Customer Reviews

The Fascinating World of Ants

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although the illustrations are very good, there are some big problems with the text, presumably due to errors in translation.

On page 4, in the figure and the caption, the section between the middle and hind parts of the ant is called a "peduncle." It is actually usually called a "petiole." That is a relatively minor point.

However, on page 10, the figure of the life cycle of the ant and the text, there is a much bigger problem. Ants have complete metamorphosis, which means their cycle is egg, larva, pupa, and adult. No stage in the ant life cycle is called a nymph. Nymph is a word used for insects that have incomplete metamorphosis, like grasshoppers or crickets. The figure should show an egg, then a larva, which is missing altogether from the figure (see page 18 for a larva), then a pupa, which is incorrectly labeled as a nymph and then the adults. These are major errors, and I have already seen another book on ants that has obviously used this book as a resource and perpetuated this error.

On page 14, a "spinner ant" is more commonly called a "weaver ant."

On page 20, the special worker honey ants that swell up as they store food are called "repletes" not "bottle workers."

Overall, I would say this is a beautiful, but flawed book and there are many other books on ants that are more accurate.

Have you ever wondered what makes these busy little creaturestick? This is an excellent beginner's guide to understanding how antswork and why they do the things they do. The text is geared toward children ages 9+. The pictures and illustrations are well done and provide a great deal of detail. This is a must have for a classroom studying ants or any classroom library.

This is an excellent addition to the Barron's science series for young people. This particular work is an introduction to the study of ants. The illustrations are very good and very accurate. All illustrations are in full color. The text, while simple and easy to understand, is quite scientifically accurate (for the most part) and goes perfectly with the colorful illustrations. This is the sort of work that I find students leafing through at odd times. It is an excellent choice to introduce your child to the study of these fascinating creatures. I highly recommend this one and the others in this series. As noted by other reviewers, there is some information that is not as accurate as it should be. To be quite frank though, it would take some one with consideratble knowledge in this area to be able to spot these errors and I doubt if the young reader will be much bothered by them.