The Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of The Ants render the extraordinary lives of the social insects in this visually spectacular volume.The Superorganism promises to be one of the most important scientific works published in this decade. Coming eighteen years after the publication of The Ants, this new volume expands our knowledge of the social insects (among them, ants, bees, wasps, and termites) and is based on remarkable research conducted mostly within the last two decades. These superorganisms―a tightly knit colony of individuals, formed by altruistic cooperation, complex communication, and division of labor―represent one of the basic stages of biological organization, midway between the organism and the entire species. The study of the superorganism, as the authors demonstrate, has led to important advances in our understanding of how the transitions between such levels have occurred in evolution and how life as a whole has progressed from simple to complex forms. Ultimately, this book provides a deep look into a part of the living world hitherto glimpsed by only a very few.110 color, 100 black-and-white

The Superorganism: The Beauty, Elegance, and Strangeness of Insect Societies

Science & Math

WILSON, EDWARD O.

Hölldobler, Bert

Biological Sciences

W.W.Norton&Company

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of The Ants comes this dynamic and visually spectacular portrait of Earth's ultimate superorganism.The Leafcutter Ants is the most detailed and authoritative description of any ant species ever produced. With a text suitable for both a lay and a scientific audience, the book provides an unforgettable tour of Earth's most evolved animal societies. Each colony of leafcutters contains as many as five million workers, all the daughters of a single queen that can live over a decade. A gigantic nest can stretch thirty feet across, rise five feet or more above the ground, and consist of hundreds of chambers that reach twenty-five feet below the ground surface. Indeed, the leafcutters have parlayed their instinctive civilization into a virtual domination of forest, grassland, and cropland―from Louisiana to Patagonia. Inspired by a section of the authors' acclaimed The Superorganism, this brilliantly illustrated work provides the ultimate explanation of what a social order with a half-billion years of animal evolution has achieved. Four-color throughout, 56 photographs

The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct

Review\n“This beautiful book is a true classic of biology and destined to be a standard work on the subject of symbiosis for many years to come.”―Edward O. Wilson, author of Sociobiology\n“A marvelous tour of the wonderland of ants and the non-ant ‘guests’ that live with them. Bert Hölldobler and Christina Kwapich have combined fascinating science and first-rate scholarship to share what myrmecologists have learned about a rarely seen part of the natural world.”―Thomas D. Seeley, author of The Lives of Bees\n“Prepare to be astounded, surprised, and charmed time and time again. This book is destined to become the authoritative work on ants and their guests for decades to come.”―Walter R. Tschinkel, author of Ant Architecture\n“A deeply inspiring and masterful account of how myrmecophiles interact with their hosts, trick them by breaking their communication codes, and make their living inside the ant colonies. Lavishly illustrated, this book is a thorough and fascinating study.”―Rüdiger Wehner, Professor and Director Emeritus, Institute of Zoology, University of Zürich\n“Hölldobler and Kwapich have masterfully marshalled a vast literature on the evolution and behavioral ecology of ants and their many associates. This book will have wide appeal to ecologists and evolutionary biologists, as well as anyone interested in the natural history of social insects and their friends and foes.”―Naomi E. Pierce, Hessel Professor of Biology and Curator of Lepidoptera, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University\n“A spellbinding journey to the exotic world of ants and their ‘guests.’ By far the most comprehensive treatment of this fascinating subject, this book is a delight.”―Daniel Kronauer, author of Army Ants\n“Superbly illustrated and written with enthusiasm and delight, The Guests of Ants is unparalleled. This book provides first-class, fascinating coverage on the behavioral biology and mechanisms enabling myrmecophiles to coexist with, and frequently exploit, the ant superorganism.”―Paulo S. Oliveira, coauthor of The Ecology and Evolution of Ant-Plant Interactions\n“This magnificent book takes the reader into a striking world largely unknown, even to most biologists. Comprised of lively, informative writing spiced with fascinating illustrations, The Guests of Ants highlights some of the most bizarre and unbelievable organisms on earth. I would have loved to have had such a book when I started my own research years ago.”―Konrad Fiedler, University of Vienna, Austria\n“An outstanding celebration of natural history as modern science. World-renowned scientist Bert Hölldobler and entomologist Christina Kwapich present a treasure trove of information about the ant nest microcosm, complete with spectacular photos of members on the colony’s guest list, including butterflies, worms, fungi, and more.”―Raghavendra Gadagkar, author of The Social Biology of Ropalidia marginata\n“This book provides a captivating, excellently illustrated overview of the complex interactions among ants and the many organisms who live inside their nests. A must-read for everyone who enjoys nature and the fascinating world of social insects.”―Jürgen Heinze, University of Regensburg\nA fascinating examination of socially parasitic invaders, from butterflies to bacteria, that survive and thrive by exploiting the communication systems of ant colonies.\nDown below, on sidewalks, in fallen leaves, and across the forest floor, a covert invasion is taking place. Ant colonies, revered and studied for their complex collective behaviors, are being infiltrated by tiny organisms called myrmecophiles. Using incredibly sophisticated tactics, various species of butterflies, beetles, crickets, spiders, fungi, and bacteria insert themselves into ant colonies and decode the colonies’ communication system. Once able to “speak the language,” these outsiders can masquerade as ants. Suddenly colony members can no longer distinguish friend from foe.\nPulitzer Prize–wi

The Guests of Ants: How Myrmecophiles Interact with Their Hosts

Kwapich, Christina L.

Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press

View a collection of videos on Professor Wilson entitled "On the Relation of Science and the Humanities" 
 Richly illustrated and delightfully written, Journey to the Ants combines autobiography and scientific lore to convey the excitement and pleasure the study of ants can offer. Bert Hölldobler and E. O. Wilson interweave their personal adventures with the social lives of ants, building, from the first minute observations of childhood, a remarkable account of these abundant insects' evolutionary achievement.

Journey to the Ants: A Story of Scientific Exploration

Biographies & Memoirs

Professionals & Academics

Belknap Press

Experimental behavioral ecology and sociobiology: In memoriam Karl von Frisch, 1886-1982

Book by Holldobler, Bert, Lindauer, Martin

Experimental Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology: In Memoriam Karl Von Frisch, 1886-1982

Lindauer, Martin

Sinauer Associates, Inc.

Ameisen Die Entdeckung einer faszinierenden Welt German Edition

Ameisen: Die Entdeckung einer faszinierenden Welt (German Edition)

Birkhauser

Plant-animal interactions have become a focus of ecological research, with the processes of herbivory being of special interest. This volume examines the interactions of leaf-cutting ants with the rainforest vegetation on Barro Colorado Islands in Central America. It is the synthesis of field research on multiple scales extending over a period of several years. This work can serve as a model study summarizing and extending knowledge about herbivorous insect-plant relationships, and the resulting consequences on structural and functional features of tropical ecosystems. The text is an invaluable reference for researchers and land managers working in the fields of plant-animal interactions, herbivory, community ecology and biodiversity.

Herbivory of Leaf-Cutting Ants: A Case Study on Atta colombica in the Tropical Rainforest of Panama (Ecological Studies, 164)

Beyschlag, Wolfram

Wirth, Rainer

Herz, Hubert

Ryel, Ronald J.

Springer

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.

The Ants

Knapp 20 Jahre nach dem Pulitzer Preis für „The Ants" präsentiert das weltberühmte Autorenteam, was Biologen in den vergangenen zwei Jahrzehnten über sozial lebende Insekten herausgefunden haben. Superorganismen sind Insektenkolonien, die sich durch altruistische Zusammenarbeit und komplexe Kommunikation auszeichnen. Die Autoren stellen die Evolution der Superorganismen dar und betrachten aufbauend darauf die bedeutenden Übergänge vom Molekül über die Zelle zum Organismus, zum Superorganismus, zur Population und schließlich zum Ökosystem.

Der Superorganismus: Der Erfolg von Ameisen, Bienen, Wespen und Termiten (German Edition)

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Wilson, Edward

Psychology & Counseling

Springer Spektrum

Plant-animal interactions have become a focus of ecological research, with the processes of herbivory being of special interest. This volume examines the interactions of leaf-cutting ants with the rainforest vegetation on Barro Colorado Islands in Central America. It is the synthesis of field research on multiple scales extending over a period of several years. This work can serve as a model study summarizing and extending knowledge about herbivorous insect-plant relationships, and the resulting consequences on structural and functional features of tropical ecosystems. The text is an invaluable reference for researchers and land managers working in the fields of plant-animal interactions, herbivory, community ecology and biodiversity.

Herbivory of Leaf-Cutting Ants: A Case Study on Atta colombica in the Tropical Rainforest of Panama (Ecological Studies)

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