# Is "The Ants" by Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. Wilson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Ants by Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. Wilson (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1990) is identified by: Large folio, very heavy; tan cloth; profusely illustrated with color paintings, photographs, and nearly a thousand line drawings; first printing with no later-printing statement on the copyright page; first-state jacket retains its price. US Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (Cambridge) 1990 is the true first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Large folio, very heavy; tan cloth; profusely illustrated with color paintings, photographs, and nearly a thousand line drawings; first printing with no later-printing statement on the copyright page; first-state jacket retains its price
- Publisher imprint reads Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. Wilson |
| Publisher | Belknap Press of Harvard University Press |
| Year | 1990 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Large folio, very heavy; tan cloth; profusely illustrated with color paintings, photographs, and nearly a thousand line drawings; first… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Large folio, very heavy; tan cloth; profusely illustrated with color paintings, photographs, and nearly a thousand line drawings; first printing with no later-printing statement on the copyright page; first-state jacket retains its price.

## Is this the true first?
US Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (Cambridge) 1990 is the true first edition. The work won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1991.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Reprints are common given continued demand; check the copyright page for added printing statements.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Ants* by Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. Wilson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-ants
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.