Ants Quote by E. O. Wilson

“Ants have the most complicated social organization on earth next to humans.”

E. O. Wilson

About This Quote

Source Book: The Ants by E. O. Wilson, 1990

Ant societies are highly complex, rivaling human social structures.

In simple terms: Ants have intricate societies.

Key Takeaway

Study nature to improve human organization.

Themes

biology social structure complexity

Mood

analytical inquisitive

Type

scientific educational

When to use this quote

urban planning
team building
education
conservation

Key Concepts

ethology comparative sociology

Questions to Reflect On

What can we learn from ant cooperation?
How do human cultures compare?

A Different Perspective

Human societies may differ fundamentally.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4.1 out of 5 (8 ratings)

Ants Ants Complicated Complicated Complicated Social Earth Earth Humans Humans Nature Nature of man Next Organization Organization Earth Social Social organization

More by E. O. Wilson

Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled…

E. O. Wilson

Image

It's always been a dream of mine, of exploring the living world, of classifying all the species and finding out what makes up the…

E. O. Wilson

Image

Competing is intense among humans, and within a group, selfish individuals always win. But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups…

E. O. Wilson

Image

When all else fails, men turn to reason.

E. O. Wilson

Image

The commitment must be much deeper - to let no species knowingly die; to take all reasonable action to protect every species and race…

E. O. Wilson

Image

Science is not marginal. Like art, it is a universal possession of humanity, and scientific knowledge has become a vital part of our species'…

E. O. Wilson

Image

The living environment is the biosphere, the thin layer around the world of living organisms. We're part of that. Our existence is dependent on…

E. O. Wilson

Image

The biological evolutionary perception of life and of human qualities is radically different from that of traditional religion, whether it's Southern Baptist or Islam…

E. O. Wilson

Image

We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.

E. O. Wilson

Image

In many environments, take away the ants and there would be partial collapses in many of the land ecosystems.

E. O. Wilson

Image

If those committed to the quest fail, they will be forgiven. When lost, they will find another way. The moral imperative of humanism is…

E. O. Wilson

Image

The extinctions ongoing worldwide promise to be at least as great as the mass extinction that occurred at the end of the age of…

E. O. Wilson

Image

Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can…

E. O. Wilson

Image

Because the living environment is what really sustains us.

E. O. Wilson

Image

The variety of genes on the planet in viruses exceeds, or is likely to exceed, that in all of the rest of life combined.

E. O. Wilson

Image

Explore all 253 E. O. Wilson quotes

More Ants quotes

Some people are like ants. Give them a warm day and a piece of ground and they start digging. There the similarity ends. Ants…

Hal Borland

Image

Great God of the Ants, thou hast granted victory to thy servants. I appoint thee honorary Colonel.

Karel Capek

Image

Pray look upon the plants and birds, the ants, spiders, and bees, and you will see them all exerting their nature, and busy in…

Marcus Aurelius

Image

People are like ants: Just a few of them give all the orders. And most of them spend their lives getting squashed.

Lauren Oliver

Image

“Some people are ants by nature; they have to work, even when it’s useless. Few people have a talent for constructive laziness.”

Robert A. Heinlein

Image

There's a good case to be made that having fun is a key evolutionary advantage right next to opposable thumbs in terms of importance.…

Raph Koster

Image

“THE FIGHTERS ARE TINY. INSECTS, REALLY. BUT ANTS CAN SLAY AN ELEPHANT, IF THERE ARE ENOUGH OF THEM. ESPECIALLY ANTS ARMED WITH HIGH-YIELD EXPLOSIVES…

Amie Kaufman

Image

We know of no behavior in ants or any other social insects that can be construed as play.

Bert Holldobler

Image

Oh, ants, my sisters, good old honeydew-seekers! From close up you are sticky and shiny and gristly; and your nymphs have parasitic red mites…

William T. Vollmann

Image

Albert and I would spend hours and hours looking at them. Cleo had this big magnifying glass on his desk, and we'd find centipedes…

Fannie Flagg

Image

When someone criticizes or disagrees with you, a small ant of hatred and antagonism is born in your heart. If you do not squash…

Rumi

Image

“Lies are like ants; there's never just one.”

Julia Ash

Image

There's a scientific hypothesis that every person's name is a primary suggestive command that contains the entire script of their life in highly concentrated…

Victor Pelevin