In this witty, accessible, and beautifully illustrated guide, Eleanor Spicer Rice, Alex Wild, and Rob Dunn metamorphose creepy-crawly revulsion into myrmecological wonder. Dr. Eleanor?s Book of Common Ants provides an eye-opening entomological overview of the natural history of species most noted by project participants. Exploring species from the spreading red imported fire ant to the pavement ant, and featuring Wild?s stunning photography, this guide will be a tremendous resource for teachers, students, and scientists alike. But more than this, it will transform the way we perceive the environment around us by deepening our understanding of its littlest inhabitants, inspiring everyone to find their inner naturalist, get outside, and crawl across the dirt?magnifying glass in hand.

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.

A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) From the “author to watch” (Kirkus Reviews) of The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley comes an “equal parts sarcastic and profound” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) novel about a teenage boy who must decide whether or not the world is worth saving. Henry Denton has spent years being periodically abducted by aliens. Then the aliens give him an ultimatum: The world will end in 144 days, and all Henry has to do to stop it is push a big red button. Only he isn’t sure he wants to. After all, life hasn’t been great for Henry. His mom is a struggling waitress held together by a thin layer of cigarette smoke. His brother is a jobless dropout who just knocked someone up. His grandmother is slowly losing herself to Alzheimer’s. And Henry is still dealing with the grief of his boyfriend’s suicide last year. Wiping the slate clean sounds like a pretty good choice to him. But Henry is a scientist first, and facing the question thoroughly and logically, he begins to look for pros and cons: in the bully who is his perpetual one-night stand, in the best friend who betrayed him, in the brilliant and mysterious boy who walked into the wrong class. Weighing the pain and the joy that surrounds him, Henry is left with the ultimate choice: push the button and save the planet and everyone on it…or let the world—and his pain—be destroyed forever.

"In this enormously useful book, a profound need is met by a profound contribution, the first such comprehensive work in over fifty years. While brief, Ants of North America is the distillation of a vast amount of study and practice. It is a joy to browse and read, and will have an important impact on the study of ants."—Edward O. Wilson, University Research Professor Emeritus, Harvard University "Two of the most prolific ant faunists have produced a marvelous taxonomic guide to the ant genera of North America. The keys and genus descriptions are succinct and easy to read, the illustrations superb. This book is a must for entomologists, ecologists, and particularly all who study ants."—Bert Hölldobler, Foundation Professor of Life Sciences, Arizona State University "This book represents a bold advance in the study of North American ants. It provides, for the first time, an accessible and lavishly illustrated guide to all the ant genera occurring in the United States and Canada. It will greatly enhance both public interest in ants and scientific investigation of their ecology, behavior and evolution."—Philip S. Ward, Department of Entomology and Center for Population Biology, University of California at Davis

Silver Medal at the 2019 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards. A magical, educational book printed in stone paper about the importance of showing love and respect for animal life. The day began in absolute chaos. General Ant had received a message about the imminent danger. On the surface, Chloe and Jack were having fun poking sticks into the anthill, attacking the colony once again. anthill. The General sends an order to soldier ants by sending a special aroma signal that wafted through the many tunnels and caves in the colony. Hundreds of worker ants, together with the soldier ants, rushed through the tunnels to protect the storeroom and their Queen, who was laying eggs. Will these tiny, fascinating insects be able to defend their anthill, and teach the children to respect them? The Ants' Secret is a story about the importance of respecting animals and nature, and an insight into the lives of ants.

Ants that commonly invade homes, damage structures, inflict painful bites, or sting humans or their pets are considered pest ants. This illustrated identification guide highlights forty species of ants that pose difficulties in urban settings. Included are well-known invasive troublemakers such as the red imported fire ant and Argentine ant, as well as native species. After an introductory chapter on the evolution, biology, and ecology of pest ants, the book follows a taxonomic arrangement by subfamily. Each subfamily chapter includes separate illustrated keys to both the genera and species of that group to enable entomologists and pest control professionals to identify pest ants correctly. The species accounts cover biology, distribution, and methods for excluding and/or removing ants from human structures and landscapes. The authors focus on the ants' biology and nesting behavior, life cycles, and feeding preferences; an intimate understanding of these factors enables the implementation of the least toxic control methods available. A chapter on control principles and techniques encompasses chemical strategies, habitat and structural modifications, biological control, and integrated pest management methods. Urban Ants of North America and Europe also contains valuable information on the diagnosis and treatment of human reactions to ant stings and bites. This comprehensive reference work on these economically significant ants includes the scientific, English, French, Spanish, and German names for each species and a summary of invasive ant species in the United States and Europe.

In the great naturalist tradition of E. O. Wilson, Jae Choe takes readers into a miniature world dominated by six-legged organisms. This is the world of the ant, an insect that humans, as well as most other life forms, depend upon for their very survival. Easily one of the most important animals on earth, ants seem to mirror the actions, emotions, and industries of the human population, often more effectively than humans do themselves. They developed ranching and farming long before humans, and their division of labor resembles the assembly lines of automobile factories and multinational enterprises. Self-sacrifice and a finely tuned chemical language are the foundations of their monarchical society, which is capable of waging large-scale warfare and taking slaves. Tales of their massacres and atrocities, as well as struggles for power, are all too reminiscent of our own. The reality of ant society is more fascinating than even the most creative minds could imagine. Choe combines expert scientific knowledge with a real passion for these miniscule marvels. His vivid descriptions are paired with captivating illustrations and photographs to introduce readers to the economics, culture, and intrigue of the ant world. All of nature is revealed through the secret lives of the amazing ants. In the words of the author, “Once you get to know them, you’ll love them.”

2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

Control your wiggles and be the BOSS of your ants. In I Have Ants in My Pants, Julia Cook helps normalize the feeling many kids have when they struggle to control their wiggles and provides strategies for improving impulse control. Some children just can't sit still no matter how hard they try. And Louis is no exception. He accidentally kicks his friend during story time. He can't stand still in the lunch line. And he wiggles in his seat at the movie theater. Everyone keeps telling him he has ants in his pants, but Louis doesn't see any ants! Louis' mom explains that this means he wiggles a lot, and she teaches him a special tool, the Wiggle Dance. Wiggle and jiggle. Jump up and down. Shake your hands and turn around. Take a deep breath. Scrunch up your nose. Wobble your knees and wiggle your toes. With a little practice and a few helpful tools, Louis learns that he can calm his wiggles and become the boss of the ants in his pants!