Have you heard about the new ant books coming out this fall? 
Kingdom of Ants: José Celestino Mutis and the Dawn of Natural History by Edward O. Wilson and José M. Gómez Durán is about José Celestino Mutis’ exploration of northern South America in the 1760’s. Although he investigated and explored in a number of scientific fields, this book involves his study of, you guessed it, ants! It is due to be released October 21, 2010.
Hardcover: 120 pages
Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press; 1 edition
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0801897858
ISBN-13: 978-0801897856
If you can read Spanish, check José M. Gómez Durán’s blog.
Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct is the newest offering by Bert Hoelldobler and Edward O. Wilson. It is going to be a paperback and due to be released November 15, 2010. 
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Original edition
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0393338681
ISBN-13: 978-0393338683
Amazon seems to be offering a good pre-release price on the leafcutter ant one.
Sometimes it is hard to conceive how much ants move their colonies around. For example, this week a fairly large Forelius colony showed up in our yard.
Forelius are incredibly fast.
They do slow down when they find something interesting, like this dead honey bee.
What is on the honey bee’s wing? It had just rained so there’s water condensation.
I guess it could be refraction, but it looks almost like paint.
We also found the little ants will slow down for honey. Talk about exploding ants 
I hope these stay for awhile.
Any ants on the move in your area?
In another domain I reviewed a children’s book that I realized people might be interested in here. It a great beginning reader called 
Ants by Melissa Stewart.
Unlike some children’s books about ants, all the information appears current and accurate. In the margins are extremely silly riddles and puns, sure to catch the interest of young children. Most of the different kinds of ants are identified, but the names aren’t central to the text. If the child is curious about the ants in the photograph, he or she can find out what kind of ant it is.
Ants is part of the National Geographic Readers series. That means the lucky author has access to the fantastic photographs available in the National Geographic archives. Right away I recognized a couple of photographs by ant specialist and National Geographic photographer, Dr. Mark Moffett. What a visual treat!
If you know a child interested in nature and/or science, you might want to consider picking up this book.
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: National Geographic Children’s Books (January 12, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1426306083
ISBN-13: 978-1426306082
Additional posts children may find interesting:
Ants Fact of Fiction Quiz
The Little Black Ant
Kids’ Questions about Ants
