Promotional Information

A clear introduction for the interested but non-specialist British naturalist to all things ant.

Table of Contents

Preface

1 What’s so special about ants?
2 What is an ant?
3 The ants of Britain and Ireland
4 Evolution of ants
5 Being an everyday ant
6 The rise of the colony
7 Human interactions with ants
8 Ant interactions with other species
9 Ants in the landscape
10 How to study ants

Appendix: Identification key
Glossary
References
Illustration credits
Acknowledgements
Index

About the Author

Richard Jones is a nationally acclaimed entomologist, a fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, fellow of the Linnean Society, and past president of the British Entomological and Natural History Society. He has been fascinated by wildlife since a childhood exploring the South Downs and Sussex Weald in search of plants and insects. He now writes about insects, nature and the environment for BBC Wildlife, Gardeners’ World, Countryfile, The Sunday Times, New Scientist and the Guardian and has regular television and radio appearances on programmes such as Home Planet, Woman’s Hour, Natural Histories, Open Country and Springwatch Unsprung. Richard has written several books on science and wildlife including Nano Nature, Extreme Insects, The Little Book of Nits, House Guests: House Pests, Call of Nature and the Beetles volume in the New Naturalist series.

Reviews

I didn’t think I wanted to know much about ants but I was drawn into this book by the tales that the author tells and the way he tells them. It’s a treat.
*Mark Avery*

Readable, popular and amusing.
*British Wildlife*

Entomologist and author Richard Jones brings his expertise and accessible writing to the latest book in the British Wildlife Collection series. This time the focus is on the “easily overlooked and usually misunderstood” ants, and why they are so extraordinary.
*BBC Wildlife*

Full of the passion, depth and excitement that only a genuine ant expert and enthusiast could convey … Jones has poured a lot of his life and a good dollop of soul into this book.
*Royal Entomological Society*

There is something here to suit all exponents of natural history, from the curious beginner to the seasoned entomologist. The author easily captures the attention of the most casual ant-watcher.
*British Wildlife*

The latest from the excellent Bloomsbury Wildlife Collection.
*Stephen Moss*

Jones covers a good deal of territory, and the book is an amalgam of many parts...all are enhanced through the excellent use of illustrations, including many colour photographs of ants and other arthropods; reproductions from historical, scientific, artistic, and cultural sources; and line drawings of physical characters...The writing is lively and accessible...and the inevitable technical aspects (haplodiploidy, for example) are lucidly presented. The book is a fine addition to the libraries of myrmecophiles at any level, and especially those engaged in field observations and citizen science.
*The Canadian Field-Naturalist*