Product Description

This book concentrates particularly on ant species likely to be found in the garden or on a ramble in the countryside. The most striking aspect of ant biology is their social behaviour. This and its effects on the environment are considered.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #144754 in Books
• Published on: 1987-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 24 pages

About the Author
Dr Skinner did not develop his interest in biology until doing a degree in chemistry at university. This was translated into an interest in the insect world, the most abundant single group in nature. After carrying out research at Lancaster University on the interactions of Red Wood Ants with their environment he entered the teaching profession.

Customer Reviews

amazing
Having suffered yet again another invasion of ants in my home I wanted to know more about these tiny creatures so bought this book. I have learnt so much about them from it, there's over 10,000 species of ant in the world, and in Britain there are around 50 different of species ant alone some of which use stings or squirt formic acid as a defense mechanism. Some more of the fascinating facts about ants from the book include that some ants tend and milk various aphids in order to extract the honey dew and at the height of the season in late May they will bring back to the nest around half a pound of aphid sugar (honeydew) a day which is astounding! The Workerless Ant (Anergates atraulus) no longer has workers of its own species but uses those of another species to do its work and the Queen Wood Ant can live up to 15 years old! The book of only 24 pages has good illustrations, plenty good clear concise colour photographs and is an extremely unusual fascinating read jammed full of facts and information. However there was nothing on ant mortuary practice in the book which is a shame as this is an aspect that I find fascinating having watched them collect their dead and carry them back to the nest.

Small book; nice pictures but no detailed information
Although I am no doubt biased on all ant books having read the works of H. St. J. K. Donisthorpe (against which none other can compare), this book comes at the lower end of the spectrum.
Aimed at complete novices with no knowledge of ants, this tiny book contains only the most basic information on the most common species, and is certainly not the place to look if you require any detailed facts.
However, it is completely jargon free, so would no doubt suit a layman with a passing interest in ants, simply as a whetter of the appetite.
It also costs virtually nothing! So, if you find ants mildly interesting and don't want to bother knowing what parapsidal furrows or aedeagal apodemes are, by all means buy this book. But if you want real, meaty information on the subject, buy a decent ant book! Sadly "British Ants: their life history and classification" is no longer in print, but it would still take the top slot as the most readable, interesting, well-written and detailed book on the subject.

A WONDERFUL book, by a wonderful man
As a close friend of Gary's, I know full well what he is capable of, yet in this book he outdoes himself several times over! It is always a pleasure to speak to Gary, and this book brings out the very best of both his innate knowledge of the subject, and his dry wit. I cannot belive that the reviewer above has read the book, as he is clearly wrong. On my desert island, I would scrap the holy bible, and take this book!!!