Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps
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- Create Date：2022-08-02 03:19:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Seirian Sumner
- ISBN：0063029928
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Summary
"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。
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。
Reviews
cat
，
Just some of my favorite take-aways from this fascinating book - full of intriguing information about wasps and some really creepy new information。 The zombification wasps？！ Holy nature。"In stark contrast to bees， wasps are depicted as the gangsters of the insect world; winged thugs; inspiration for horror movies; the ‘sting’ in the tale of thriller novels; conduits of biblical punishment。 Shakespeare， Pope Francis， Aristotle， even Darwin struggled to speak favourably of wasps， and questioned th Just some of my favorite take-aways from this fascinating book - full of intriguing information about wasps and some really creepy new information。 The zombification wasps？！ Holy nature。"In stark contrast to bees， wasps are depicted as the gangsters of the insect world; winged thugs; inspiration for horror movies; the ‘sting’ in the tale of thriller novels; conduits of biblical punishment。 Shakespeare， Pope Francis， Aristotle， even Darwin struggled to speak favourably of wasps， and questioned the purpose of their existence。 Scientists have been victims of this culture too， shunning wasps as research subjects despite the endless forms of these creatures that remain to be studied。 It seems the root of this hatred is the wasp’s sting，* its eagerness to keep on stinging，* and its apparent pointlessness in the natural world。"Part One: The Problem with Wasps"One hundred and twenty-four million years ago， all the bees were wasps。 Then one day a wasp forgot how to hunt and developed a taste for pollen， and bees were born。 Some of them even evolved special saddlebags on their back legs which helped them carry pollen back to their nests。 Bees have become guardians of global ecosystems as pollinators， and a privileged few are honoured friends of humans as providers of honey， wax and other useful products， but the truth is that in evolutionary terms， there is nothing especially unique about bees: they are simply a specialised， vegetarian version of the largest group of wasps–the crabronids。""Wasps are old。 Wasps are varied， bizarre and beautiful。 There are probably more species of them on this planet than any other insect （or animals， for that matter）。 Without wasps， we would have no ants or bees。 Their evolutionary history is more mysterious and tantalising than a grandmother’s button box to a small child。""The more we intrude on nature， the angrier we get with it for bothering us。 Nature is an unwanted house guest， a flaw in our perfect gardens， an uprooter of our concrete deserts。 We are so busy complaining about how nature disrupts our sterile order that we miss most of the beauty that is under our noses。 Perhaps this is why most people today recognise wasps as only the social wasps–those picnic-botherers， loft loiterers， ‘murder hornets’–for it is these particular wasps that we notice when they cross our paths。 It’s an awful shame that we don’t take more care to notice the 32，000 other species of hunting wasps–the solitary ones–which comprise 97 per cent of all the world’s stinging wasp species。""Not all solitary wasps completely paralyse their prey。 Perhaps the most famous example of this is the zombification of the American cockroach Periplaneta americana by the Emerald jewel wasp， Ampulex compressa。 Several times smaller than its prey， the wasp can’t carry， or even drag， the victim to her burrow。 Instead， she has evolved a clever way of manipulating the cockroach such that it will walk itself to its own underground tomb。 She delivers just two stings。 The first is a rather crude stab at the thorax， designed to disable the prey by temporarily paralysing its front legs。 With the cockroach immobilised， the second， more toxic sting can be administered directly into its brain， and the behaviour-changing zombifying magic starts to work。 A neurotoxic cocktail blocks the receptors of the neurotransmitter involved in complex movements like walking， which transforms the roach into a zombie slave who can just about walk but cannot resist the commands of its mistress。 Using its antennae as a leash， the mistress wasp leads the roach like a well-trained poodle to an underground nursery for baby wasps。 The chemical cocktail of the jewel wasp’s venom is among the most remarkable of all the venoms of hunting wasps， a delicate balancing act rendering the prey helpless enough to be led to its own tomb yet alive enough to remain fresh and juicy for the baby wasps to consume， organ by organ。""Less is known about how hunting wasps， like Ammophila， use chemicals to locate quarry。 But it is likely that they use kairomones too as they would have inherited the same chemosensory machinery from the common ancestor they shared with parasitoids。 One such example comes from the tiphiid wasps， which hunt scarab beetle larvae feeding on grasses。 These wasps can detect the chemicals that the grass releases when it is being eaten by the larvae。 In fact， these wasps are so effective at hunting beetles that they have been used as biocontrol agents to control invasive populations of beetles like the Japanese Popillia japonica and oriental Anomala orientalis， which are major pests of turfgrass。" 。。。more
Alex T。
，
A fantastic non-fiction about wasps。
Brittany
，
A very interesting book on a not often positivity discussed subject。 The author's enthusiasm is infectious and her sense of humor enjoyable。 The section "Dinner with Aristotle" brought the book down for me， and I had a little trouble getting through this part。 Overall very enjoyable and educational。 Received an ARC in a Goodreads giveaway。 A very interesting book on a not often positivity discussed subject。 The author's enthusiasm is infectious and her sense of humor enjoyable。 The section "Dinner with Aristotle" brought the book down for me， and I had a little trouble getting through this part。 Overall very enjoyable and educational。 Received an ARC in a Goodreads giveaway。 。。。more
Shana Yates
，
3。5 stars。
Judith Bowen
，
A fascinating read but I struggled with the anthropomorphism and the rather 'sprightly' writing; above all it was really interesting。 A fascinating read but I struggled with the anthropomorphism and the rather 'sprightly' writing; above all it was really interesting。 。。。more
Irene
，
If you think mycologists and ornithologists are weird and a tad obsessive， you're not ready for entomologists。 They love bugs so much they will go out of their way to trap them and vivisect them。 For science。 I swear this is where the writers for The X-Files got all their material。I find the topic of this book fascinating， and I am always a fan of books that bring attention to animals that are usually reviled。 Wasps are almost at the top of the list， with rats， pigeons， snakes and spiders。 I lea If you think mycologists and ornithologists are weird and a tad obsessive， you're not ready for entomologists。 They love bugs so much they will go out of their way to trap them and vivisect them。 For science。 I swear this is where the writers for The X-Files got all their material。I find the topic of this book fascinating， and I am always a fan of books that bring attention to animals that are usually reviled。 Wasps are almost at the top of the list， with rats， pigeons， snakes and spiders。 I learned a lot about different species of wasps， their social structure and behaviour， nest making and reproduction。 Sumner also juxtaposed some of those behaviours against bees and ants， and takes us into the field a few times。 Even the cover is pretty。That said。。。 we need to address the section in which the author pretends to go on a dinner date with Aristotle， with whom she's clearly smitten， and discuss with him the scientific advances that have taken place in the field of entomology in the last 2，000 years。 Why is Sumner imagining Aristotle （Aris， for short） as an overly excited， butt wiggling， grinning guy？ I mean， maybe he was， but somehow I don't think Aristotle， known misogynist， would have taken anything Sumner had to say seriously because my guy famously thought women were only good for breeding and I would have personally liked to， scientific and philosophical breakthroughs aside， introduce him to a lioness just to prove a point， since according to him nature doesn't outfit females with weapons。 I wonder if he also thought all cats were male， since they have claws。 Not terribly great logos， pal。 ANYWAY。 My point is that I disliked being taken along on this fangirling date with a dead guy because the author felt compelled to write self-insert fanfiction about the study of wasps in which she gets validated by her dead celebrity crush。 I swear the rest of the book is normal。 I think I may go on an imaginary dinner date with her editor in which all my questions about why this choice was made get answered。 。。。more
Sara Beth Van Cleave
，
I was intrigued to see that an entire book could be written on wasps。 I knew nothing about them outside of seeing them fly around me from time to time。 I never gave them much thought。 This book shares more information then I would have ever thought to ask but what makes it so wonderful is the way that the author tells her story。 She draws you into what she is saying in a way that really makes what I thought would be a boring book into a real page turner。 I believe that everyone would benefit fro I was intrigued to see that an entire book could be written on wasps。 I knew nothing about them outside of seeing them fly around me from time to time。 I never gave them much thought。 This book shares more information then I would have ever thought to ask but what makes it so wonderful is the way that the author tells her story。 She draws you into what she is saying in a way that really makes what I thought would be a boring book into a real page turner。 I believe that everyone would benefit from reading this book。 。。。more
Axion
，
"Bees are just wasps that forgot how to hunt。"Endless forms is a deep dive into probably the most hated sight on a summer's day， the wasp。 Sumner writes with passion about the endless forms of all things vespine， and provides a convincing argument of their purpose and importance。 "Bees are just wasps that forgot how to hunt。"Endless forms is a deep dive into probably the most hated sight on a summer's day， the wasp。 Sumner writes with passion about the endless forms of all things vespine， and provides a convincing argument of their purpose and importance。 。。。more
Liz
，
An amazing book！ First， it is amazing because it details the history and complexity of this insect that seems so inconsequential in our lives。 Who could have imagined how much they do and how important they are in the natural world？ Secondly， it is the enthusiasm that an ecologist displays so passionately about this small insect that makes it amazing。 It all adds up to an unexpectedly interesting read。 I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review。
Sarah Beth
，
I received an uncorrected proof copy of this book from HarperCollins。 In this work of popular science non-fiction， the author explores the history， lives， and human relationship with wasps。 Despite being one of the oldest insect forms， that gave rise to the much more popular bees and the very plentiful ants， wasps are still relatively poorly researched。 In popular culture， wasps and their stings have earned a poor reputation with humans unlike， for example， the much more beloved honeybee。 Yet Su I received an uncorrected proof copy of this book from HarperCollins。 In this work of popular science non-fiction， the author explores the history， lives， and human relationship with wasps。 Despite being one of the oldest insect forms， that gave rise to the much more popular bees and the very plentiful ants， wasps are still relatively poorly researched。 In popular culture， wasps and their stings have earned a poor reputation with humans unlike， for example， the much more beloved honeybee。 Yet Sumner argues that wasps have been unfairly maligned and presents the case that these creatures in all their seemingly endless varieties are fascinating and serve important roles as predators and pollinators that have rightly earned their place within the planet's ecosystems。 After reading this book， I have a new appreciation for a bug I truly knew little about beforehand。 As the reader points out， unlike bees， little is ever shared about wasps in popular culture other than avoiding wasp infestations in homes and the horror of wasp stings。 But Sumner reveals an endlessly varied bug with a storied history。 Wasps have been around for one hundred millions years longer than bees and there are tens of thousands of wasp species， many of which are still to be discovered and documented。 There are social and solitary wasps。 Ones that feast on figs or on roaches。 Some build elaborate pot structures while some have quite primitive dwellings。 They can recognize human faces， learn over time， and have proven their ability to adapt over millennia。 Without wasps serving as predators， we would be overrun with other types of bugs。It was hard not to pick up on the infectious enthusiasm of the author for her subject。 It is quickly apparent that Sumner is positively passionate about wasps。 Researching and writing about wasps is not just a profession for her; it was clearly a lifelong interest and it shows in her writing。 Even the language of the book is littered with evidence of her passion for wasps。 During the early 2020 lockdown， she reports that she "spent an indecent amount of my time on the internet lusting over images over potter wasps" （109）。 When she gets to spend a whole day with other wasp enthusiasts she has to "pinch myself to check it was real" （132）。 I appreciated the enthusiasm that helped make even the topic of wasps compelling。 That being said， several sections of the book almost felt like a rant about how wasps were unfairly maligned in popular culture and otherwise。 The author seems outraged by people's lack of knowledge， understanding， interest， and care for insects that she quite adores: "After over twenty years of studying wasps， I have grown weary of the universal opinions of people about how they loathe wasps" （17）。 While this is understandable and she makes fair points， it was still hard to feel a bit like I was being lectured for being a （former） wasp hater。 I also found the chapters where the author imagines having dinner with Aristotle to discuss what is known about wasps now versus in his time sort of bizarre and at odds with the style of the rest of the book。Sumner has dedicated her life to wasps。 In this book， she gives her reader the opportunity to reconsider their opinion on wasps by presenting them in all their beauty and allowing us to see them the way she does。 I learned a lot and I do have an appreciation for wasps after reading this that I lacked before。 。。。more
Catalina
，
The endless fascinating natural world， constantly teaching us new things and helping us in our progress， when is not trying to kill us， that is lol。I am very much with Seirian Sumner。 All creatures are important and have their role in a healthy ecosystem。 Wasps and butterflies and flies and all other pollinators as just as important as bees。 I hate the craze with bees that is nothing else than a marketing ploy at the expenses of all the other animals that are ignore and hated for no good reason。 The endless fascinating natural world， constantly teaching us new things and helping us in our progress， when is not trying to kill us， that is lol。I am very much with Seirian Sumner。 All creatures are important and have their role in a healthy ecosystem。 Wasps and butterflies and flies and all other pollinators as just as important as bees。 I hate the craze with bees that is nothing else than a marketing ploy at the expenses of all the other animals that are ignore and hated for no good reason。 But at the same time， how many times can one read how hated wasps are without wanting to rip the book apart？？？ Endless Form hasn't been an easy read for me。 The start was all over the place， my impression being that Sumner is so knowledgeable and so excited to share with us the charming and endlessly fascinating world of wasps that she ended up sharing too much， too soon。 Endless Latin and scientific notations that a novice like myself felt overwhelmed。 But perseverance does pay off， and the more I've read， the more I've enjoyed the information contained in the pages of the book and especially the wasps' world that was being built before my eyes。*Book from NetGalley with many thanks to the publisher！ 。。。more
Peter Baran
，
There is a vibe you get from almost page one of Endless Forms where Dr Seirian Sumner professes her adoration for wasps that you know she gets "that look" a lot。 She says as much， throughout the book - and she says she doesn't mind， and is used to it， but you know that at one point she just steered into being thought of as weird and stopped caring。 That life journey is replicated in the book - as she flirts with being a bit weird （mainly loving wasps） and then goes completely crazy in Part Five There is a vibe you get from almost page one of Endless Forms where Dr Seirian Sumner professes her adoration for wasps that you know she gets "that look" a lot。 She says as much， throughout the book - and she says she doesn't mind， and is used to it， but you know that at one point she just steered into being thought of as weird and stopped caring。 That life journey is replicated in the book - as she flirts with being a bit weird （mainly loving wasps） and then goes completely crazy in Part Five （of Seven）， but the point is that this is an expert telling you about the think that she loves with passion， interest and not a little bit of weirdness in the process。The other thing to note is that - like much of society - its not good enough to express the thing you love， you also have to hate something else。 So if Wasps are her Radiohead， Bees are her Coldplay。 She hates bees， she calls the lazy wasps that forgot how to hunt and willing to sell themselves into honey slavery for being a bit cute。 And this is borderline hilarious in the book as when we get another thrilling anecdote about the wonderful variation and adaptability of wasps we will almost certain get a bee burn too。 And the book convinced me to look at Wasp differently， that they pollinate， that they keep down pests， that some make nests which are much more interesting than stupid honey filled hexagons。 And whilst as a mathematician I do have a slight problem with the term "Endless" - she certainly convinces that their variety is remarkable。 And then we get to Part Five: "Dinner With Aristole"。 One of her many early positive references for wasps is Aristoles' early studies into wasps （basically if Aristole are into wasps YOU SHOULD BE TOO）。 But the book has coasted on low level oddness between the fascinating discussion of wasps up until this point， but Part Five Dr Sumner invites - via the medium of imagination - Aristole to a dinner party。 This is a clever way to discuss what antiquity thought about wasps and what we know now， and is a lovely little device if - hold on， she's calling him Aris， saying he's a dapper dresser and explaining that as a progressive philosopher he would happily break his societies taboos on dining with women。 By the end of the chapter she's had a minor argument， made up， flirted endlessly （via the medium of wasps）， and even allowed him to talk about bees for a bit because she is starstruck。 It is a bonkers chapter， and absolutely makes the book more than just a well researched text on our current understanding of wasps。 She makes the case eloquently that you don't have to be mad to love wasps， but its helped her a little。 A must read。 。。。more
Amanda
，
Wasps get a bad rap。 Often considered a nuisance， the sight of a wasp nearby frequently sends people into a panic。 Entomologist Seirian Sumner is an expert in social wasps。 In Endless Forms， she makes it her mission to turn the public's aversion for wasps into awe。The author's enthusiasm is infectious， her writing accessible， and the wealth of fascinating information on the evolution， variety and benefits of wasps is sure to make a convert out of many a reader。With thanks to NetGalley and 4th Es Wasps get a bad rap。 Often considered a nuisance， the sight of a wasp nearby frequently sends people into a panic。 Entomologist Seirian Sumner is an expert in social wasps。 In Endless Forms， she makes it her mission to turn the public's aversion for wasps into awe。The author's enthusiasm is infectious， her writing accessible， and the wealth of fascinating information on the evolution， variety and benefits of wasps is sure to make a convert out of many a reader。With thanks to NetGalley and 4th Estate and William Collins for the ARC。 。。。more
Tina Panik
，