Wasp Farm

by Howard E. Evans

Softcover - 1973 Edition - Evans - Anchor Books/Doubleday & Co. Book is in very fine condition, very solid and appears to have had minimal reading. Cover differs from Amazon's generic picture.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

Reviews

[Cass · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not something I would read over and over again, but I definitely enjoyed picking this up at the end of work, and relaxing while delving into an account of an entirely different species and their specifics. I picked this up whilst reading Immortality, and whenever that got too philosophical and deep, I switched to Wasp Farm for a glimpse in a life driven by instinct rather than emotion. Whew.

[Rock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Although I already enjoy observations in nature, this book has enhanced my enjoyment of doing so. Now I understand so much of what I was observing.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A scientist's vivid account of the remarkable lives of wasps.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess I have a kind of idiosyncratic set of associations for the words wasp and farm, and I was probably too excited about that idea to really think about what this book would be like. I had visions of Annie Dillard poetic autobiography, of wasp lives told in sparkling narrative, of the story of a place and a family living on it and with it. Instead, there are only a few mentions of the titular farm. The book is simply full of descriptions of solitary wasp taxa and their subtle differences in nesting habits, prey preferences, etc. That stuff is interesting if you don't know it, and for a little while, but ultimately they're all too much the same in those details. The charm of insects has a lot more to do with their bodies, their unique forms and the way they look in their environments, than with the scientific observation of life history elements. Evans does the same things as Fabre with a lot more scientific restraint and a lot less lyrical and indulgent prose.

[jrendocrine at least reading is good · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heard of this book from an article in the NYTimes about a scientist who studies insect stings ("Conneissuer of Pain") who said Wasp Farm made a huge impression on him -- so I ordered a used copy on Amazon for 2 cents (+3.99 shipping -- the luxury of book buying nowadays!) This turned out to be a very enjoyable read about the wasps on your back yard. Did you know that wasps paralyze their insect prey, carry it back to their nests (the solitary wasps make burrows with multiple cells) and lay an egg on the -now- food? The larva thus has fresh food to grow on. Very nice. Evans is fascinated with how various wasps build nests, find them again, carry prey, how larvae make their way out of the cells ... the writing is cheerful and informative. I'm glad to know more about insects in my backyard.

[Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books about insects, perhaps because it focuses on behavior rather than comparison or classification of species. The "hero" I best remember is Ancistrocerus Antelope, a "potter" wasp common in the part of the United States where I grew up. I watched many of them building their brooding nests as a kid, and still smile when I see one in the wild.

[Eudora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It is very clear and added to my great appreciation of wasps. It inspired me to write several poems about wasps - with a name at hand like microbembex, how can you not write a poem?