Wasp

Animal Series

by Richard Jones

Our fear and fascination with wasps set them apart from other insects. Despite their iconic form and distinctive colors, they are surrounded by myth and misunderstanding. Often portrayed in cartoon-like stereotypes bordering on sad parody, wasps have an unwelcome and undeserved reputation for aggressiveness bordering on vindictive spite. This mistrust is deep-seated in a human history that has awarded commercial and spiritual value to other insects, such as bees, but has failed to recognize any worth in wasps.

Leading entomologist Richard Jones redresses the balance in this enlightening and entertaining guide to the natural and cultural history of these powerful arthropod carnivores. Jones delves into their complex nesting and colony behavior, their fascinating caste system, and their major role at the center of many food webs. Drawing on up-to-date scientific concepts and featuring many striking color illustrations, Jones pushes past the sting, showing exactly why wasps are worthy of greater understanding and appreciation.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

Published December 15, 2019

About the author

Richard 'Bugman' Jones FRES is a British entomologist. He is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and has written many books about insects.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally delightful. The first thing that strikes you about the books in this series are the voluminous and fascinating artworks sprinkled throughout, all related to the animal under consideration. I found several artists worth looking into further, like the German-born naturalist Maria Sybella Merian (1647-1717), the work Home Without Hands by G. Wood (1866) and the series of 13th-century French poems Fables of the Court.

But let's talk about wasps. The author drops some genuine laugh out loud moments here, almost always in relation to "smug honeybees" or "the huge propaganda machinery of the honey industry, hav[ing] fully cornered the pollination recognition award system." See, a lot of this book is about how bees are beloved and wasps are maligned. It's funny because it's true. And you can feel the author's genuine sense of defense for the hated wasp.

That's one joy of this book. The real one is the great detail in terms of how wasps live and die and reproduce, and, of course, all the cultural references that are brought into play. SO MANY GREAT PAINTINGS (note the kitten about to swipe the wasp on p. 57 and the excellent caption "you just know it will not end well."

Some favorite quotes from:
at least evacuate the venom sac
lots of things eat wasps
yet still bee muddles occur
the 99% failure rate of overwintering queens
large nectar reward
the flowers attract the wasps by omitting a series of volatile scents

Plus I learned what a pooter is! - "this strange contraption, used for sucking up small insects unharmed into a glass collecting bottle is widely known but poorly understood by bemused non-entomologists"

Ya know what? Wasps don't swarm.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in an attempt to correct a decades-long serious phobia of wasps. It was very helpful! An entertaining read, full of fascinating info and fun pop culture references. This book contextualizes the widespread fear and hatred of these animals, and explains why those negative reactions are misguided. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this book! Would recommend for wasp fans and haters alike.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve always had a fear of wasps and thought learning more about them might help me overcome it. This book focuses more on how wasps have been negatively portrayed throughout history. Mostly, negativity towards wasps is due to ignorance. To counteract this Jones provides interesting and debunking facts about wasps.
Like Bees, wasps are useful pollinators and the plants/flowers they pollinate are often the ones that Bees don’t pollinate. According to Jones, “Social Wasps are specialist visitors at figwort flowers […] plants like hogweed and ivy […and…] are also the primary pollinators of helleborines.”

Wasps never swarm to attack if the nest has been disturbed, but Bees do. Wasps returning to the nest with food are often docile and will ignore any threats. The queen will produce up to 15,000 wasps per nest, the first are worker wasps predominantly female with around 5000 males being produced around Autumn time. The worker wasps clean the nest, fetch food, defend the nest. Eventually, all worker wasps die off around Autumn or as Jones points out “are literally worked to death”. Moreover, a lot of queens only survive for 12 months. Male wasps are born to impregnate the queen and once this is achieved, they die.

Such interesting and intelligent insects. Wasp venom is currently being researched as a possible antidote for Alzheimer’s and other diseases. I enjoyed reading this book and like bees, we also need wasps.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always loved books that mix factual information with author voice, and this one is a great example. Every line shows the authors fascination with wasps and disdain for tabloid misinformation. It gives the book a lively feeling, and made me want to keep reading just to see what the author would say about certain developments. As a fan of wasps, I found this to be an excellent book which provides a good introduction to eusocial wasps, both from a cultural and biological point of view.

[S G Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book. Gives a fascinating, informative, myth busting account of wasps. Some really interesting social history and popular culture references included with a dash of humour make this a very accessible read. Marvellous. Will look for more in this series especially by the same author.

[Rik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny little book about wasps. It is a bit repetitive on bemoaning the bad reputation, and more a social commentary than a book on the intricacies of the live of wasps, but nevertheless a delightful read.

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I used to hate wasps. And now I don't. Go figure.