Dr. Eleanor's Book of Common Ants

Eleanor Spicer Rice; Alex Wild; Rob Dunn

Eleanor Spicer Rice, Alex Wild and Rob Dunn

Dr. Eleanor's Book of Common Ants

University of Chicago Press | 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7208/9780226445953

Overview
Contents

About this book

Did you know that for every human on earth, there are about one million ants? They are among the longest-lived insects—with some ant queens passing the thirty-year mark—as well as some of the strongest. Fans of both the city and countryside alike, ants decompose dead wood, turn over soil (in some places more than earthworms), and even help plant forests by distributing seeds. But while fewer than thirty of the nearly one thousand ant species living in North America are true pests, we cringe when we see them marching across our kitchen floors.

No longer! In this witty, accessible, and beautifully illustrated guide, Eleanor Spicer Rice, Alex Wild, and Rob Dunn metamorphose creepy-crawly revulsion into myrmecological wonder. Emerging from Dunn’s ambitious citizen science project Your Wild Life (an initiative based at North Carolina State University), Dr. Eleanor’s Book of Common Ants provides an eye-opening entomological overview of the natural history of species most noted by project participants—and even offers tips on keeping ant farms in your home. 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.

Author information

Eleanor Spicer Rice (www.verdantword.com) is an entomologist and writer living in Raleigh, North Carolina, whose newspaper and magazine topics range from belly button biodiversity to blue crabs in bath tubs. She received her PhD in entomology from North Carolina State University. Alex Wild (www.alexanderwild.com) is a wildlife photographer and curator of entomology at the University of Texas, Austin. Rob Dunn is a biologist and writer at North Carolina State University. He is the author of Every Living Thing: Man’s Obsessive Quest to Catalog Life, from Nanobacteria to New Monkeys; The Wild Life of Our Bodies: Predators, Parasites, and Partners That Shape Who We Are Today; and The Man Who Touched His Own Heart: True Tales of Science, Surgery, and Mystery.

Reviews

“An elegant little book. Spicer Rice’s style is clear, fluid, and engaging. (I’m fond of the way she described winnow ants as ‘rusty ballerinas.’) What makes it especially lovely is the abundance of photographs by Alex Wild, the Ansel Adams of arthropods. I heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to appreciate the miniature beauty and complexity of ants. And I hope that Dr. Eleanor’s Book of Common Ants inspires other citizen science projects.”

— Carl Zimmer, National Geographic’s “The Loom”

“Ant genetics and reproduction are complex topics, but Spicer Rice makes it easy to understand with minimal jargon. The species descriptions seem like stories about eccentric and entertaining relatives, rather than ants.”

— Gwen Pearson, WIRED

“Really cool. . . . With incredible pics from Alex Wild. . . . Definitely worth checking out.”

— Jonathan Eisen, University of California, Davis, Tree of Life

“Entomologist Dr. Eleanor doesn’t make the mistake of humanizing ants, but she does elevate the tiny insects into a realm of fascination.”

— Los Angeles Times

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
Contents Free access PDF PDF	v
Preface Free access PDF PDF	vii
Introduction. Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	1
01 Carpenter Ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	11
02 Pavement Ant (Tetramorium sp.E) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	17
03 Odorous House Ant (Tapinoma sessile) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	21
04 Winter Ant (Prenolepis imparis) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	28
05 Asian Needle Ant (Brachyponera chinensis) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	34
06 Winnow Ant (Aphaenogaster rudis) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	40
07 Big Headed Ant (Pheidole spp.) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	45
08 Southern Fire Ant (Solenopsis xyloni) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	50
09 Little Black Ant (Monomorium minimum) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	55
10 Thief Ant (Solenopsis molesta) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	59
11 High Noon Ant (Forelius pruinosus) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	63
12 Lasius Ant (Lasius spp.) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	68
13 Field Ant (Formica spp.) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	74
14 Argentine Ant (Linepithema humile) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	79
15 Red Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	85
16 Crazy Ant (Nylanderia spp.) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	89
17 Trap-jaw Ant (Strumigenys spp.) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	94
18 Acrobat Ant (Crematogaster spp.) Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	99
Frequently Asked Questions Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	105
How to Keep Ants at Home Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	110
Acknowledgments Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	125
Glossary Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	127
Additional Resources Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	135

Dr. Eleanor's Book of Common Ants

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