The Insect Societies

"The Insect Societies is a book by the most famous entomologist in 50 years. Edward O Wilson is a myrmecologist – that means he’s enamoured of ants, and it’s not difficult to understand why. Most insects are solitary. Ants are one of the few species among the 900,000 who are social. The elaborate social systems of some insects are amazing. Termites can build nests that tower over people. Honeybees live in communes of 30,000 to 50,000 individuals. The brilliant thing about The Insect Societies is that EO Wilson distills down the essence of social behaviour across all of these organisms. He finds the commonalities and the unique attributes of insect societies. And he writes about them in absolutely captivating prose. He is such a superb writer. Many might argue that he has written other books with a greater scientific impact – he basically created the field of sociobiology – but I think it all started with this book. It is crystal clear and so fascinating. He rooted out every interesting example that existed at the time and integrated them into a seamless story about how organisms learn to cooperate. Social insects have a disproportionate influence on the planet relative to other species. They outweigh most other organisms, including humans. They change the physical features of the environment through their social activities and their collective ability to do amazing things such as build enormous structures. And, as EO Wilson showed, social insects help us understand how organisms can get along and work collectively. Flying is pretty impressive. They are the only organisms on the planet that have managed to fly without giving up a pair of appendages. Birds and bats had to give up a pair of limbs to fly, but insects didn’t. Being able to fly took insects everywhere. They’re tiny creatures, not as big as most other vertebrates. But this ability to fly means they can exploit resources that are unpredictable in time and space. They can find food in far-flung places and escape from their enemies. They can fly thousands of miles. Monarch butterflies are capable of migrating at least a thousand miles. Can you imagine walking that far, especially if you have six little tiny legs? I find them endlessly entertaining. That’s one reason I’m an entomologist. I’m supposed to be a serious scientist and there are serious aspects to the research that I’m involved in, but I’m not a serious scientist because insects are just hilarious and inspiring. Superlative questions, though, are tough. I’ll tell you two: A termite walks into a bar and asks: “Is the bartender here? Is the bar tender here?” A man walks into a doctor’s office and says, “Doctor, you gotta help me. I think I’m a moth.” The doctor says, “It’s clear you have a problem, but I’m a pediatrician not a psychiatrist. Why did you come here?” The man says, “The light was on.”"