Bert Hölldobler is the Robert A. Johnson Professor in Social Insect Research at Arizona State University. He was previously Professor of Biology and Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology at Harvard University and subsequently held the chair for Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology at the University of Würzburg, Germany. He is an elected member of many academies, including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the US National Academy of Sciences, and the German National Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina. He has received many awards, among them the Pulitzer Prize for The Ants, coauthored with E. O. Wilson. Edward O. Wilson was Pellegrino University Professor, Emeritus, at Harvard University. In addition to two Pulitzer Prizes (one of which he shares with Bert Hölldobler), Wilson has won many scientific awards, including the National Medal of Science and the Crafoord Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

• 1. The Importance of Ants 2. Classification and Origins 3. The Colony Life Cycle 4. Altruism and the Origin of the Worker Caste 5. Colony Odor and Kin Recognition 6. Queen Numbers and Domination 7. Communication 8. Caste and Division of Labor 9. Social Homeostasis and Flexibility 10. Foraging Strategies, Territory, and Population Regulation 11. The Organization of Species Communities 12. Symbioses among Ant Species 13. Symbioses with Other Arthropods 14. Symbioses between Ants and Plants 15. The Specialized Predators 16.The Army Ants 17. The Fungus Growers 18. The Harvesting Ants 19. Weaver Ants 20. Collecting, Culturing, Observing Glossary Bibliography Acknowledgments Index

A monumental achievement, the last word in myrmecology, the study of ants… It is likely the average adult…will be intrigued by passages about these ubiquitous and complicated creatures.