Endless Forms

The Secret World of Wasps

By: Seirian Sumner

Narrated by: Sumner Seirian

“A book that draws us in to the strange beauty of what we so often run away from.” — Robin Ince, author of The Importance of Being Interested

In this eye-opening and entertaining work of popular science in the spirit of The Mosquito, Entangled Life, and The Book of Eels, a leading behavioural ecologist transforms our understanding of wasps, exploring these much-maligned insects’ secret world, their incredible diversity and complex social lives, and revealing how they hold our fragile ecosystem in balance.

Everyone worries about the collapse of bee populations. But what about wasps? Deemed the gangsters of the insect world, wasps are winged assassins with formidable stings. Conduits of Biblical punishment, provokers of fear and loathing, inspiration for horror movies: wasps are perhaps the most maligned insect on our planet.

But do wasps deserve this reputation?

Endless Forms opens our eyes to the highly complex and diverse world of wasps. Wasps are 100 million years older than bees; there are ten times more wasp species than there are bees. There are wasps that spend their entire lives sealed inside a fig; wasps that turn cockroaches into living zombies; wasps that live inside other wasps. There are wasps that build citadels that put our own societies to shame, marked by division of labor, rebellions and policing, monarchies, leadership contests, undertakers, police, negotiators, and social parasites. Wasps are nature’s most misunderstood insect: as predators and pollinators, they keep the planet’s ecological balance in check. Wasps are nature’s pest controllers; a world without wasps would be just as ecologically devastating as losing the bees, or beetles, or butterflies.

Wasps are diverse and beautiful by every measure, and they are invaluable to planetary health, Professor Sumner reminds us; we’d do well to appreciate them as much as their cuter cousins, the bees.

©2022 Seirian Sumner (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

all the services wasps provide,

it is a beautiful book, I love it. I wish it was in Spanish too

Pretty good

I liked it, the background story got a little cheesy at times but the overall information is very interesting!

Not a fan of the pointy things? Then read on...

Most people feel fear and revulsion at the word "wasp" and have no plans to read a book about them. Yet, if you hold that stand, I urge you to rethink it. This book shows the wonders of wasps. From their keystones in ecology to their life histories and intelligence, wasps play an integral part in our own survival. As key predatory insects, they help reduce our dependence on pesticides. As pollinators, they supplement the work of bees; their behavior is fascinating, and their intelligence is highly underrated. The author demonstrates a contagious love of wasps and the power to sway many readers into their fan club.

There is FANTASTIC info contained

It’s long, but oh my good lord the amount of information contained in this is spectacular. There are some over the top cheesy moments, but, still worth it.

Very Interesting Content Great Narration by Author

I was not that familiar with wasps prior to listening to this book. But I can tell you after listening to it, I've learned how amazing, essential, and fascinating wasps are. This book is packed full of interesting facts about wasps and their world. Nature is a wild ride, with drama and real life sci-fi. Fantastic narration by the author, she helped keep me curious and engaged. I listen to lots of audio books and it's a real treat to have both good content and narration. I have great respect for Seirian Sumner's work and other scientist out in the field (tracking wasps) and in science labs/classrooms doing what is often unseen and underappreciated. If you are not sure if this book is for you, check out a podcast where she is being interviewed/promoting this book (she has done several) and that will give you a taste of what you can expect. That is how I was introduced to Seirian and she made me want to learn more about wasps and I'm glad that I did.

Fabulous!

As a life long wasp supporter and protector I truly appreciate the research and work that went into writing it. Exceedingly informative and an important read whether you are an fan of wasps or not.

Not what I was expecting

Watching a small enclave of paper wasps in progress above my back door, I became fascinated with these creatures and had many question mostly about their social behavior and concerns about their interactions with humans.
The book, charmingly narrated by its enthusiastic and knowledgeable author, did manage to allay my fears, but sadly for me didn’t quench my desire to know more about the wasps’ interactions within the nest.
The author starts the book with a longer-than-I-would-like tirade on why bees don’t deserve the adoration we have lathered upon them, but wasps should.
Then, like many scientists, the author spent much of the book discussing who discovered what and when, way back into history. This is important to frame the subject, but this is not my interest and I soon grew weary of the recitation of names and dates.
Then then author plunged into the evolution of wasps from nearly the very first cell. I learned from the discussion of eusocial development, it did not focus in on the questions I have about social interaction. About the time,it occurred to me that I should,check the table of contents. Not seeing any chapters that specially address my particular interest and not feeling up to 2 chapters describing an imaginary date with a long-dead historical figure, I felt it best to bail.
I am sure, though, that it will please many people with a different direction of interest.

Informative, but...

But what? Frankly, although there is a lot of information in the book, the narrative is, to use a Britishism, twee. That would be OK in itself, depending on your taste, but for this author it leads into a swamp of anthropomorphism and teleology, which generally speaking are antithetical to evolutionary thinking. The author is a respected professor of behavioral ecology, so I presume she understands evolutionary theory, and the anthropomorphism and so on are just an attempt to interest what she believes to be her audience. In my view, though, although she might in fact lose a few readers, she ought to give us the grown-up version. Her readers deserve no less.