Human Culture and Ants

Culture consists of language, ideas, beliefs, customs, taboos, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, works of art, rituals, ceremonies, and symbols. Every human society has its own particular culture, or sociocultural system. Variation among cultures is attributable to such factors as differing physical habitats and resources; the range of possibilities inherent in areas such as language, ritual, and social organization; and historical phenomena such as the development of links with other cultures. An individual's attitudes, values, ideals, and beliefs are greatly influenced by the culture (or cultures) in which he or she lives. How does all this relate to ants? With few exceptions human societies exist in places where ants are a dominant element of our surroundings. We are all aware of ants. They have influenced human culture in the past and present. Biblical references to the industriousness of ants, the creation stories of the Navajo, and ads that state how an exterminator can destroy "all those colonies of unwanted ants" are but some of the examples of how our interactions with ants may be explored in this area of the Antwiki.

For information relating to interactions between non-human species and ants, please refer to Ants in the Natural World.

Pest Control

 * Ants as Pests


 * Invasive ants


 * Ants that control other pests (Ants as predators of forest pests; Ants to control citrus pests in China)

Literature
The amount of literature on ants is extensive, and ranges from proverbs and stories of old to the writings and findings of past and modern day researchers and authors. We have separated this literature into the categories of Non-fiction, Fiction, Poems and Proverbs, Children's Books and Comics. There are hundreds of books on ants in this category so we have made a table where you can sort by Title, Author, Date, Publisher, Language, and Subject. Chapters on ants within academic books and other publications are listed in a separate table. Books are often written with either the layman or the academic in mind. We have noted this difference in the comment section of the table.
 * Non-fiction Books on Ants


 * Fiction Books on Ants

There are a growing number of books in this category which we have tried to classify by age and/or reading group.
 * Children's Books


 * Comics

Ants have also been muses and inspirations for people in expressions of rhyme and reason. The following are works in the forms of proverbs and poems featuring ants. (Christy, Robert, comp. Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages. New York, London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1887; Bartleby.com, 2010. www.bartleby.com/89/. [January 26, 2013])
 * Poems and Proverbs


 * A cocoanut-shell full of water is an ocean to an ant. - Tamil
 * An emmet (ant) may work its heart out, but cannot make honey.
 * Even an ant is eight spans long as measured by its own hand. - Tamil
 * None preaches better than the ant, and she says nothing. - Benjamin Franklin

Food

 * Regions where ants may be considered a delicacy
 * Menu's listing ants
 * Nutritional value of ants as food

Ants and Medicine

 * Bites and stings
 * Diseases
 * Medicinal value
 * Medical cases involving ants

Ants and the Law

 * Quarentine regulations
 * Keeping ants in captivity and sending ants to others
 * Legal disputes involving ants
 * Forensic medicine

Music
The children songs The Ants Go Marching One By One and The Animals Went in Two by Two ('Into the Ark') re-used the tune and the refrain from When Johnny Comes Marching Home, a civil war song popular by both sides.
 * "The ants go marching..."

Art
This is potentially a large category that includes original art, scientific art, paintings, drawings, figures of ants on art objects and sculpture.




 * Ants on Stamps



There are a few stamps world wide with images of ants. In the United States it is possible to custom make an official stamp with images of choice including ants.


 * Ant Sculpture


 * Ant Paintings

Movies and Television
''"Remember: there are no small parts, only small actors." - Constantin Stanislavski'' (attributed)

Ants may be the smallest actors out there, but their influence and presence in movies and television is large and, sometimes, in charge.

Movies

 * Ant-Man


 * Nature films, animation, science fiction