A real eye opening read on everything you could want to know about ants. So many facts to make you stop and think. I enjoyed how each chapter studied the colony and the beautiful photo's visually explained it.
A book I enjoyed.

There was so much information in this book that i didnt know. So great to be able to get more information on these creatures!.

Empire of Ants by Olaf Frizsche and Susanne Foitzik is a great introduction into the fascinating and often surprising world of ants. The authors discuss a variety of species, many of whom have unique habits , and take the reader around the world and behind the scenes of what it is like to be a research scientist both in the field and in the lab. The writing style is clear and simple and any scientific detail is well explained without going into too much depth. While I had some very basic knowledge , I learned a lot while reading this book, the only thing I found surprising was the lack of illustration or photographs I have come to expect in books of this type.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Thank you, NetGalley, for letting me read this book.

A very readable account of the life of ants. There are a lot of ants, of different kinds, living fascinating lives right under our noses. This is a rundown of the ant greatest hits - it's actually quite amazing the way such simple animals have developed such complex lifestyles and solutions to problems - from developing anti-biotics to building dams and taking over most of Spain.

I would have liked more illustrations - I ended up Googling quite a few things just to see them for myself.

I didn't start out particularly interested in ants - but I am now, so I guess the book worked!

It's official Ants are epic, they may be small but they are mighty.

This book was easy to read, with the right level of information for the average person. The only thing ilI felt was missing weee photos, I wanted to know what a leaf cutters nest looked like, but the Internet was my friend but would of been 5 stars if they had been included.

Before reading this book I was unaware that there were so many ants!

I am someone who always watches out for and notes down the wildlife I see in our garden and yet somehow apart from the occasional interesting aphid farming activity I have spotted, I’m ashamed to say that ants had just passed me by.

This book is absolutely packed with stories of the various ways the 16,000 different ant species have evolved to survive on earth. It is presented in a very readable way with admittedly a fair amount of anthropomorphism (though not in a patronising or unscientific way) I wondered initially how someone might write a whole book on ants, but was left amazed how much information had been presented in one book and feel that it is a fantastic taster which has now got me very excited about trying to identify and find out more about the ants near me.

The book is very well referenced which I always appreciate in this type of non-fiction as it adds credibility to the writing and offers further reading opportunities.

Thank very much to Netgalley, the authors and publisher for the ARC.

I was offered this book as an ARC via NetGalley and found it to be a whistlestop tour through the often bizarre world of ants. This book reminded me a bit of the "Behind the Camera" segments of natural history programs in that there is a lot description on the life of a research scientist. Some of the species mentioned were fascinating but I found myself wishing that there were more photographs or illustrations of the more unusual phenomena such as the more quirky nest formations. Generally a light and quick read which is full of unusual information. The authors also signpost any sections that are particularly science heavy so that you can skip those sections if you find them too dense or intimidating.