“Are we the sole rulers of this world? This wonderful book brings our tiny co-rulers alive via an engaging description of ants’ cities, hard work, warfare, royalty, diversity, and ecological impact. These insects may be quite different from us, but their societies are eerily similar.”—Frans de Waal, author of Mama’s Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us About Ourselves and Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

“If you ever wanted to travel to an exotic planet filled with strange life forms—you’ve arrived. Every page of Empire of Ants brims with astonishing stories and facts that could never have been invented by a human mind. Ants live with us in an almost parallel universe of small-scale powers that exert major influence on how living things conduct their lives on Earth. The range of sizes, abilities, societies, quirks, and ecological roles that ants have evolved is mind-boggling. And so is this absolutely amazing, beautifully written book.”—Carl Safina, author of Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace and Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel

“This is a charming tribute to the ‘little creatures that run the world.’ A very personal selection of the many wonders discovered in the world of ants that introduces readers to their fascinating lives.”—Bert Hölldobler, University Professor and Regents' Professor at Arizona State University, behavioral biologist, and coauthor of The Superorganism and Pulitzer Prize–winning The Ants

“Susanne Foitzik and Olaf Fritsche have you enter a whole new universe worthy of a science fiction novel, yet it exists right at your feet.”—Mark W. Moffett, author of The Human Swarm and Adventures Among Ants

“This highly entertaining book makes it clear that Mother Nature has been having a wildly fun time molding these social insects into an abundance of behavioral and physical expression.”—Jonathan Balcombe, author of What a Fish Knows and Super Fly