Human Culture and Ants
We are all aware of ants. Every society has a word of ants. They have influenced human culture in the past and present. Biblical references to the industriousness of ants, the creation stories of the Navajo, and ads that state how an exterminator can destroy "all those colonies of unwanted ants" are but some of the examples of how our interactions with ants may be explored in this area of the blog.
Books
The amount of literature on ants is extensive, and ranges from proverbs and stories of old to the writings and findings of past and modern day researchers and authors. We have separated this literature into the categories of Non-fiction, Fiction, Quotations and Proverbs, Children's Books and Comics.
Fiction
Ants are not only a focus for studies and tomes written in the world of academia. They have made their way in the fiction realm and used as characters in storytelling for hundred of years. They can range from antagonistic creatures with dark and mysterious ways, to that of the hero come to save the day.
List of major fiction books on ants
| Title | Author | Year of Publication | Publisher | Language | Subject | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthill: A Novel | Wilson, Edward O. | 2010 | Norton Press | English | Conservation | Alabama boy enthralled with ants |
| Ant Heap, The | Dethier, Vincent G. | 1979 | The Darwin Press | English | Natural History | Humor |
Movies
The number of movies that ants have been a part of span many decades and many genres of film. We have separated these films into the categories of Staring Role, where ants are the feature players; Supporting Cast, where ants may not be the stars, but there is a good chance they steal the show; and Cameo Appearance, where an ant, or a lot of ants, have a small guest staring role that is short, but memorable.
A Bug’s Life (1998, rated G: General Audiences)
"I'm lost! Where's the line? It just went away. What do I do? What do I do?" - a worker ant panicking after a leaf falls in front of him in the food line. (A Bug’s Life, 1998)
 |
| I grew up watching this! |
THEM! (1954, Not Rated)
One of the most iconic atomic age films from 1950s, THEM! stars an army of mutated ants running amok in the state of New Mexico. However, at first, the people in the area do not know that giant ants are about; they only know there is something out there that is reeking havoc. It is during such an investigation that state troopers find a young girl lost and in a total state of shock. While being treated by some nearby doctors, the little girl snaps out of her stupor and begins to shout repeatedly, “THEM!” It is therefore up to an entomologist, scientists, state troopers, an F.B.I. agent, and the U.S. Army and Air Force to stop these creates from populating and taking over the world.
Ant-Man (expected 2015)
A well known character in the Marvel Universe or several decades, Ant-Man is getting the live action, feature length film treatment along with such comic heroes as Thor, Iron Man and Captain America. Though he isn’t part man, part ant, he has the ability to shrink himself to particle size and fight evil ... and he may also have the assistance of his own private army of ants.
Documentaries
There are a plethora of non-fiction books on ants.These texts are often written with either the academic or the layman in mind as the audience.
Title
Author
Year of Publication
Publisher
Language
Subject
Notes
Behavioural Ecology of Ants, The
Sudd, John Hilton & Franks, Nigel R.
1987
Blackie; Chapman and Hall
English
Behavior and Ecology
Written for the academic.
Bibliography of Ant Systematics, A
Ward, Philip S.; Bolton, Barry, Shattuck, Seven O. & Brown, William L. Jr.
1996
University of California Press
English
Bibliography
Updated on AntCat and Antwiki on the web
Articles
Many articles has been published about ants, mostly from a biological standpoint.
List of major non-fiction books on ants
Title
Author
Year of Publication
Publisher
Language
Subject
Notes
Ants: Standard Methods for Measuring and Monitory Biodiversity
Agosti, Donat,; Majer, Jonathan,; Alonso, Leeane & Schultz, Ted R.
2000
Smithsonian Institution Press
English
Biodiversity
Technical compilation of techniques for studying ants
Ants of Southern Australia, The: A Guide to the Bassian Fauna
Andersen, Alan N.
1991
CSIRO Pub.
English
Identification Guide
Keys to genera
Misrepresentation of Facts
The concept of swarm intelligence and hive minds has captured the imaginations of film makers and horror and science-fiction writers. A quick Google search for headlines about swarming bees and ants is enough to show the fear that the non-entomological public seem to have for these natural, and essentially harmless, phenomena e.g this story from last month about a grandmother being chased by bees, or this scare story from last year about flying ants. The use of negative imagery associated with social insects has not just been the prerogative of film-makers. When Billy Graham opened the 1952 US Senate with a prayer he warned against the ‘barbarians beating at our gates from without and the moral termites from within” and Sir Winston Churchill also referred to the hive mind of the communist threat (Biskind,1983).
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