Ant architecture : the wonder, beauty, and science of underground nests / Walter R. Tschinkel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tschinkel, Walter R. (Walter Reinhart), 1940- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ants--Nests.

Ants.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 227 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2021]

Summary:

An unprecedented look at the complex and beautiful world of underground ant architectureWalter Tschinkel has spent much of his career investigating the hidden subterranean realm of ant nests. This wonderfully illustrated book takes you inside an unseen world where thousands of ants build intricate homes in the soil beneath our feet.Tschinkel describes the ingenious methods he has devised to study ant nests, showing how he fills a nest with plaster, molten metal, or wax and painstakingly excavates the cast. He guides you through living ant nests chamber by chamber, revealing how nests are created and how colonies function. How does nest architecture vary across species? Do ants have "architectural plans"? How do nests affect our environment? As he delves into these and other questions, Tschinkel provides a one-of-a-kind natural history of the planet's most successful creatures and a compelling firsthand account of a life of scientific discovery.Offering a unique look at how simple methods can lead to pioneering science, Ant Architecture addresses the unsolved mysteries of underground ant nests while charting new directions for tomorrow’s research, and reflects on the role of beauty in nature and the joys of shoestring science.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

CHAPTER 1 Soil, Ants, and Life Underground

CHAPTER 2 Revealing the Shape of Empty Spaces

CHAPTER 3 Meet the Architects

CHAPTER 4 An Inventory of Ant Nests

CHAPTER 5 Moving House

CHAPTER 6 A Diversity of Architectural Plans

CHAPTER 7 Ants and Soils

CHAPTER 8 Division of Labor and the Superorganism

CHAPTER 9 The Evolution of Nest Building by Ants

CHAPTER 10 Afterword: The Future

SELECTED REFERENCES

INDEX

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-691-21849-8

9780691218496

OCLC:

1196821109