The Ant Planet

The renowned myrmecologist and founder of sociobiology, Edward Wilson, wrote this book based on his nearly 80 years of experience studying ants. These remarkable insects live in communities that, in their structure and diversity, can be compared to human societies. However, while describing their behavior and social life, the author notes that ants are far from perfect from the perspective of human morality: it is a completely female world, where the fate of males is unenviable; at the same time, they are quite warlike, slavery and parasitism thrive among them, and even cannibalism. At the same time, their complex joint actions and the need to navigate space require developed intelligence and communication, which is based on pheromones. The book discusses the vast diversity of these insects. The scientist notes that the ant world is full of white spots. Currently, the species well-studied from the perspective of their natural history and biology make up only a tiny fraction of the more than 15,000 species of ants known to science, and thousands more species remain undiscovered.