Tales from the Ant World by Edward O. Wilson
Follow along as this author recalls his lifetime with ants, from his first boyhood encounters to perilous journeys into the Brazilian rainforest.
Liveright, 2020.
The Sustainability Book Club met on May 1 to discuss Tales from the Ant World by Edward O. Wilson. The group was amazed to learn about the author’s lifelong work searching the world for ants—and that he didn’t seem to mind the bites! After reading the book, members said they still don’t like ants marching through their kitchens, but they’re paying a little more attention to these small critters.
From the publisher:
”In Tales from the Ant World, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Wilson takes us on a myrmecological tour to such far-flung destinations as Mozambique and New Guinea, the Gulf of Mexico’s Dauphin Island and even his parent’s overgrown backyard, thrillingly relating his nine-decade-long scientific obsession with over 15,000 ant species.
Animating his scientific observations with illuminating personal stories, Wilson hones in on 25 ant species to explain how these genetically superior creatures talk, smell, and taste, and more significantly, how they fight to determine who is dominant. Wryly observing that “males are little more than flying sperm missiles” or that ants send their “little old ladies into battle,” Wilson eloquently relays his brushes with fire, army, and leafcutter ants, as well as more exotic species. Among them are the very rare Matabele, Africa’s fiercest warrior ants, whose female hunters can carry up to 15 termites in their jaw (and, as Wilson reports from personal experience, have an incredibly painful stinger); Costa Rica’s Basiceros, the slowest of all ants; and New Caledonia’s Bull Ants, the most endangered of them all, which Wilson discovered in 2011 after over twenty years of presumed extinction.”
Grab a copy of Tales from the Ant World to read about these fascinating insects.
The Sustainability Book Club
Join a small group of avid readers who meet monthly to engage in lively discussions focused on books about sustainability. The club meets at 6:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month on Zoom. Contact us to join!
