Empire of ants : the hidden world and extraordinary lives of Earth's tiny conquerors / Susanne Foitzik, Olaf Fritsche, translated by Ayça Türkoğlu.

Originally published in Germany as Weltmacht auf sechs Beinen by Rowohlt Verlag GmbH, Hamburg, in 2019.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Small but mighty -- Take me to your leader! -- The birth of a colony -- Effective anarchy -- Communicative sensuality -- Finely tuned navigation -- Savage hordes -- A garden for a city of millions -- A treehouse for the nation -- Milking it: ants and their livestock -- On parasites and slave-makers -- Physician, heal thyself -- The path to world domination -- Crazy critters -- A journey's end -- References -- Index -- About the authors.

Ants have been walking the Earth since the age of the dinosaurs. Today there are one million ants for every one of us. The closer you get to ants, the more human they look: they build megacities, grow crops, raise livestock, tend their young and infirm, and even make vaccines. They also have a darker side: they wage war, enslave rivals and rebel against their oppressors. From fearsome army ants, who stage twelve-hour hunting raids where they devour thousands, to gentle leaf-cutters gardening in their peaceful underground kingdoms, every ant is engineered by nature to fulfil their particular role. Acclaimed biologist Susanne Foitzik has travelled the globe to study these master architects of Earth. Joined by journalist Olaf Fritsche, Foitzik invites readers deep into her world - in the field and in the lab - and will inspire new respect for ants as a global superpower. Fascinating and action-packed, Empire of Ants will open your eyes to the secret societies thriving right beneath your feet.

Translated from the German.