Erich Hoyt is a whale and dolphin researcher, conservationist, lecturer and author of 22 books and more than 600 reports, articles and papers
YA-A description of the life cycles of several species of ants found at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica is combined with biographical sketches of myrmecologists William L. Brown of Cornell and Edward O. Wilson of Harvard (author of the classic The Ants). The portrait of Wilson is particularly informative and interesting, presenting a realistic view of a talented scientist's professional progress. The book includes a glossary, an index to the Latin and common names of the insects (as well as their families), a chronology of the development of the ant species and human study of them, and a list of professional societies. This book will appeal to YAs with a keen interest in science or nature.-Clodagh Lee, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
The publication in 1990 of Burt Hölldobler and Edward O. Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Ants (Belknap: Harvard Univ.) sparked a revival of interest in the intricate world of ants and the myrmecologists who study them. That book's success set the stage for several popular books on ants, including Journey to the Ants (LJ 9/1/94) by the same authors. The latter blends autobiography with a fascinating overview of ant diversity and will be complemented nicely by the present work by Hoyt, which reveals in more detail the everyday lives of selected ant species and explains why biologists regard ant colonies as superorganisms. Here we follow individual colonies of ants from their initiation through growth and expansion. We observe the relationships among colony members and their communication system, as well as the interactions between them and the unrelated creatures that follow and/or live with them. We witness the ants' encounters with other ant species and with field biologists whose own life stories are skillfully woven into the account. Recommended for most public libraries.-Annette Aiello, Smithsonian Tropical Research Inst., Panama
At La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica's tropical rain forest, two eminent myrmecologists, E. O. Wilson and William Brown Jr., are searching for new species of ants. Hoyt (Seasons of the Whale) joins them to explore the world of the ant. He has written an informative and entertaining account of ant societies and the scientists who study them. The author follows three generations of a leaf-eater colony, a complex society that cultivates a fungus garden underground. We meet two colonies of Aztec ants, battling for control of a single crecopia tree. There are little fire ants, swarm-raiders and army ants. Hoyt describes nuptial flights, warfare and natural disasters (floods), noting that ant behavior can change dramatically according to ecological conditions. There are stories of deception, cooperation and slavery. Readers who enjoyed Journey to the Ants (Bert Holldobler and E. O. Wilson) will find this book a valuable complement. Illustrations. (Mar.)
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