# Is "The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct" by E. O. Wilson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct by E. O. Wilson (W. W. Norton, 2011) is identified by: Norton first printing, 2011, co-authored with Bert Hoelldobler (ISBN 978-0-393-33868-3), collating to roughly xiii + 160 pages with illustrations and index. US true first (W.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- W. W. Norton first printing, 2011, co-authored with Bert Hoelldobler (ISBN 978-0-393-33868-3), collating to roughly xiii + 160 pages with illustrations and index
- This Norton title, drawn from the authors' larger work The Superorganism, was issued primarily in paperback wrappers rather than a trade cloth binding, so a first paperback with the number line ending in 1 and no later-printing statement is the collectible first
- Publisher imprint reads W. W. Norton
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | E. O. Wilson |
| Publisher | W. W. Norton |
| Year | 2011 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | W. W. Norton first printing, 2011, co-authored with Bert Hoelldobler (ISBN 978-0-393-33868-3), collating to roughly xiii + 160 pages with… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
W. W. Norton first printing, 2011, co-authored with Bert Hoelldobler (ISBN 978-0-393-33868-3), collating to roughly xiii + 160 pages with illustrations and index. This Norton title, drawn from the authors' larger work The Superorganism, was issued primarily in paperback wrappers rather than a trade cloth binding, so a first paperback with the number line ending in 1 and no later-printing statement is the collectible first.

## Is this the true first?
US true first (W. W. Norton, New York, 2011).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct* by E. O. Wilson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-leafcutter-ants-civilization-by-instinct
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.