Many children have a "bug  period"--a time of life when bugs are a source of endless fascination and learning. Naturalist Edward O. Wilson jokes that unlike other kids, he never grew out of his bug period.  Luckily for this biologist, his lifelong passion for ants has led to a career rich in accomplishments and praise. He is not just the world's foremost expert on the social behavior of ants, but also the receiver of the National Medal of Science and two Pulitzer Prizes for nonfiction. Now, at the age of 80, Wilson has tried his hand at fiction. His first novel, Anthill, combines two of his greatest loves -- his childhood home, Alabama, and the ants that have been his lifelong friends.  Described as a "six-legged Iliad," Wilson's Anthill draws parallels between human and ant societies. Though there are no ant bands, secret police, or schools of philosophy, both ants and man conduct wars, divide themselves into specialized classes of workers, build cities, maintain infant nurseries and cemeteries, take slaves and practice agriculture, though ant societies are more energetic, selfless, and efficient than human ones. The book's first and third sections deal with the adventures of an Alabama boy, Raphael    Semmes Cody, who goes by the name Raff. The boy grows up knocking around the Nokobee woods; he's drawn to its natural wonders, and uses the forest to escape from his parents' unhappy marriage. In the woods he leaves almost no stone unturned as he discovers the forest's rich flora and fauna . Raff grows up and heads to Harvard to study law, but returns later in life to protect the Nokobee from crazy developers. But fans of Wilson's science will be most interested in the book's middle section, where the author inserts a mini-novel describing the trials and sufferings of the ants living in the endangered forest. Reviews of the book have been mixed. Writing for The New York Review of Books, Margaret Atwood praised Wilson for his first novel, saying that it is highlighted by a diversity of ideas and an imaginative plot. And -- with the exception of some dull preachiness  -- it is entertaining. In Anthill, ant societies differ from the human ones in that   _  .
they are more likely to conduct wars they practice agriculture they are more selfless they don't care for their young