ADVENTURES AMONG ANTS
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the General
Endowment Fund of the University of California Press Foundation.
University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu.
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2010 by Mark W. Moffett
Title page: A Bornean carpenter ant, Camponotus schmitzi, traveling along the spiral base of a pitcher plant. The ant fishes prey out of the liquid-filled pitcher of this carnivorous plant (see photograph on page 142).
Ogden Nash’s “The Ant” © 1935 by Ogden Nash is reprinted with permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd.
Design and composition: Jody Hanson
Text: 9.5/14 Scala
Display: Grotesque Condensed
Indexing: Victoria Baker
Printed through: Asia Pacific Offset, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Moffett, Mark W.
Adventures among ants : a global safari with a cast of trillions / Mark W. Moffett.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-520-26199-0 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Ants—Behavior. 2. Ant communities. 3. Ants—Ecology. I. Title.
QL568.F7M64 2010
595.79'615—dc22
2009040610
Manufactured in China
19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R 1997)
This book celebrates a triumvirate of extraordinary human beings:
Edward O. Wilson, and his elemental joy in the naturalist’s life;
Mary G. Smith, and her success at giving the field sciences their grandeur;
and Melissa W. Wells, and our partnership in this life of adventures
Contents
Introduction:Travels with My Ants
Marauder Ant, the Ultimate Omnivore
African Army Ant, Raiders on the Swarm
Weaver Ant, Empress of the Air
11. Negotiating the Physical World
13. Abduction in the Afternoon
Leafcutter Ant, the Constant Gardener
15. The Origins of Agriculture
