Biology Of The Vespine Wasps

It is a great privilege and pleasure for me to write the foreword to this book, which is the result of considerable effort on the part of Dr. Makoto Matsuura and Mr. Seiki Yamane. Such an introduction might sound like a cliche, but in this case the sentiments are real, since the preparation of this book really has been a laborious task. In fact, I think it would not be an exaggeration to say that such a book could only be published once every 100 years. I would like to explain why I regard this book as unique. It is well known that as social insects "hachi" (as bees and wasps are called in Japanese), as well as ants and termites, have a very diffe rent way of life from that of other insects. Each of these three groups has its own characteristics. Ants and hachi are classified in the same category; in other words, an ant is sim ply a wasp which has lost its wings and its sting, and has adapted itself to an underground life. Termites, on the other hand, are an aberrant cockroach, descended from a phyletic line which is completely diffe rent from that of ants and hachi, which undergo complete metamor phosis. On the other hand, ants and termites have a common feature: all members have adopted a social life.

In this edited collection, 17 internationally known authorities bring together the results of recent research on the natural history, ecology, behavior, morphology, and genetics of wasps as they pertain to the evolution of social behavior. The first part of the book opens with a review of the classification of the family Vespidae along with a revision of the subfamily Polistinae. Seven subsequent chapters deal with the natural history and social biology of each of the major taxa of social and presocial vespids. The second part of the book offers chapters on reproductive competition; worker polyethism; evolution of nest architecture, of queen number and queen control, and of exocrine glands; population genetics; the nutritional bsis of social evolution; and the nest as the locus of social life. The final chapter is a comparative discussion of social behavior in the Sphecidae, the only family of wasps besides the Vespidae in which well-developed social behavior is known. Providing a wealth of information about the biology of wasps, this comprehensive, up-to-date volume will be an essential reference for entomologists, evolutionary biologists, behavioral ecologists, ethologists, and zoologists. Contributors: James M. Carpenter. David P. Cowan. Holly A Downing. Raghavendra Gadagkar. Albert Greene. James H. Hunt. Robert L. Jeanne. Makoto Matsuura. Robert W. Matthews. Hudson K. Reeve. PeterFrank Roseler. Kenneth G. Ross. J. Philip Spradbery. Christopher K. Starr. Stefano Turillazzi. John W. Wenzel. Mary Jane West-Eberhard.

This book represents the culmination of the author’s lifetime work on a single fascinating group of insects, the hover wasps, Stenogastrinae. The author explores the biology of these little-known wasps at the threshold of sociality, presenting an ambitious survey of ideas about their evolution and an assessment of the current standing of controversial concepts. Following taxonomic and morphological descriptions, the behaviour, colonial dynamics, social communication and especially the remarkably diverse nests of wasps are discussed. Compared to the better-known species of paper wasps, hornets and yellow jackets, the hover wasps show various peculiarities, such as characteristics of immature brood rearing, nest defence and mating systems. The nest architecture probably presents the most variable solutions in social wasps and is characterized by an astonishing level of camouflage, making these insects an interesting example of special adaptation to forest environments.