The Biology And Control Of Vespine Wasps

This is the first comprehensive account of the Biology of the Vespine Wasps, with special emphasis on behavioral aspects. The authors, well-known specialists in insect sociology and wasp systematics, cover wasps from all over the world. Asiatic hornets, a special and almost unknown group of insects due to their extreme aggressiveness, are described in detail. Many new and interesting findings are presented, concerning for example the mass-attack by the Japanese giant hornet on other social wasps. Topics include: nesting habits, brood incubation by the foundress, nest relocation by some hornets; life cycle strategies; population dynamics; life in extreme environments; parasitism; phylogeny; natural enemies; the significance of vespine wasps as pests.

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.

The Hymenoptera is one of the largest orders of terrestrial anthropods and compromises the sawflies, wasps, ants, bees and parasitic wasps. This book examines the current state of all major areas of research for this important group of insects, including systematics, biological control, behaviour and use in education.