# Which books (2015) would academics choose on bees, ants and earthworms?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-2015-would-academics-choose-on-bees-ants-and-earthworms/730310
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [September 7, 2015, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-2015-would-academics-choose-on-bees-ants-and-earthworms/730310 "2015-09-07T23:54:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2015, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-2015-would-academics-choose-on-bees-ants-and-earthworms/730310/1 "2015-09-07T23:54:05Z")
Hi,
I’m interested in some very comprehensive books (with an academic bent) on bees, ants and earthworms. Which books (published in 2015 if possible) would you recommend? Is Edward O. Wilson still recommended reading?
I look forward to your feedback.
davidmich
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### Author:  [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-2015-would-academics-choose-on-bees-ants-and-earthworms/730310/2 "2015-09-08T03:23:35Z")
**Moderator Action**
Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion.
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### Author:  [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2015, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-2015-would-academics-choose-on-bees-ants-and-earthworms/730310/3 "2015-09-08T04:33:17Z")
Look at the Wikipedia articles on those subjects; each lists additional references.
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### Author:  [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2015, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-2015-would-academics-choose-on-bees-ants-and-earthworms/730310/4 "2015-09-08T13:37:46Z")
Even if slightly dated, Edward O. Wilson’s books are always recommended reading on social insects. We was a true pioneer in the field.
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### Author:  [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-2015-would-academics-choose-on-bees-ants-and-earthworms/730310/5 "2015-09-08T14:55:33Z")
Thanks dolphinboy. I came up with these. I’m familiar with Edward O. Wilson so I chose the first title. “The Ants”. I’m not sure about the other authors/titles. Perhaps someone is familiar with them.
The Ants…Bert Holldobler、 Edward O. Wilson
The Secret Life of Bees…Sue Monk Kidd
Earthworm …Frederic P Miller , Agnes F Vandome , John McBrewster
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### Author:  [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-2015-would-academics-choose-on-bees-ants-and-earthworms/730310/6 "2015-09-08T16:24:21Z")
A buzz in the meadow
A sting in the tale
both by Dave Goulson, and both about the ecology and preservation of bumblebees. Both are written for a general audience. Mr. Goulson is a passionate naturalist and he writes with flair and humor.
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### Author:  [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-2015-would-academics-choose-on-bees-ants-and-earthworms/730310/7 "2015-09-08T19:58:30Z")
The OP clearly stated he wants academic titles zimaane.
> [@](#):
>
> In Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees, 14-year-old Lily Owen, neglected by her father and isolated on their South Carolina peach farm, spends hours imagining a blissful infancy when she was loved and nurtured by her mother, Deborah, whom she barely remembers. These consoling fantasies are her heart’s answer to the family story that as a child, in unclear circumstances, Lily accidentally shot and killed her mother.
> **[Amazon.com: The Secret Life of Bees: 9780142001745: Kidd, Sue Monk: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Life-Bees-Monk-Kidd/dp/0142001740)**
>
> Amazon.com: The Secret Life of Bees: 9780142001745: Kidd, Sue Monk: Books
OP just search for those (bees, ants and earthworms) terms at Amazon and start reading the descriptions and reviews. Probably the first several will be general books and later on you will find the academic treatises.
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### Author:  [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-2015-would-academics-choose-on-bees-ants-and-earthworms/730310/8 "2015-09-08T20:08:08Z")
And your Earthworm book is about a game, apparently:
Here is Earthworm Jim edited by those same authors:
Blurb/Shorttext:
Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.Earthworm Jim is a run and gun platform video game starring an earthworm named Jim in a robotic suit who battles evil. The game was developed by Shiny Entertainment, released for the Mega Drive/Genesis in 1994, and subsequently ported to the SNES, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Master System, and years later, the Game Boy Advance. Upon its release it was praised for its detailed animation, polished gameplay and surreal humor; it became the first game ever to receive a 100% review in GamesMaster magazine. A special edition of the game was released for the Sega CD which features a Red Book audio soundtrack, improved graphics and expanded levels , and an even further enhanced version with redrawn, 256 colour graphics and an Earthworm Jim desktop theme, as well as all the Sega CD improvements, was released for Microsoft Windows 95. The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version was released through Wii’s Virtual Console service in Europe on October 3, 2008, and in North America on October 27, 2008.
Publishing house:
Alphascript Publishing
Website:
[https://www.alphascript-publishing.com/](https://www.alphascript-publishing.com/)
Edited by:
Frederic P. Miller, Agnes F. Vandome, John McBrewster
Number of pages:
144
Published on:
2010-05-05
Stock:
Available
Category:
Sport
Price:
45.00 €
Keywords:
Earthworm, Jim, Video, game, Mega Drive, Shiny.
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### Author:  [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-2015-would-academics-choose-on-bees-ants-and-earthworms/730310/9 "2015-09-08T21:31:03Z")
So, here’s how I’d search:
I went to the website for a library at a university that I know has an Ag program. I did a broad search in the catalog for bees OR ants OR earthworms. Within the results, I limited to a specific call number letter (In this case, Q, for the sciences, though Agriculture, S, might also work well), then I limited to books. From there, I sorted by date descending to get the most recent first.
[=callnumber-first%3A%22Q±+Science%22&filter=format%3A%22Book%22&sort=year&view=usg"]Those in the Q range]([http://gilfind.uga.edu/vufind/Search/Results?lookfor=bees+OR+ants+OR+earthworms&type=AllFields&filter](http://gilfind.uga.edu/vufind/Search/Results?lookfor=bees+OR+ants+OR+earthworms&type=AllFields&filter)[)
[=format%3A%22Book%22&filter=callnumber-first%3A%22S±+Agriculture%22&sort=year&view=usg"]Those in the S range]([http://gilfind.uga.edu/vufind/Search/Results?lookfor=bees+OR+ants+OR+earthworms&type=AllFields&filter](http://gilfind.uga.edu/vufind/Search/Results?lookfor=bees+OR+ants+OR+earthworms&type=AllFields&filter)[)
Not a lot in 2015 that has made it to that library - and there might be other universities where the library would have a better collection, but those might get you started.
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### Author:  [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2015, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-2015-would-academics-choose-on-bees-ants-and-earthworms/730310/10 "2015-09-08T22:14:15Z")
Does anyone here know much about biological research? My impression is that the areas the OP are interested in are slow moving areas of research–so probably there is not going to be much in a 2015 book that is either new from a book 10-20 years ago or for which the information from 10-20 years ago is wrong.
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### Author:  [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2015, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-2015-would-academics-choose-on-bees-ants-and-earthworms/730310/11 "2015-09-08T23:09:02Z")
My apologies to everyone for posting those last two titles. I only looked at the titles. Big mistake. Lesson learned.
davidmich