In Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps, the celebrated British entomologist and modern-day wasp whisperer Seirian Sumner invites readers on a revelatory, as well as highly entertaining, journey to discover the beauty, vast diversity and critical functions of the "most enigmatic of insects." Throughout history, wasps have been misunderstood and compared unfavorably to their cuter cousins, bees. Alert to society's cultural fear of wasps and general lack of understanding of their ecological contributions, Sumner's debut sets out to rehabilitate these ancient insects to their rightful place as admired and valuable members of the insect kingdom.
Sumner is an esteemed Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and a behavioral ecologist at University College London. She has spent more than two decades studying wasps across the globe. Blending scientific knowledge and passion for her subject with a captivating storytelling style, the author highlights the significance of wasps as the ancestral forebears of bees and ants, shares her enchantment with their complex social lives and builds a compelling case for their ecological importance as nature's essential pest controllers and pollinators. Even the wasp's dreaded sting, referred to by the 19th-century naturalist Jean-Henri Fabre as "mother's stiletto," offers promising value to medical researchers who are experimenting with wasp venom as a possible cancer treatment tool.
In chapters highlighting distinct wasp species, Sumner draws readers into the individual dramas of solitary wasps, including Emerald jewel wasps that can transform cockroaches into zombies; potter wasps that lay eggs in intricately made clay pots; and the specialist wasps that pollinate fig trees and orchids. Observing the sophisticated societies of social wasps is like watching "The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones rolled into one," says Sumner, their soap opera lives curiously mimicking our own and providing hours of theatrical entertainment in pursuit of scientific research.
Aristotle, the first published entomologist, was famously obsessed with honeybees but also fascinated with wasps such as yellowjackets and hornets. In a marvelously crafted chapter titled "Dinner with Aristotle," the author hosts an imaginary dinner party for the 2,400-year-old philosopher, sharing a variety of ancient Greek dishes with him as they discuss the progress made in the scientific understanding of wasps during the last two millennia.
Endless Forms is a labor of love, designed to alter fundamentally the narrative surrounding wasps, presenting budding naturalists and amateur entomologists with a transformative lens through which to appreciate the "gangsters of the insect world." --Shahina Piyarali, reviewer
Shelf Talker: A British entomologist and modern-day wasp whisperer offers a fascinating account of the many ecological contributions of wasps.