations of nests (which made me a little sad, given the descriptions of the work that were put into building them).

The skill of the experiments conducted by myrmecologists to discover many different aspects of ant societies are incredible. There are many wonderful details in the book about, amongst other things, the manner in which leaf cutters use their mandibles to cut leaves, the nature of the biochemistry that ants use to communicate, and the incredible synergy between ants and fungus, which enables them, in combination, to lower the level of carbon dioxide in a nest to safe levels.

This is a short book, but a delightful one. It is science as a joyful thing.



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Empire of Ants: The Hidden World and Extraordinary Lives of Earth's Tiny Conquerors by Susanne Foitzik

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A good overview of numerous aspects of ant biology, the influence of Wilson and Holldobler on the author was evident, meaning that it was no surprise to read that she was his doctoral student at one point. I've read numerous books on ants but picked up a variety of new information here, despite the book having an introductory feel, with chapters written around various aspects of ant behaviour, such as slave making, and efforts ants make to control disease.

The tone is annoying on occasions; the author regularly uses cutesy language as if expecting the book to be read by the easily distracted.

There is a comprehensive bibliography that gives the reader an excellent starting point to find out more about myrmecology.



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