Collins New Naturalist Library
Ants should provide both the amateur naturalist and the professional zoologist with a valuable source of reference, and a fascinating account of the lives of an intriguing group of insects.Ants have always exercised a fascination that extends beyond the world of biology. They have attracted the attention of poets and dramatists, and also of those philosophers and political theorists who have envied their apparent industry and rigid and complex communal organisation. The social life of ants is indeed extraordinary. It forms the basis of their entire lives; an ant on its own has no chance of survival. Ants are the only group of insects in which there are no solitary species at all.In this book Dr Brian, the country's leading authority on ants, brings together the results of recent research (much of it his own) into the zoology, ecology and social life of the group. Dr Brian begins by discussing the relationship of ants to other insects, their anatomy and physiology, and then turns to the different species of British ant (with an identification key), feeding, including aphid 'farming' and the specialised role of the workers in acting as travelling food containers for the nest itself, the rearing of the young and the different caste systems (including the life history of the queen), the ecological significance of ants, and the role they play in the lives of other animals. Particular attention is paid to the importance of communication in the ant society, and there is a complete section of distribution maps - one for each of the 47 British Species - compiled according to the latest available data. There are 16 plates of black and white photographs and two colour plates of ant species specially painted for this volume by Gordon Riley.This book should provide both the amateur naturalist and the professional zoologist with a valuable source of reference, and a fascinating account of the lives of an intriguing group of insects.
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EDITORS:
John Gilmour M.A. V.M.H.
Margaret Davies D.Sc.
Kenneth Mellanby C.B.E. Sc.D.
PHOTOGRAPHIC EDITOR:
Eric Hosking O.B.E. Hon. F.R.P.S. F.I.I.P.
The aim of this series is to interest the general reader in the wild life of Britain by recapturing the inquiring spirit of the old naturalists. The editors believe that the natural pride of the British public in the native fauna and flora, to which must be added concern for their conservation, is best fostered by maintaining a high standard of accuracy combined with clarity of exposition presenting the results of modern scientific research.
William Collins
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF WilliamCollinsBooks.com
This eBook edition published by William Collins in 2018
© M. V. Brian The author asserts his moral rights to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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Source ISBN: 9780007308378
Ebook Edition © DECEMBER 2018 ISBN: 9780007406470
Version: 2019-01-09
CONTENTS
facing page
2. Tapinoma, Lasius niger, Lasius flavus, Lasius fuliginosus, Formica rufa, Formica fusca
Painted by Gordon Riley
1. Aphids in excavated Lasius flavus nest (Michael Tweedie)
facing page
Aphids attended by Myrmica workers (Michael Tweedie)
2. Formica rufa workers tending aphid colony (Walther Rohdich/Frank W. Lane)
Formica rufa worker “milking” an aphid (Stephen Dalton/N.H.P.A.)
3. Workers attacking a worm (Stephen Dalton/N.H.P.A.)
Workers attempting to immobilise a caterpillar (Harold Doering/Frank W. Lane)
4. Mound of Formica rufa (Stephen Dalton/N.H.P.A.)
Formica rufa on the surface of their nest (Michael Tweedie/N.H.P.A.)
5. Workers of Formica rufa carrying a leaf (Stephen Dalton/N.H.P.A.)
Single worker carrying pine needle (Harold Doering/Frank W. Lane
6. Rubber cast of Tetramorium caespitum nest (M. V. Brian)
Rubber cast of Lasius alienus nest (M. V. Brian)
Rubber cast of Lasius niger nest (M. V. Brian)
Rubber cast of Formica fusca nest (M. V. Brian)
Ant in defence attitude (Stephen Dalton/N.H.P.A.)
Ant in threatening posture (Harold Doering/Frank W. Lane)
8. Artificial nest containing Myrmica (Michael Tweedie)
Myrmica workers licking and feeding larvae (Michael Tweedie)
Myrmica workers polishing larvae (Michael Tweedie)
Myrmica nest showing clusters of eggs and pupae (Michael Tweedie)
9. Winged sexuals and workers of Lasius flavus (Stephen Dalton/N.H.P.A.)
Workers of Lasius flavus with large sexual larvae (Stephen Dalton/N.H.P.A.)
10. A worker Lasius niger dragging a cocoon (Michael Tweedie)
Lasius niger worker with larva (Michael Tweedie)
11. Lasius flavus mounds in limestone grassland (M. V. Brian)
Close-up of Lasius flavus mound (M. V. Brian)
12. Lasius flavus mounds in sandy soil (M. V. Brian)
Close-up of Lasius flavus mound and heathers (M. V. Brian)
13. Worker of Formica rufa being attacked by Lasius flavus (Stephen Dalton/N.H.P.A.)
Workers of Formica rufa attacking a hostile alien (Stephen Dalton/N.H.P.A.)
14. Formica rufa worker swollen with honey-dew (Stephen Dalton/N.H.P.A.)
Food exchange between Formica rufa workers (Stephen Dalton/N.H.P.A.)
15. Workers of Formica rufa restraining winged sexual (Stephen Dalton/N.H.P.A.)
Winged sexual captured by workers (Stephen Dalton/N.H.P.A.)
Workers of Formica rufa capturing a fly (Stephen Dalton/N.H.P.A.)
16. Formica rufa worker carrying another (Harold Doering/Frank W. Lane)
Formica rufa worker carrying a worm (Harold Doering/Frank W. Lane)
This series has always tried to give a balanced and authoritative account of a subject of interest to the general reader who is concerned with the countryside, and who wishes to know more about its fauna and flora. In Dr M. V. Brian we have an author who is recognized as the foremost authority in Britain on ants. Over a period of nearly thirty years, first as a lecturer in zoology in the University of Glasgow, and since 1953 with the Nature Conservancy at Furzebrook Research Station in Dorset, he has studied social insects in general and ants in particular. His most intensive studies in recent years have been on the heathlands of southern England, but he is also familiar with the species restricted to other parts of the country. He has written more than seventy original scientific papers describing his research, and has clearly contributed greatly to the advancement of knowledge of this group.
