Les fourmis

by Bernard Werber

'Les Fourmis' is the first novel in a science-fiction trilogy written by the writer and entomologist Bernard Werber. It was released in 1991 and was entitled 'Empire of the Ants' in the English translation. It follows two parallel stories; one describes the events in the life of a male *formica rufa* ant in a colony in a Paris park, while the other follows a human character, who investigates the cellar of a house recently bequeathed to him by a mysterious uncle. He does not return from the cellar, and nor do friends and family who follow him. The characteristics of the ants (such as their intelligence and level of communication) are based on scientific research, but are significantly exaggerated.