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Army Ants: Nature’s Ultimate Social Hunters
A richly illustrated, captivating study of army ants, nature’s preeminent social hunters.
A swarm raid is one of nature’s great spectacles. In tropical rainforests around the world, army ants march in groups by the thousands to overwhelm large solitary invertebrates, along with nests of termites, wasps, and other ants. They kill and dismember their prey and carry it back to their nest, where their hungry brood devours it. They are the ultimate social hunters, demonstrating the most fascinating collective behavior.
In Army Ants we see how these insects play a crucial role in promoting and sustaining the biodiversity of tropical ecosystems. The ants help keep prey communities in check while also providing nutrition for other animals. Many species depend on army ants for survival, including a multitude of social parasites, swarm-following birds, and flies. And while their hunting behavior, and the rules that govern it, are clearly impressive, army ants display collective behavior in other ways that are no less dazzling. They build living nests, called bivouacs, using their bodies to protect the queen and larvae. The ants can even construct bridges over open space or obstacles by linking to one another using their feet. These incredible feats happen without central coordination. They are the result of local interactions―self-organization that benefits the society at large.
Through observations, stories, and stunning images, Daniel Kronauer brings these fascinating creatures to life. Army ants may be small, but their collective intelligence and impact on their environment are anything but.
A swarm raid is one of nature’s great spectacles. In tropical rainforests around the world, army ants march in groups by the thousands to overwhelm large solitary invertebrates, along with nests of termites, wasps, and other ants. They kill and dismember their prey and carry it back to their nest, where their hungry brood devours it. They are the ultimate social hunters, demonstrating the most fascinating collective behavior.
In Army Ants we see how these insects play a crucial role in promoting and sustaining the biodiversity of tropical ecosystems. The ants help keep prey communities in check while also providing nutrition for other animals. Many species depend on army ants for survival, including a multitude of social parasites, swarm-following birds, and flies. And while their hunting behavior, and the rules that govern it, are clearly impressive, army ants display collective behavior in other ways that are no less dazzling. They build living nests, called bivouacs, using their bodies to protect the queen and larvae. The ants can even construct bridges over open space or obstacles by linking to one another using their feet. These incredible feats happen without central coordination. They are the result of local interactions―self-organization that benefits the society at large.
Through observations, stories, and stunning images, Daniel Kronauer brings these fascinating creatures to life. Army ants may be small, but their collective intelligence and impact on their environment are anything but.
- GenresScienceBiologyNonfiction
384 pages, Hardcover
Published October 6, 2020
3 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 31, 2023
For me as a 18 year old German, who read just a few english books at all it was still relativly easy to understand. Once i understood the army ant biology and more it was truly astonishing.
June 19, 2023
This is THE book on army ants.
I have been fascinated by these animals since I was a little kid and watched a documentary where the camera man was attacked by army ants- and lived to tell a gripping story to impress the TV audience ( especially the kids).
This book is crammed with amazing facts and absolutely stunning photographs.
Simply wonderful.
I have been fascinated by these animals since I was a little kid and watched a documentary where the camera man was attacked by army ants- and lived to tell a gripping story to impress the TV audience ( especially the kids).
This book is crammed with amazing facts and absolutely stunning photographs.
Simply wonderful.
October 19, 2020
Voracious jungle hunters? Sure. But the phenomenal book Army Ants combines fascinating biology with exquisite photography to show they are so much more. See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2020...
September 2, 2021
Too technical for me, but beautiful
September 4, 2023
Kronauer does an excellent job straddling the line between popsci and serious scholarly work.
December 20, 2020
Written to be accessible for the general audience, the book features Kronauer’s eye-catching, gorgeous full-color photographs. In fact the illustrations might make you think this could be a coffee table book, but don’t be fooled. Army Ants is full of serious, sometimes cutting-edge science, too.
Kronauer’s enthusiasm for his subject and expertise shine through on every page. Even someone who knows quite a bit about ants will probably find things that are new.
One unexpected aspect of reading the book the ability to armchair travel to tropical locations at a time when travel currently not an easy option. Although Kronauer doesn’t write about his adventures in great detail, on page 222 he mentions receiving the news that a colony of army ants was getting ready to fission and immediately booking a flight to Costa Rica to observe it. That’s a lifestyle most of us only dream about. By reading the book, we get to travel along with him. It is both entertaining and a good general reference about army ant biology.
If you are interested in ants or know someone who is, grab a copy of Army Ants today!
For my full review and disclosures, see Wild About Ants blog.
Kronauer’s enthusiasm for his subject and expertise shine through on every page. Even someone who knows quite a bit about ants will probably find things that are new.
One unexpected aspect of reading the book the ability to armchair travel to tropical locations at a time when travel currently not an easy option. Although Kronauer doesn’t write about his adventures in great detail, on page 222 he mentions receiving the news that a colony of army ants was getting ready to fission and immediately booking a flight to Costa Rica to observe it. That’s a lifestyle most of us only dream about. By reading the book, we get to travel along with him. It is both entertaining and a good general reference about army ant biology.
If you are interested in ants or know someone who is, grab a copy of Army Ants today!
For my full review and disclosures, see Wild About Ants blog.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews