Empire of the ants - Bernard Werber

Ants came to this planet long before man. Since then they have developed one of the most intricate civilizations imaginable - a civilization of great richness and technological brilliance. During the few seconds it takes you to read this sentence, some 700 milli0on ants will be born on earth

Edmond Wells had studied ants for years: he knew of the power which existed in their hidden world. On his death, he leaves his apartment to his nephew Jonathan with one proviso: that he must not descend beyond the cellar door. But when the family's dog escapes down the cellar steps, Jonathan has little alternative but to follow. Innocently he enters the world of the ant, whose struggle for existence forces him to reassess man's place in the cycle of nature. It is an experience that will alter his life for ever

Empire of the Ants is an extraordinary achievement. It takes you inside the ants' universe and reveals it to be a highly organised world, as complex and relentless as human society and even more brutal.