Planet of the Ants. Edward Wilson

The famous Mirmecologist, founder of sociobiology, Edward Wilson, summarizes his 80 years of experience in studying ants and tells us amazing stories about insects that we usually do not notice. Ants play a much greater role in the formation of ecosystems than we imagine. The total weight of all living ants is approximately equal to the weight of all people on earth, and their number is about 10 quadrillions, so it is not known who is the true master of our planet. Describing their habits and social life, the author notes that ants are far from perfection from the point of view of human morality: this is a completely female world in which the fate of males is unenviable, while they are very belligerent, their slavery, parasitism and even cannibalism flourish. At the same time, their complex joint actions and the need to navigate in space require developed intelligence and communication, which is based on pheromones. The book tells about the enormous diversity of these insects, among which there are species living in
Symbiosis with plants, nomadic species, all destroying in their path, ants engaged in agriculture-“livestock” and growing mushrooms ... E. Wilson gives many interesting facts from his life and the life of other scientists, telling, telling, For example, about the search for the ant of the beginning of time. The book is written with great love for nature, the author calls us to love and understand these hardworking crumbs, living side by side with us