Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Ants
Don’t you just hate it when you’re at a community or public function and you are floundering around for something to talk about? Do you feel like you don’t fit in to any special stereotype in your circle of friends, such as the funny one or the drama queen? Well, never fear because the newest book out by Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice, a well-respected myrmecologist, or an entomologist specializing in ants, “Dr. Eleanor’s Book of Common Ants,” solves all of those problems and more! What better example of a social society do we have than the prolific ant? While they all may seem the same to you, all ants have unique personalities, ranging from the team player to charismatic charmer. Have fun trying to figure out which type of ant you are: the jock or the more silent, bookish type! How would you fit into the group and do fit into your current social group? Not only can you find who you are within these pages, but you will never be left without anything to impress your audience with again. Has the atmosphere grown awkwardly silent in the room? Just bring out one of your many new and fascinating facts about ants. You’re sure to win over any crowd with these showstoppers!
Dr. Spicer Rice considers these tiny insects anything but pests, and in her new book you can learn everything you could have ever wanted to know about common ants. She explores the many common indoor and outdoor ants, looking at how their unique behaviors relate to the greater ecological system. For example, some ants are meant to keep the pest population in check, while others help plant seeds that make up and sustain almost half of the plants in our forests. Included in the book are many unexpected facts about ants that will surprise you.
Some ants communicate with each other alternative methods such as giving a knock on another ant’s head and vomiting on them. When trailing ants meet along a trail, the ant coming from the nest first taps the other one on the head, after which the other ant will vomit a bit of food into the first one’s mouth. This charming custom is referred to as trophallaxis. If the first ant decides they like the taste of the vomit, then he or she will continue down that trail and lay down more trail pheromone, strengthening the trail into a kind of ant highway. Learn this and much more in Dr. Spicer Rice’s new book.
What is the strangest fact you know about ants?
