Solitary Wasps

While social wasps, like hornets and yellow jackets, garner most of the publicity (most of it negative), the vast majority of wasp species, including digger wasps, spider wasps, and mud-daubers, are solitary. Elegant in appearance and distinctive in their actions, solitary wasps have long fascinated observers and have been the subject of narratives by such naturalists and scientists as Jean Henri Fabre, Niko Tinbergen, and Howard Ensign Evans.

Each adult female solitary wasp forages alone and, if she builds a nest, it is occupied solely by herself and her own offspring. Females use their stings mainly for hunting, rather than for defense, and exhibit a wide range of foraging and parental behaviors. Solitary wasps are of special interest to ethologists and evolutionary biologists.

Kevin M. O'Neill provides readable yet thorough accounts of the natural history of the major families of solitary wasps and also surveys the current state of scientific research on these insects. Numerous comprehensive tables of quantitative data serve as an excellent reference for biologists.

Topics covered in Solitary Wasps: Behavior and Natural History include:
*classification of the solitary wasps and their relation to other Hymenoptera
*foraging and nesting behaviors
* mating and parental strategies
*thermoregulation
*natural enemies
*defensive strategies
*directions for future research

Solitary Wasps: Behavior and Natural History is the first general survey in more than 25 years to be dedicated to its subject and is the best place to turn for information about the biology and compelling behavior of these common insects.

Kevin M. O'Neill is Associate Professor of Entomology at Montana State University-Bozeman. He is coauthor with Howard Ensign Evans of The Natural History and Behavior of North American Beewolves, also from Cornell.

The book is the first general survey of the subject in more than 25 years... Excellent book, well organized, well written, readable, informative.

Kevin O'Neill's book provides an ideal insight into the intricacies of wasp behaviour, whether for a beginner seeking a project or for an expert look for solid comparative analysis. For the beginner it instills all the necessary enthusiasm and explains very clearly why solitary wasps are so easy and so rewarding to study. For professionals it is beautifully laid out to cover the diversity of foraging and nesting strategies across all the groups that are included.... There is plenty of food for thought here, and plenty to spur on new investigations.... Add this book to your shelves and enjoy the world of the solitary wasps.

The subject of Kevin O'Neill's excellent account are solitary wasps... Many of the topics discussed are illustrated by weird and wonderful case studies... Altogether, this is a well-written summary of what is known (and also what is not known) about a heterogeneous group of wasps that has intrigued biologists for many decades.