| The Superorganism: The Beauty, Elegance, and Strangeness of Insect Societies Contributor(s): Hölldobler, Bert (Author), Wilson, Edward O. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0393067041 ISBN-13: 9780393067040 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company OUR PRICE: $49.50 Product Type: Hardcover Published: November 2008 Annotation: The Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of "The Ants" render the extraordinary lives of the social insects in this visually spectacular volume. "The Superorga |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Nature | Animals - Insects & Spiders - Science | Life Sciences - Zoology - Entomology |
| Dewey: 595.7 |
| LCCN: 2008038547 |
| Physical Information: 1.44" H x 7.98" W x 10.34" (3.52 lbs) 544 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The Superorganism promises to be one of the most important scientific works published in this decade. Coming eighteen years after the publication of The Ants, this new volume expands our knowledge of the social insects (among them, ants, bees, wasps, and termites) and is based on remarkable research conducted mostly within the last two decades. These superorganisms--a tightly knit colony of individuals, formed by altruistic cooperation, complex communication, and division of labor--represent one of the basic stages of biological organization, midway between the organism and the entire species. The study of the superorganism, as the authors demonstrate, has led to important advances in our understanding of how the transitions between such levels have occurred in evolution and how life as a whole has progressed from simple to complex forms. Ultimately, this book provides a deep look into a part of the living world hitherto glimpsed by only a very few. |
Contributor Bio(s): Holldobler, Bert: - Bert Hölldobler is Foundation Professor at Arizona State University and the recipient of numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize and the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize. He lives in Arizona and Germany.Wilson, Edward O.: - Edward O. Wilson is widely recognized as one of the world's preeminent biologists and naturalists. The author of more than thirty books, including Half-Earth, The Social Conquest of Earth, The Meaning of Human Existence, and Letters to a Young Scientist, Wilson is a professor emeritus at Harvard University. The winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, he lives with his wife, Irene Wilson, in Lexington, Massachusetts. |