"Army ants are the ultimate social hunters. They are preeminent arthropod predators in tropical rainforests around the world, and their nomadic colonies are the largest among the insect societies. Their troops collectively overwhelm the nests of termites, wasps, and other ants, and kill, dismember, and devour animals that are orders of magnitude larger than the individual army ant. Their massive swarm raids truly are one of nature's greatest spectacles. This book comprehensively synthesizes the literature on army ants, from natural history observations by early explorers of the 18th and 19th century, to modern molecular inquiries into the genetic underpinnings of army ant social life"--