{"title":"Walter R. Tschinkel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWalter R. Tschinkel\u003c\/strong\u003e offers a fascinating exploration of insect societies, with a particular focus on ants. His works delve into the complex architecture and behaviour of these creatures, blending detailed scientific research with engaging storytelling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect insightful studies that illuminate the intricate relationship between form and function in nature. His books enrich the \u003cem\u003eScience \u0026amp; Nature\u003c\/em\u003e category by revealing the hidden worlds beneath our feet.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"ant-architecture-by-walter-r-tschinkel-9780691179315","title":"Ant Architecture","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWalter Tschinkel has spent much of his career investigating the hidden subterranean realm of ant nests. This wonderfully illustrated book takes you inside an unseen world where thousands of ants build intricate homes in the soil beneath our feet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTschinkel describes the ingenious methods he has devised to study ant nests, showing how he fills a nest with plaster, molten metal, or wax and painstakingly excavates the cast. He guides you through living ant nests chamber by chamber, revealing how nests are created and how colonies function. How does nest architecture vary across species? Do ants have \u003cem\u003earchitectural plans\u003c\/em\u003e? How do nests affect our environment? As he delves into these and other questions, Tschinkel provides a one-of-a-kind natural history of the planet's most successful creatures and a compelling firsthand account of a life of scientific discovery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOffering a unique look at how simple methods can lead to pioneering science, \u003cem\u003eAnt Architecture\u003c\/em\u003e addresses the unsolved mysteries of underground ant nests while charting new directions for tomorrow's research, and reflects on the role of beauty in nature and the joys of shoestring science.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46853970034924,"sku":"9780691179315","price":54.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/1780293482434.jpg?v=1759228849"},{"product_id":"the-fire-ants-by-walter-r-tschinkel-9780674072404","title":"The Fire Ants","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWalter Tschinkel's passion for fire ants has been stoked by over thirty years of exploring the rhythm and drama of \u003ci\u003eSolenopsis invicta\u003c\/i\u003e's biology. Since South American fire ants arrived in Mobile, Alabama, in the 1940s, they have spread to become one of the most reviled pests in the Sunbelt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eIn Fire Ants\u003c\/i\u003e, Tschinkel provides not just an encyclopedic overview of \u003ci\u003eS. invicta\u003c\/i\u003e—how they found colonies, construct and defend their nests, forage and distribute food, struggle among themselves for primacy, and even relocate entire colonies—but also a lively account of how research is done, how science establishes facts, and the pleasures and problems of a scientific career.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBetween chapters detailed enough for experts but readily accessible to any educated reader, \"interludes\" provide vivid verbal images of the world of fire ants and the people who study them. Early chapters describe the several failed, and heavily politically influenced, eradication campaigns, and later ones discuss the remarkable spread of \u003ci\u003eS. invicta\u003c\/i\u003e's \"polygyne\" form, in which nests harbour multiple queens and colonies reproduce by \"budding.\" The reader learns much about ants, the practice of science, and humans' role in the fire ant's North American success.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47487594397932,"sku":"9780674072404","price":109.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/c5fb490d746d77327df3463b0bc4668b.jpg?v=1775772971"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/walter-r-tschinkel.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}