How many hymenopterans can you name?   You may know that Hymenoptera is the order of insects that includes bees, wasps and ants, but most people don't know much about any of them except for a handful of household names: honey bee, bumble bee, paper wasp, hornet, carpenter ant and the infamous yellow jacket. 

Maybe you're really paying attention and you even know what a mud dauber is, but I think that most humans don't realize that there are more than 150,000 different named species in the Hymenoptera order, second only to the beetles in number, many of them living their anonymous lives in your backyard.   Wasp researcher and avid gardener Eric Grissell introduces readers to hundreds of these fascinating creatures in Bees, Wasps and Ants, focusing on the important role they play in gardens across the US. 

Grissell starts with a primer in hymenopteran biology and a description of the numerous complicated lifestyles that exist within the group.  He then goes on to reveal many specific details about a few dozen of the different families that are found north of Mexico, organized in a complex web of taxonomic confusion.   Despite the whirlwind nature of the tour, at the end of the book I emerged with a much better understanding of how the various pieces of the hymenopteran puzzle fit together and developed a profound respect for the researchers who have somehow figured it all out.

Having studied insects as a hobby for many years, I found the first half of the book a bit slow, but once Grissell started describing the bizarre and intriguing natural history of many of these tiny creatures, my enthusiasm soared.

The best part of the book is his description of the parasitoid wasps.  The basic concept is that if you're an insect (or a spider), there is a female parasitoid wasp that is looking to find you, paralyze you, if necessary, and lay an egg on you so that her offspring can slowly feed on your living flesh.  It would appear that it's not an exaggeration to say that each of the millions of insect and spider species in existence - even the tarantula - has a particular species of parasitoid wasp that is devoted to its destruction.   What's so endlessly fascinating is that there are countless variations on this theme.   It's like a murder mystery; the basic story is the same, but the dramatic details keep the audience coming back for more.

"One example of this behavior is a genus of spider wasp (Aporus) that attacks trap-door spiders.  The wasp burrows into the soil near a trap-door spider nest, provoking the spider to exit its nest, at which point the wasp overtakes it, paralyzes it, then drags the spider back to its own nest.  The spider's castle then becomes its coffin as the wasp lays an egg, exits, then seals the trap door shut."

Additional layers of complexity can be added if one considers the "cleptoparasitoids", a type of wasp that is able to sneak its egg onto the stash of victims collected by a different wasp mother, after which the "free loading" larva consumes the "rightful" owner as well as the ill-gotten gains.   It seems that the parasitoids are constantly looking for some new way to make a living.   Some of them even use tools to complete their task.

As a lifelong insectophile, I think this book is a uniquely valuable resource, given that Grissell devotes most of the text to the creatures that rarely get much print.   But I also think that it's a good source of information for gardeners as well.  

I've always favored the natural approach to gardening, eschewing pesticides and mulch, letting things grow - or not - where they may.  Grissell is supportive of this approach, making it clear that the more diverse and variable the garden environment, the more likely it is to support a variety of these remarkable creatures.  He provides a host of specific ideas about attracting new species to the yard, making me look forward to next spring, so I can try some out.  He also emphasizes that very few hymenopterans pose any risk to humans, but provides some useful advice about ways to avoid and protect yourself from those that do.

I enjoyed Grissell's readable and well organized writing style and found a lot of his personal gardening anecdotes to be helpful and entertaining.   The 300 page book includes dozens of great color photographs, an extensive list of book and web resources and a taxonomic table that I referred to repeatedly. 

After reading Bees, Wasps and Ants, I have a much better understanding of how hymenopterans play essential roles in the environment as herbivores, predators, pollinators and recyclers and I recommend the book highly for anyone interested in insects or the natural world.  

However, I think that the larger population of avid gardeners stands to benefit even more.  A deeper understanding of the myriad non-plant creatures in the garden can add an extra layer of wonder and enjoyment to an already pleasant activity.   Knowing that many of the "bugs" and "grubs" one encounters in the garden are beneficial and that most of them are harmless can lead to a more relaxed gardener and perhaps a healthier garden.   Now I just have to invite some Myzinum wasps over to terrorize all the Japanese beetle larvae hiding in my sod.  They won't know what hit 'em.  



Additional book reviews of interest, hymenopteran and otherwise:

Beekeeping for Dummies 
The Queen Must Die
Plan Bee
Insect
Summer World 

Recommended: Yes