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Wasps: The Astonishing Diversity of a Misunderstood Insect
The ultimate visual journey into the beautiful and complex world of wasps
Wasps are far more diverse than the familiar yellowjackets and hornets that harass picnickers and build nests under the eaves of our homes. These amazing, mostly solitary creatures thrive in nearly every habitat on Earth, and their influence on our lives is overwhelmingly beneficial. Wasps are agents of pest control in agriculture and gardens. They are subjects of study in medicine, engineering, and other important fields. Wasps pollinate flowers, engage in symbiotic relationships with other organisms, and create architectural masterpieces in the form of their nests. This richly illustrated book introduces you to some of the most spectacular members of the wasp realm, colorful in both appearance and lifestyle. From minute fairyflies to gargantuan tarantula hawks, wasps exploit almost every niche on the planet. So successful are they at survival that other organisms emulate their appearance and behavior. The sting is the least reason to respect wasps and, as you will see, no reason to loathe them, either. Written by a leading authority on these remarkable insects, Wasps reveals a world of staggering variety and endless fascination.
Wasps are far more diverse than the familiar yellowjackets and hornets that harass picnickers and build nests under the eaves of our homes. These amazing, mostly solitary creatures thrive in nearly every habitat on Earth, and their influence on our lives is overwhelmingly beneficial. Wasps are agents of pest control in agriculture and gardens. They are subjects of study in medicine, engineering, and other important fields. Wasps pollinate flowers, engage in symbiotic relationships with other organisms, and create architectural masterpieces in the form of their nests. This richly illustrated book introduces you to some of the most spectacular members of the wasp realm, colorful in both appearance and lifestyle. From minute fairyflies to gargantuan tarantula hawks, wasps exploit almost every niche on the planet. So successful are they at survival that other organisms emulate their appearance and behavior. The sting is the least reason to respect wasps and, as you will see, no reason to loathe them, either. Written by a leading authority on these remarkable insects, Wasps reveals a world of staggering variety and endless fascination.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published March 9, 2021
11 people are currently reading
386 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 26, 2021
You don’t have to be an entomologist to love this book. I bought this book after discovering a paper wasp nest hanging over a door. The more I watched, the more fascinated I was by the activity and behavior I saw. And I had so many questions! I found lots of answers online, where I bumped into a few endorsements of this book. Hoping it wouldn’t be too technical for non-entomologist me, I bought it. And I’m so glad I did! The book’s clear and approachable language made even some deep dives into wasp anatomy and behavior easy to read and digest. I found answers to quite a few of my questions about paper wasps, but I didn’t limit my reading to the chapter about social wasps. The book is so inviting, I read it cover-to-cover in one sitting.
November 4, 2021
Wasps are so incredibly widespread and fascinating, and yet a tiny number of backyard bogeymen manage to spoil our appreciation for them. Wasps does a terrific job illustrating just how beautiful, helpful, bizarre, and diverse they are. Gorgeous photographs, and bite-sized chapters tackle myriad facets of wasps’ life histories.
Some wasps defy the odds in unimaginable ways. Take Trigonalids, for instance. Certain members of the family, in order to complete their lifecycle, need for their eggs to get eaten by a caterpillar, and then for that caterpillar to be fed to a yellowjacket larva. Life is weird.
Some wasps defy the odds in unimaginable ways. Take Trigonalids, for instance. Certain members of the family, in order to complete their lifecycle, need for their eggs to get eaten by a caterpillar, and then for that caterpillar to be fed to a yellowjacket larva. Life is weird.
July 7, 2021
A beautiful book about wasps all over the world. This is partly a guide to the different wasp species, but also an exploration of the many types of wasp species and their different habitats and behaviors. Beautiful photography, my only problem was that the print was too small for my feeble vision. I still enjoyed what I read about these amazing and very diverse insects.
March 12, 2022
I read this book for a class. It is amazing, and horrifying! The photos are beautiful, and it is well organized. I read a couple of pages, or a chapter at a time, and then had to think about the information for a while before I moved onto the next section. The book was very interesting, and mostly very accessible.
September 12, 2021
I have always been a fan of the less loved taxa such as snakes and wasps. This book is beautifully illustrated. It covers a wide diversity of topics, so it doesn’t go into much depth about any particular topic. I found the chapter on wasp mimics particularly interesting.
October 21, 2021
Everything you never knew you didn't know about wasps. (Plus lots of really beautiful pictures.) A tad more scientific than I was really wanting (ok...a ton more) but that was totally on me and not a criticism of the book.
August 18, 2021
Great book!
Well written and remarkably comprehensive. So many topics are covered that many can only be mentioned briefly, but that's why we have Google.
Well written and remarkably comprehensive. So many topics are covered that many can only be mentioned briefly, but that's why we have Google.
September 5, 2021
Fantastic photography and very interesting. It is unfortunate that much of the content is printed in a ridiculously tiny font guaranteed to give you a headache.
May 13, 2022
This was a fascinating, informative read (and the colorful pictures throughout made it enjoyable as well).
September 28, 2022
Eaton describes the Hymenoptera - the bees, wasps, sawflies - excepting the ants. He emphasizes the diversity and the uniqueness of various families. The photos are great - I liked the one on page 143 of a squadron of sand wasps returning to the nest carrying flies to feed their larvae.
The author characterizes bees as hairy wasps. They arose when flowering plants evolved and developed mouthparts to harvest nectar.
The Hymenoptera are unique in that fertilized eggs become females while unfertilized eggs become males. The males therefore carry oly one set of chromoosmes.
Penstemons are pollinated primarily by the pollen wasp Pseudomasaris vespoides, noted for its clubbed antennae and wings that do not fold longitudinally. Other species of Pseudomasaris target other plants. Male Pseudomasaris also visit flowers, and can be distinguished from females by their very long antennae and a hook under the abdomen.
The figs have a mutualistic relationship with Agaonidae wasps where the female enters the fruit-like synconium where she pollinates the flowers and lays eggs. The male wasps never leave the synconium.
The Braconidae harbour a polydnavirus which they inject into caterpillars which suppress its immune system and at times alter its behaviour.
In 1973 a mealy bug outbreak began to decimate the cassava crop in Africa, the mealy bug being a non-native from South America. The introduction of a wasp from Paraguay was successful in halting the bugs.
The Ensign wasps (Evaniidae) are cockroach killers. They lay an egg in a cockroach egg case. When the larva hatches, it eats its way through all of the eggs.
Many wasps are parasotoids, with different species attacking insects at all stages of their like cycle. Even wasps are attacked by other wasp parasitoids - termed hyperparasitoids.
The sawflies - suborder Symphyta - are the vegetarians of the wasp world. Different species feed on a variety of plant structures including leaves and needles, fruits, stems, catkins and buds.
The warrior wasps (Synoeca spp.) of the tropics are aggressive and possess very potent venom (4 on the Schmidt scale). When they feel threatened, they drum against their nest before attacking.
As wasps are dangerous, other insects have taken to mimicking them, most notably robber flies and syrphid flies, but also some beetles and bugs and even spiders.
Wasps have numerous insect predators, the strangest being the stylopids where the wingless and legless female lives tucked between the abdominal plates of the wasp. Stylopids rarely kill their hosts but often affect their behaviour and growth. Satellite flies are a serious problem for ground nesting wasps as the flies watch the wasps and drop their eggs into the nests
The author characterizes bees as hairy wasps. They arose when flowering plants evolved and developed mouthparts to harvest nectar.
The Hymenoptera are unique in that fertilized eggs become females while unfertilized eggs become males. The males therefore carry oly one set of chromoosmes.
Penstemons are pollinated primarily by the pollen wasp Pseudomasaris vespoides, noted for its clubbed antennae and wings that do not fold longitudinally. Other species of Pseudomasaris target other plants. Male Pseudomasaris also visit flowers, and can be distinguished from females by their very long antennae and a hook under the abdomen.
The figs have a mutualistic relationship with Agaonidae wasps where the female enters the fruit-like synconium where she pollinates the flowers and lays eggs. The male wasps never leave the synconium.
The Braconidae harbour a polydnavirus which they inject into caterpillars which suppress its immune system and at times alter its behaviour.
In 1973 a mealy bug outbreak began to decimate the cassava crop in Africa, the mealy bug being a non-native from South America. The introduction of a wasp from Paraguay was successful in halting the bugs.
The Ensign wasps (Evaniidae) are cockroach killers. They lay an egg in a cockroach egg case. When the larva hatches, it eats its way through all of the eggs.
Many wasps are parasotoids, with different species attacking insects at all stages of their like cycle. Even wasps are attacked by other wasp parasitoids - termed hyperparasitoids.
The sawflies - suborder Symphyta - are the vegetarians of the wasp world. Different species feed on a variety of plant structures including leaves and needles, fruits, stems, catkins and buds.
The warrior wasps (Synoeca spp.) of the tropics are aggressive and possess very potent venom (4 on the Schmidt scale). When they feel threatened, they drum against their nest before attacking.
As wasps are dangerous, other insects have taken to mimicking them, most notably robber flies and syrphid flies, but also some beetles and bugs and even spiders.
Wasps have numerous insect predators, the strangest being the stylopids where the wingless and legless female lives tucked between the abdominal plates of the wasp. Stylopids rarely kill their hosts but often affect their behaviour and growth. Satellite flies are a serious problem for ground nesting wasps as the flies watch the wasps and drop their eggs into the nests
February 13, 2023
I love this book. I wanted to learn more about wasps and chose this book. It has awesome photographs and an abundance of information. I now find wasps fascinating. I love bees too.
January 20, 2024
Excellent book. The only thing I wish it had were more photos of the examples of wasp mimicry.
February 14, 2024
Amazing and informative. Beautiful photos. Accessible level of writing and jargon. Makes me want to make solitary wasp condos in my house to observe them in my own backyard!
December 11, 2024
Great overview of a large and diverse insect. Nicely laid out and organized. Fun to read.
January 3, 2025
Fascinating
July 15, 2021
Uitgebreide Nederlandstalige recensie verschijnt in het tijdschrift Entomologische Berichten.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews