Customer Reviews

Wasp Farm (Cornell Paperbacks)

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Many of us associate wasps with the uninvited guests at the family outing. Politely requesting the common yellow jacket to disarm and retreat never seemed to produce the desired result. In a flash, you are the recipient of a wound inflicted by an elite stinger. This imagery may conjure feelings of pain for us commoners; however, longtime entomologist Howard Ensign Evans delivers the elixir by educating his readers on the intricacies of wasp life.

In his book, Wasp Farm, Evans takes us to a place where wasps, not humans, are the ultimate landscape engineers. By sharing his own personal experiences, the author brings us into their world, an 8-acre parcel of meadows, sandpits and forest in upstate New York. He explores the life of these conundrums through his own observations of the habitats in which they live, their physical features, behaviors, and lives as predator and prey. A variety of topics are covered, but wasp evolution is the major theme. Through logical analysis and contemplation, not necessarily scientific means, the author makes inferences and generalizations about wasp evolution and provides numerous examples of radiation and convergence.

The chapters in Wasp Farm are organized into a logical format and each serves as a prelude to the next. Evans begins with a preliminary discussion of Wasp Farm and how it came to be. He effectively describes primitive wasps in the early chapters. For example, Priocnemis minorata (hunter of spiders) is common in the Northeastern states and emerges from its winter slumber in early April. It begins the new season by burrowing deep into the forest floor and spends much of its life hunting for spiders. Its stinger is not used primarily for defense, but instead acts as an apparatus for administering tranquilizers during the final phase of the hunt. The venom temporarily paralyzes a spider just long enough for her brood to feed on a living organism. Some spiders have been kept alive for 33 days by a single sting! Conversely, Cipogon sayi nests in pre-existing burrows of wood where it constructs a series of cells for its progeny. As the chapters progress, more advanced species of wasp are introduced and compared to the relatively primitive species in terms of similarity and improvement. Cleptoparasitic wasps, such as Evagetes parvus, need not hunt for spiders, but instead another species of wasp. By inconspicuously infiltrating the nest of Anoplius marginatus, E. parvus replaces the egg of A. marginatus with its own. Once the larva emerges, it will feast on the incapacitated spider. The final chapters conclude with the most advanced of the wasp species, the socialites: paper wasps and yellow jackets.

Prior to reading Wasp Farm, I assumed that all wasps behaved in an identical manner and had the propensity to sting at first sight. Fortunately, Evans enlightens and provides us with a deeper understanding of wasps. Most species of wasp are in fact solitary and go about their business without a care for humans. Once their emergence in either early Spring or Summer, the sexes mate and the male is virtually useless thereafter. Sounding familiar? Females rule this world and bare the responsibility of providing for the persistence of the species by digging burrows, hunting, laying eggs and much more. If it were up to the males, most wasp species would surely perish. Interestingly, the stinger that humans associate with pain is actually a modified egg-laying apparatus. Presumably, it evolved over millions of years through natural selection and evolution. If you are allergic to the wasp venom, it is certainly the female that you are leery of. Only certain male wasps have evolved a pseudo stinger, but fear not. Unlike their female counterparts, their stinger did not evolve from an egg laying apparatus and therefore lacks venom glands. Some wasps even utilize tools and all species have an interesting mechanism for sex determination. Read this book and you too can impress others with your newfound knowledge.

Howard Ensign Evans received a master's degree in entomology and a Ph.D. in insect taxonomy. He has written a number of articles for scientific journals and was also curator at the Harvard Museum of Zoology. He has successfully written a number other books pertaining to wasps. Another recommended title is Studies on the larvae of digger wasps (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae).

Anyone who is turned off by insects, particularly wasps, should read this book. It will certainly provide a refreshing point of view and newfound appreciation for these creatures and the ecological niches they fulfill. Wasp Farm is a clearly written masterpiece that will appeal to all ages, both male and female. Compared to other books in Biology that are highly structured and esoteric in speech, Wasp Farm grasps the reader's attention through the use of clear, concise language in addition to the effective use of illustrations and photographs. You will surely expand your insect knowledge and vocabulary for the author frequently uses Latin terminology. Do not fret if you are unfamiliar with the language, for the end of each chapter provides adequate definitions for each genus and species.

This book succeeds in convincing one that they need not spend any money to see unique life forms on this Earth. By venturing into one's own surroundings, you can explore the fascinating lives of these creatures and revel in their complexity.

This book provides an informal introduction to some aspects of wasp observation. The author, Howard Evans, was an entomology professor at Cornell University. While working at Cornell, he lived on a small farm outside of the town of Ithaca and spent much of his spare time in the summers observing wasp behavior at his farm. In this book, Evans describes some of his findings during his observations. The book is presented in the form of short essays around various topics of wasp life. The essays cover such information as the wasp family, wasps and evolution, egg-laying, wasp nests, wasp prey and methods of transporting prey, attracting wasps, spider wasps, great wasps, sand wasps, bee wolfs, and social wasps. The book is illustrated with plates of black-and-white photographs. Suggested readings for further information appear at the end of each chapter, and there is an index.

When I first picked up this book, I expected to learn all about the pesky wasps that construct paper nests in our woodshed. Evans explains that these are social wasps, and while he does provide a chapter about social wasps, his main interest is in the different types of solitary digger wasps, which the majority of the book is about. Evans seems to see them everywhere, not only on his farm in Ithaca, but also when he was growing up in the Midwest, and in the desert as well. Although they are quite common, I had never noticed them before reading this book, and I certainly knew nothing of their particular feeding and egg-laying behavior. Evans book is quite informative, although I wish in places it had gone into greater detail and been a little less informal.

Wasps are all around during the summer months here in Virginia and I was curious about them so I went in search of a book to learn more and found this one - glad I did. It hasore information that I could have guessed on wasps - It talks to what they eat, how different wasps form "nests/burrows", howthey carry food, why they're a beneficial insect, and even some wasp lore. Latin names are used when discussing different wasps. The text is easy to read, conversational most. I enjoyed it and gota lot out of the many details. It has photos and drawings too.

"Wasp Farm" is easy to read, interesting, fascinating, even funny. It's one of the better popularized works on natural history I've read. The book was published already in 1963. My copy used to be the property of the Franklin Public Library in Ohio.

The author, Howard Ensign Evans, bought a farm and eight acres of land in upstate New York with the sole purpose to study wasps. Hence, the name Wasp Farm. His wife was in on it, too. The kids were not. The family eventually had to sell Wasp Farm and move to Suburbia. Personally, I can't stand insects, but I like the author's single-minded determination. I guess Evans is the Aldo Leopold or Thoreau of wasps!

Evans deliberately kept his farm and the adjacent garage in unkempt condition, nor did he remove weeds or brambles from his land. Pruning the apple trees was another no-no. Unsurprisingly, Wasp Farm soon attracted more than its fair share of bugs. That, after all, was the point.

The wasps described in the book belong to the families Vespidae, Sphecidae and Pompilidae. Most are solitary, but one chapter deals with the social wasps, including yellow jackets and the Black Paper Wasp. Among more exotic creatures covered are Isodontia, the only wasp that builds nests of grass, the scavenging Microbembex, and a spider wasp that walks on water and even dives (!). The author also discusses whether or not the wasp known as Ammophila really uses tools.

Since "Wasp Farm" was written in 1963, some of the research may be out of date. Or it may not. A scientific book from 2001, "Solitary Wasps", still quote a research paper written by Evans over 40 years ago! I suppose it's hard to get research grants to study Microbembex.

Reading "Wasp Farm", on the other hand, wasn't hard at all. Recommended for both wasp-lovers (a small minority, I gather) and the general reader.

Wasp Farm, by Howard Ensign Evans, published in 1963, aims to increase public knowledge and interest in sciences in general and entomology specifically. This natural history book is organized into 15 chapters, 12 of which deal primarily with specific types of wasps. The first chapter talks about the writers attempt to create a "wasp farm" for which the book is named. The last two chapters deal with the evolution of wasps, recap the various groups of wasp, and give some mention to the existence of more obscure wasps with somewhat different behaviors. The Evans is a PhD in insect taxonomy and spends a great deal of time focusing on the distinctions between various types of wasps and highlighting the variety of behaviors even among species native to the same area.

Wasp Farm is a well written book on the classification and behavior of various wasps. It reads at about a high school level and requires little prior knowledge of the subject. Basic concepts are addressed as they are needed without being overstressed to the point that the book would become tedious to those with more background. The writer comes across as knowledgeable without the ivory tower feel some writers fall into. Specifically, ideas a communicated without the use of overly specialized words or overly complex sentence structure. Overall, the book is both accessible and enjoyable for a wide variety of people. Both laymen and seasoned scientists are likely to feel satisfied by the scope of information covered.

While no errors or out of date material was apparent in the book, one should keep in mind that it is over 40 years old. The observations and facts in the book are unlikely to change but may no longer be as complete as possible. No bias was evident in the book aside from the author's greater fondness for solitary wasps over social wasps. Even this didn't manifest outside of a few anecdotes about meeting people introduced as wasp experts who focused almost entirely on paper wasps and the somewhat uninspired section on paper wasps in the book.

This book is not so much a dry collection of facts, but a documentation of the writer's discovery of those facts. This method of writing creates a very interesting and easy to read narrative. This is not to say that the book is devoid of factual content. The book focuses heavily on the behavior of various wasps such as nest structure and offspring care. The writer, by his own admission, has a particular love of solitary wasps and is somewhat less than enthusiastic about social species such as paper wasps. Perhaps this is why his section on paper wasps seemed forced, born of duty rather than passion.

Perhaps as interesting as the description of wasps is the subtext of the scientific method. The author stresses the importance of careful and detailed observation along with intelligent experiment design. On occasion Evans addresses theories or observations he considers to be jumping to conclusions. The less glorious aspects of research such as digging out a nest or waiting in the hot sun for a wasp to return from hunting are honestly portrayed. I would highly recommend the book to anyone interested in zoology and would consider the book a must read for those going into entomology.