Abstract
ONE of the most interesting and remarkable features of the biology of social insects is betrayed in the relationships they maintain with other animals living in association with them. A very large number of the latter creatures are myrmeco-philes or ant guests and the majority of them are insects. Although British ants number only 35 species, many times that number of myrmecophiles are known to live in a more or less definite biological relationship with them. In some cases they are ex-tranidal, or in other words, the ants seek out their myrmecophiles, while in others they are intranidal, the ants being passive and are sought out by their guests. Mr. Donisthorpe's enthusiasm and energy have enabled him to add 146 species to the myrmecophilous fauna of Great Britain, of which no less than 70 were new to science at the time of their discovery. His intimate knowledge of this subject has enabled him to produce a book that will long remain a standard work.
The Guests of British Ants: their Habits and Life-Histories.
By H. St. J. K. Donisthorpe. Pp. xxiii + 244 + 16 plates. (London: George Routledge and Sons, Ltd., 1927.) 18s. net.
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IMMS, A. British Myrmecophilous Insects. Nature 123, 199 (1929). https://doi.org/10.1038/123199a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/123199a0