An unprecedented look at the complex and beautiful world of underground ant architecture

Walter 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.

About the Author
Walter R. Tschinkel is professor emeritus of biological science at Florida State University and a world authority on ant biology. He is the author of The Fire Ants. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida.

Reviews
"Winner of the PROSE Award in Biological Sciences, Association of American Publishers"
"It is said that science is a process, not just a collection of data, and Tschinkel's book is a highly entertaining expression of that truism as well as 'the enormous effort it takes to establish a few simple scientific facts.'"---Laurence A. Marschall, Natural History
"This beautifully illustrated, very well-written, and sometimes humorous account of Tschinkel's research life and investigations is well worth a look."---J. M. Gonzalez, Choice
"This is an excellent popular science book and I recommend it highly to biologists of all ages and all levels of experience. Ingenious and enjoyable!"---Andrew Wakeham-Dawson, Entomologists Monthly Magazine
"I would recommend this book to all scientists, but especially to young people, even high school students, as a guide to scientific thinking. Lessons abound."---John Longino, American Entomologist
"Absent Prof. Tschinkel's castings, appreciation of the complexity and true magnificence of the structures created by ants would be very difficult indeed for even an expert. Which is why we are so fortunate that he has pioneered this technique that he shares with his reader in Ant Architecture, enabling us all to obtain a better understanding of both the structures ants create as well as the lives they live within them."---Johannes E. Riutta, The Well-Read Naturalist



Book Information
ISBN 9780691179315
Author Walter R. Tschinkel
Format Hardback
Page Count 248
Imprint Princeton University Press
Publisher Princeton University Press