The Fire Ants
Walter R. Tschinkel
The Belknap Press of Howard University Press
Cambridge MA
2006; 723 pp.
ISBN: 0-674-02207-6
$95.00 (Hard Cover)
This book, covering Imported Fire Ants (IFA), consists of five broad
chapters each broken into 5-8 subchapters. The subchapters range from
two to nearly 30 pages, many of which are preceded by an introduction or
followed by an “Interlude,” so they appear as additional chapters. These
interludes sometimes provide insight to the next chapter. However, in
most instances the “interlude” relates to either the author’s
experiences or anecdotes regarding his students. The anecdotes shed
light on the experiences of graduate students in a typical research
laboratory. Other interludes relate to colleagues. Some of these are
humorous and others are more serious. Overall, these are fun to read and
illuminate how science sometimes operates for those who haven’t
experienced research first-hand. The interludes are certainly directed
to the general reader, but most science practitioners will relate to
many of them.
The book begins with an overview of IFA biology, anatomy, and history of
invasion. This first chapter presents why IFA are an important organism
to entomologists and the public and primes the reader for more in-depth
discussion covered later in the book. The second chapter focuses on many
of the trials and tribulations faced during the life of an IFA colony.
Specifically, shelter, space, food, mating and colony founding, various
aspects of colony growth, and reproduction are discussed. This
information is followed by a series of subchapters that introduce how
IFA communicate and interact within the colony. The topic of polygyny
has had crucial implications for the IFA as an invader and pest, and
Tschinkel presents much of the current knowledge of this topic in the
fourth chapter. The book is brought to a close with the fifth chapter,
which focuses on how IFA interact with other organisms in their
environment, including other fire ant species (one subchapter deals with
hybridization between Solenopsis invicta and S. richteri),
other ant species, invertebrates, and vertebrates. These chapters
clearly illustrate how much research on IFA has contributed to our
knowledge of basic ant biology and behavior, and how these amazing
organisms influence the environment around them.
One concern I had over this book is that the audience is not always
clear. Interludes are certainly directed toward a general reader.
Tschinkel gives information using a general basic language, thus
appearing to be directed to a layman’s audience, but then he switches to
a much more technical approach that is directed to research personnel.
He gives many details and includes technical tables, figures, and
drawings to illustrate key points, some of which are redundant
throughout the book. This pattern of addressing a general audience,
then a more technical audience, is repeated throughout, creating some
confusion. He also sometimes refers to the work of various IFA
researchers, giving only their first names without citing specific
references or giving credit, even when he later describes the research.
This sometimes unfocused nature of the book may create some frustration
in the reader.
Although over 900 references are cited and discussed, there are a number
of significant ones that are surprisingly not included. Examples are the
book The Fire Ants by Tauber, S. W., 2000, and major reviews such
as the ones by Drees, B. and R. Gold, 2003; Vinson, S. B. and L.
Greenberg, 1986; and Williams et al., 2001. Also there are some aspects
of the IFA’s biology that are not covered, particularly in the area of
physiology. Thus, this book is not a complete review of what is known
about the IFA. It is clear that the author concentrates primarily on the
research that he and his various students and associates have
contributed over the years.
There also appears to be an anti-Texas bias to The Fire Ants. One
example of this problem is on page 83, where Tschinkel states that the
early predictions published by nine different Texas researchers
suggesting that the IFA would infest all of Texas were “spectacularly
wrong.” This is an overstatement, since none of the articles Tschinkel
referenced state that every inch of Texas would be infested. In fact,
Vinson (1997), not referenced, suggested that the IFA could infest only
the wet areas of dry west Texas along stream beds and irrigated land,
and also suggested that the old temperature limits were not accurate so
that the IFA might go further north. Tschinkel’s discussion omits this.
He centers some discussion on the data of Korzukhin et al. (2001) that
show IFA infestations throughout all but the northwest and southwest
corner of Texas. While their data predict that IFA’s are not likely to
occur in southwest Texas, the IFA has been present in El Paso for some
years and in spots in Big Bend national park. This presence exists in
spite of the fact that Texas has sustained a severe drought over the
last 10 years. The map provided by Korzukhin et al. (2001) also shows a
few possible spots of infestation likely in northernmost Texas. In fact,
the IFA has survived in Lubbock for years. Were the predictions of over
20 years ago so spectacularly wrong?
In spite of the criticisms, the book is a must for myrmecologists and
anyone interested in IFA. It is clear that Tschinkel truly is fascinated
with the IFA and has dedicated his life to this interesting and
successful creature. In many chapters, Tschinkel dissects the issues,
examines the data, and puts the biology of the IFA in perspective. He
also evaluates a lot of the data with a fresh perspective and either
suggests some new areas of focus or notes that much is yet to be
uncovered. While reading the book, the discussion was stimulating enough
that this reader devised many new ideas concerning the biology of the
imported fire ant to probe. There is enough to keep a number of
researchers occupied for some years to come. This outcome of the book
alone is an important contribution to those interested in Imported Fire
Ant research.
References
Drees, B. M. and R.
E. Gold. 2003.
Development of integrated pest management programs for the Red Imported
Fire Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J. Entomol. Science 38: 170-180.
Korzukhin, M. D., S.
D. Porter, L. C. Thompson, and S. Wiley. 2001.
Modeling temperature dependent range limits for the fire ant
Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the United States.
Environ. Entomol. 30: 645-655.
Tauber, S. W. 2000.
The Fire Ants. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas.
Vinson, S. B. 1997.
Invasion of the red imported fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) spread,
biology, and Impact. Amer. Entomol. 43: 23-39.
Vinson, S. B. and L.
Greenberg. 1986.
The biology, physiology and ecology of imported fire ants, pp. 193‑226.
In: “Economic Impact and Control of Social Insects.” (S. B.
Vinson, ed). Praeger Press, New York.
Williams, D. F., H.
L. Collins, and D. H. Oi. 2001.
The red imported fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): an historical
perspective of treatment programs and the development of chemical baits
for control. Amer. Entomol. 47: 146-159.
Dr. S. Bradleigh
Vinson
Department of Entomology
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
bvinson@tamu.edu
American Entomology
Vol. 53, No. 3, Fall 2007
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