Urban Ants of North America and Europe: Identification, Biology, and Management (Paperback)

by John Klotz (Author), Laurel Hansen (Author), Reiner Pospischil (Author), Michael Rust (Author)
Key Phrases: black garden, propodeal spines, velvety tree ants, United States, North America, Rocky Mts (more...)

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Product Description
Ants that commonly invade homes, damage structures, inflict painful bites, or sting humans or their pets are considered pest ants. This illustrated identification guide highlights forty species of ants that pose difficulties in urban settings. Included are well-known invasive troublemakers such as the red imported fire ant and Argentine ant, as well as native species.

After an introductory chapter on the evolution, biology, and ecology of pest ants, the book follows a taxonomic arrangement by subfamily. Each subfamily chapter includes separate illustrated keys to both the genera and species of that group to enable entomologists and pest control professionals to identify pest ants correctly. The species accounts cover biology, distribution, and methods for excluding and/or removing ants from human structures and landscapes. The authors focus on the ants' biology and nesting behavior, life cycles, and feeding preferences; an intimate understanding of these factors enables the implementation of the least toxic control methods available.

A chapter on control principles and techniques encompasses chemical strategies, habitat and structural modifications, biological control, and integrated pest management methods. Urban Ants of North America and Europe also contains valuable information on the diagnosis and treatment of human reactions to ant stings and bites. This comprehensive reference work on these economically significant ants includes the scientific, English, French, Spanish, and German names for each species and a summary of invasive ant species in the United States and Europe.

About the Author
John Klotz is Associate Extension Urban Entomology Specialist and Associate Entomologist at the University of California, Riverside. Laurel Hansen teaches biology, zoology, and pesticide education at Spokane Falls Community College and is an adjunct faculty member at Washington State University. Hansen and Klotz are coauthors of Carpenter Ants of the United States and Canada, also from Cornell. Reiner Pospischil trains pest-control operators and plans and supervises external tests of new pest-control products for Bayer CropScience, Environmental Science, in Monheim am Rhein, Germany. Michael Rust is Professor of Entomology at the University of California, Riverside.

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: Cornell University Press; illustrated edition edition (October 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801474736
• ISBN-13: 978-0801474736
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #469,513 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Please call management, the antz are in town, February 22, 2009

By	Ashtar Command "Functional atheist, philosoph... (Stockholm, Sweden) - See all my reviews

A MESSAGE FROM THE MOTHERHILL

If you think you can manage us, Johnnyboy, THINK AGAIN. We have been around longer than you and your primate cousins (chimps, whatever). California is ours, too. If you got a problem with that, Johnny, LEAVE THE PLANET. Don't believe me? Ask old Eddie the sociobiologist. He'll tell you, he he.

HA HA HA HA HA!