Wasps, Social and Solitary

The authors compile detailed field observations of both communal and solitary wasps, describing nesting architecture, prey selection and provisioning, mating and colony behavior, and developmental stages. Numerous locality studies and illustrations accompany accounts of diverse groups—diggers, mud-daubers, wood-borers, and spider-hunters—and notable behaviors such as the use of pebbles to tamp nests, methods of storing paralyzed prey, and remarkable homing accuracy. Comparative chapters probe navigation, instinct versus flexible problem-solving, and the variety of life histories that characterize these insects.